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Smash Project Patron Seats!
Last March 8, I was given a chance to watch the Smash Project from Dayly entertainment! VIP baby!!….and let me just say it was one of the most rocking and coolest concerts I’ve ever been to. Not only were there 9 different rock bands performing that night, but the stage presence of each performer was awesome! The songs they sang and the way they “played” on stage would surely turn any non-believer into a huge fan in an instant!
I have to be honest that I didn’t know most of the bands. I heard of them but I wasn’t a SUPER fan, except for Dashboard Confessional. But that didn’t stop me from having a GREAT time because of their amazing performances! Woo-hoo! 5 opening acts and 4 main performances from the coolest rockbands around! The Smash Project has got to be the coolest concert ever just for that!
The Smash Project started at around 8pm and opened up with the band Typecast.
SMASH PROJECT AT ARANETA COLISEUM
1. Typecast
The band started the night perfectly! They had everyone’s energy pumped up and were really cool on stage. They only sang two songs though, one of which was Boston Drama. Not sure but I don’t think their drummer, Melvin Macatiag was there that night.
2. Urbandub
I love it when they have girls in rockbands! The female voice somehow smoothens all the songs! I’m not sure if their drummer, Janjan Mendoza was there though. Still, Urbandub rocked the night with two hits namely Soul Searching and First of Summer.
3. Chicosci
High energies all over the place as they started their songs with a loud entrance! Miggy and Mong then asked the audience, “Are you ready to rock?” using their loud and husky rock star voices! I found it to be really cool! Miggy looked really young and really good. Don’t hate me for this, but he sorta looks like Rustom Padilla. Still a good looking guy!
4. One Buck Short
I won’t lie… this is the FIRST time I ever heard of ONE BUCK SHORT, and all I can say is… WOAH! When they first stepped out, I was looking at Mooky and said to myself, he looks like the Asian version of Ruben Studdard! He’s like a big huggable teddy bear! T
As the band started singing, I could sense that majority of the audience did not know them as well. Either that or the audience just wasn’t responding. The band is actually quite famous in Malaysia but is still gaining more popularity around the world.
On their 2nd or 3rd song, they suddenly sang their version of Katy Perry’s Last Friday Night, and afterward, you could now feel how hooked the audience had become. I personally love them!
*Forgive me though as I couldn’t find the names of the 2 other members and was unable to take a clear shot of the drummer as the cymbals were in the way
5. Slapshock
Slapshock rocked the night with their awesome instrumentals and loud music! The sound from the drums, electric guitars, bass, etc. filled up the place! You can feel the music eating you alive! I think Slapshock is one of the most hardcore rock bands in the country and was the perfect band to transition from the opening acts to the main acts at the Smash Project 2012!
6. The Cab
I’ve listened to The Cab since I was in high school.. which was around 8 years ago (more or less) and I already liked several of their songs. (Though I don’t remember which ones they were back then) I still listen to them every now and then and watch some of their videos via YouTube, but I never noticed how good looking their pianist/guitarist Alex Marshall was! WHEW!!!! He’s HOT!!! He usually sports a long haircut but had a different hairdo that night… it definitely did him justice as majority of the girls in the audience went gaga over him! Several of those around me kept screaming, “Oh my god, ang gwapo ni Alex!””
The band was awesome! I loved all the songs they played especially Vegas Skies. They also performed songs such as Take my Hand, Lala and a snippet of Intoxicated. One of the coolest thing they did was when they performed the song Bounce! There was a drum solo at the beginning and everyone was in for a shock when water splashed from the drums as the band’s touring member Dave Briggs played the solo! Super cool!
Alexander also had a way to the Filipinas especially after he said, “I’m going to marry a girl from the Philippines!” The crowd went WILD!
7. Cobra Starship
Can anyone spell F-U-N? The group Cobra Starship has got to have the most fun performance out of all the group that went on stage during the concert! They were really just playing and having the time of their life on stage. I loved Gabe’s funky dance moves and hand gestures for every song and every beat made! They sang songs like Kiss my Sass, You Make Me Feel Like, and Good Girls Go Bad!
My feet were getting really tired by now but I still tried to jump and danced to the beat. Cobra Starship really knows how to give a damn performance! Gabe and Victoria were also very playful and flirty on stage, another plus for their performance.
Sidenote: Gabe’s pants got ripped after he sang his first song. The tear was near the crotch area and as soon as he noticed it, he immediately pointed it out the audience saying, “My pants got broken, but I don’t give a shit!” Also claiming that i f he were the president of the Philippines, his first order of business is that everyone would need to tear of their pants everyday! haha woohoo! He used the same reference to introduce the song Good Girls Go Bad saying something like, “my pants got broken because of the bad girls out there, you tore my pants with your minds.” haha Loved it!
8. Dashboard Confessional
When Chris Carrabba came out all by himself, I thought his band would suddenly surprise everyone with a grand entrance. To my surprise, he was serious when he said he’d need everyone’s help because he was all alone. Aww… I was really sad because I super loved Dashboard Confessional, and they’re actually the reason I wanted to watch the concert. Still, Chris was able to do one helluva show! Having his 2 guitars and nothing else but his beautiful voice.. (and face), he rocked the night away!
From the beginning of his performance, I was already waiting with excitement for him to sing the song HANDS DOWN. This is one of my favorite DC songs and I really really wished he’d sing it! He started off with several songs like, As Lovers Go, Vindicated, Screaming Infidelities, Again I Go Unnoticed and many more! Finally, he ended his set with my most awaited HANDS DOWN! YEah boy!
Though he was alone, I have to say, he was the one performer who was able to gain the most audience impact among all those at the Smash Project! People on the VIP stands all the way to those in the lower box were all standing and singing along! The best part was when he would just stand quietly and listen to the audience sing, and even said, “Can we do that one more time? Your voices are just so beautiful to hear.” Waaaahhh!! Fangirl moment!
9. The Used
Lastly, The Used came up on stage and immediately started their set with some hardcore rock! Several fans up front moved back a bit while those who were bigger fans of The Used rushed forward! A moshpit was on the way! Crazyyyy!!! A rock concert just wouldn’t be complete without it right?
It’s the band’s first time in Manila, and what a way to show how hardcore they are then through the Smash Project!
Well unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery after I used it’s dying breath to take a video of Chris Carrabba.. (my only video of the night). So I used my cellphone to take the pictures above instead.
I wasn’t able to finish the performance ‘coz it was getting pretty late but I heard Chris Carrabba joined The Used for a final number! DAMN!!! I wished I saw that!!! Oh well, I still had A LOT of fun tonight!!! Hope to see all these bands together in another ROCKING concert again!!
SMASH PROJECT LIVE IN MANILA!
Special thanks to Dayly entertainment for bringing them here!!! There should be more concerts in Manila like The Smash Project!!! Check out their Facebook page or website for updates on future concerts.. I heard LMFAO and Lifehouse are coming soon… I’m already excited!
