For the First Time

I am no hardcore, head-banging, heavy metal fanatic, nor will you ever find me at a "battle of the bands" anywhere here. I am privy to watching energy-fueling, party-pumping performers who belt it out and dance at the same time; when Beyonce came to the Philippines, I was on the fifth row, standing on a chair, and dancing and singing to her songs to my heart's content. But when I found out that The Script was coming to Manila, I just had to catch their performance.

With their songs' content based on mostly heartbreak and waiting for a lover, typical "emo" mantras of endless complaining are not what the Script is all about. Their songs are incredibly meaningful, heartfelt, and full of longing. It is definitely difficult to fully understand their diction (for these four, very gorgeous men hail from Ireland), but once you've decoded all the slurring, the words hit your heart hard, like a ton of bricks.

Luckily, my boyfriend is just as big a fan (if not, a bigger fan) as I am, and he generously scored us unbelievably close-to-the-stage patron tickets. The Script, if anything, sounds wonderful on iTunes, but are impeccable LIVE. For every song that they sang, even the ones I wasn't too familiar with, goosebumps crawled up my arms and the back of my neck and left me in wonder. The band seemed incredibly grateful and in awe of the crowd, as if they had no idea that they even had a fan base in Manila. The crowd was amazing! After such hits as "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" and "Nothing", the band would have to stop and wait for the applause to die down. Their faces were classic, and I was extremely overwhelmed that such a big part of the international music scene was grateful for the applause of a somewhat-unknown country.

The concert was definitely worthwhile. I wish I had taken more time to listen to their newer album, though. Nevertheless, I enjoyed myself. Seeing the look on my boyfriend's face (since it was his first concert -- ever) was priceless. And when the band played the first few notes of "Breakeven", the crowd went wild. I, myself, was jumping up and down in my seat and screaming my lungs out.

More on The Script:

'We're smiling but we're close to tears

Even after all these years

We just now got the feeling that we're meeting

For the first time'

'For the First Time' - The Script