The 1975 Choc'lat Surprise

Hi there, Jhun here. ;) Okay, I admit that this post was way, wa~~~~~y past overdue. And I take all the blame for that. It's been a while since I was last inspired to write, what with all the mumbo jumbo that happened with us these past few months, it's like our worlds turned upside down up until now but somehow, after I finished watching "About Time" (which is a superbly beautiful movie by the way) I felt that this is the right moment to make up for it. And here it goes...

So we've been to a concert of a band that now holds a very special place in our hearts (and playlists, of course) and they go by the name: The 1975. Let me tell you the story first on how we got to discover, and later on love their music. 

It's during one of those moments wherein we were bombarded with lots and lots of weird stuff from the universe. (Just in case you're not aware yet, we're one of those kids who still believe in faith, trust and pixie dust! So if you have no care for these kind of things, may I remind you that you may click on the close button anytime.) 

Moving on, it started on a Friday. I was on my way to work, walking the usual streets I pass by everyday when suddenly, I saw an old man ahead of me and somehow he reminded me of my dad, whom I prefer to call "Tatay". It struck a chord in my heart and with just a short glimpse of the old man, my throat suddenly closed up and my vision started to blur. As I passed by him, a realization suddenly hit me. It's Friday. For some, it might mean that hooray! finally it's weekend. But for me, Friday was different. Because it's the day that Tatay always went to church (in Quiapo) and back when I was in college, we'd always walk together during the early hours of the morning, and share a jeepney ride to our respective destinations. It's like I get to be a little kid every Friday with my Tatay bringing me to school. So for the rest of the day, all I did was just think about him and felt that it was like he was trying to send me a message from wherever he is.

Next scene. Saturday. I met up with Rhio just to unwind and relieve ourselves of the stress from the previous week. As a way to treat ourselves, we each grabbed a cup of highly caffeinated/sugar-loaded drinks and couple of Krispy Kreme's Chocolate Iced Glazed Doughnuts (in honor of one of our favorite books, Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie). Since there were no more available table, we took all our goodies outside to the garden area and looked for a place to sit. As we went out, we saw a small set-up near the stage and when we looked closer, that's when we realized that they're selling albums for a band that I thought I wasn't familiar at first, but later on when Rhio told me of their song "Chocolate", I realized that I'd already stumbled across some of their songs on Youtube a couple of times. 

With their music playing on the background, we exchanged stories and talked about "life-stuff" and I told her about that Friday. We were both feeling anxious/agitated that time, not sure if it's because we're nearing sugar/caffeine induced coma status, but we both agreed that it could be a sign from universe. As we spent the rest of the time talking about sensible and non-sensible stuff, I kept on hearing this one slow song from their album but I just couldn't make out the lyrics. 

Soon as I got home, I brought out my laptop and researched everything I could about the band. I was ecstatic when I learned that they'll be having a mall tour for the next couple of weeks and so I messaged Rhio that we should be there. Next, I googled their history and what I found out gave me goosebumps. They got their name from a book that Matty gave to a girl. There's a dedication on the title page and it's dated "1st June The 1975". Why did it give me goosebumps? Well because, Tatay's birthday is June 1st. Strike Two.

For the home run, I looked for their songs on Youtube and listened to every single one of them until I found the only slow song in their album that I heard earlier. When I pressed play, that's when I broke down. Listen to it and I guess you can figure out why.

Some might say that it's just a string of coincidences and that I'm just reading more into it than I ought to. But I like to believe otherwise, that in truth, Tatay is still out there and he's watching out for me.

Sorry if I bored you to death with my blabberings, I just felt that I should let it all out and now I'm breathing a little bit better. Let's change the pace and on to the good stuff...;) 

*****

Finally! Last March 29, 2014 - We got to watch them live! Hoorayy! Truthfully, we did not expect that a lot of people would show up that night. And when I say alot, I mean it literallly. ALOT.

And when they came out, everyone were just screaming their hearts out (including us :P)

That moment...

...dang girl!

From beginning to end, people were just singing along to all the songs they played. We're jumping and dancing around while singing about love, sex and drugs. I know, shocking right? I wonder if some of the kids singing along with the lines of "Chocolate" and "Girls" know what they're talking about. Oh well, given with their adorable accents (we're the nine-een seven-ee-fahyv mahn-ches-tah) and ravishing looks *sawoon*, I think they could be easily forgiven. ;)

It's an awesome show and it made it totally worth it to be trampled and squished by screaming teenagers and adults alike. What made it even better was when Matty announced that they sure'd be coming back next year for a real concert. HOORAY! for that. ;)

Funny thing though, there was this one song wherein I got so overly envious of this one girl (I'm assuming it's a girl) when while performing "Menswear", Matty grabbed one of the cameras from the audience and he started to film the crowd and before returning it, he took a video-selfie and sang to it. Seriously, I was so tempted to throw my own camera at him just because of that. Oh well, I guess I'd just have to wait for my turn next year. haha! 

Here's their setlist:

After the show, we were so hyped up that it took us awhile to realize that we're so hungry and we're just running on pure adrenaline. Luckily, before we pass out and die of hunger, we were able to find ourselves a safe haven (Shomal Kebabs and Curries) to land where you can just sit yourself on a chair, be comfortable, and they'd bring you food. ;)

Unfortunately though, because we were so drained out, we were not able to take pictures of the food anymore. Just trust us on this one, it was extremely awesome and fulfilling. :D

P.S. another unfortunate event also, Mr, Raymond Marasigan was also there in the restaurant seated near us! But he's having dinner with his family so we just decided to leave him be and I just stole a glance before we went out. Gaaaah! If only I had the guts to disturb him and ask for an autograph. Oh well, as they say, you can never have it all...

Cheers! Here's to our next adventure. ;)