IT DOESN’T hurt to want to invest on experiences and on moments however fleeting they may be. Generally, millennials are often tagged as the generation that invests on experiences more than financial and practical investments that our parents and the older generation might be convincing us about.
I believe it is always worthwhile to treat yourself, not necessarily of tangible things, but of experiences and moments worth coming back to again and again.
When I learned that the American electronic music band Lany is coming back to the Philippines on April 5 to 6, I started looking for means to be able to go to the concert. I remembered thinking that it is going to be a crazy idea – I had to book plane tickets, concert tickets, and I have to make sure I have a place to stay for two nights.
Naturally, the concert tickets were already sold out immediately after the announcement and so I tried looking for those who are selling their bought tickets through Twitter or Facebook but to no avail.
They were selling General Admission tickets and I wanted to have a closer view of the stage. This is going to be the first time I am spending money and time on a concert by an international artist and I wanted my first time to be the best.
I was losing hope until roughly two weeks before the concert, TicketNet reopened ticket-selling online and I quickly reserved for myself.
But even then, a lot of hindrances came including expiration of my booked plane ticket which made the price a little bit more expensive by the second time I booked. And this is only just a few days before the flight.
This among all the other hindrances somehow made me believe that the Lany concert is really, really difficult to get. But I wanted to push through with it no matter what. And so I did.
The moment my friend, Julie, and I stepped out of the taxi in front of Smart Araneta Coliseum, the speakers outside the venue was blaring with popular Lany songs and I kept repeating “OMG! This is it! This is it!” Imagine all the weeks of wishing and working out all means just to get to that particular moment.
After perhaps 30 minutes to an hour of waiting on our seats, the entire venue dimmed, the fans screamed in excitement, and then flashes of light exploded all at once to signal the start of the concert. It was beautiful and breathtaking.
No other tangible things and practical investments can equal to that momentous time when everyone in the crowd is singing the songs altogether, their lighted phones raised – creating an illusion of sea of lights that spilled out from the stage and even up the bleachers.
In a concert, you are allowed to sing as loud as you can. You don’t need to reach for the notes. You don’t need to be ashamed. I sang my heart out and it was the best.
We were seated just directly in front of the stage and I was already satisfied with that. But after a few songs, the lights dimmed once again save for the phone lights. The crowd was silent, anticipating the come back on stage of vocalist Paul Klein, guitarist Les Priest, and drummer Jake Goss. From a very silent crowd, there were screaming.
The lights turned on once again and there were the three artists much nearer to us now – and performed on the makeshift stage just in front of the sound booth. We were seated just behind the sound booth! They sang 13, one of my favorite songs, on that stage. It was worth everything.
Lany, stands for Los Angeles New York, and was formed in 2014. Among their popular songs include ILYSB, Pink Skies, So Far, Hericane, and Hurts.
I went back to Davao City with a few thousands of pesos chopped off from my savings but I learned that when you decide to go for something that will enrich your soul, it only gets better from there.