How far will you go for your favorite band?
Your answer to that question wont matter. I bet you a ticket for the next Incubus Live in Manila concert. When you find yourself in the situation that question wont even cross your mind.
It is safe to say that Incubus is one of my top one favorite bands, along with Nirvana and The Beatles (both stand no chance of touring). I grew up along with their sound. When they were nu metal, I loved loud music. When they were funk, I was tasting other kinds of music. When they were singing about positivity I was trying to make myself. Their songs are a huge part of my existential evolution.
I first heard about their If Not Now, When? tour from a friend. Without confirming it on their website, I am already set to attend.
The first and the major bump on the road is the road itself. Iloilo City is a fourty five minute plane ride away from Manila. I was jobless and of course pennyless too. We have to book a hotel room and we cant just starve in a city so overwhelmingly different from home. Despite all of these, the journey to the Incubus concert is definitely going to happen. Even Rapture has to be rescheduled to make way for us.
By the end of April we already have an iterinary. It took us three months of preparation. We even had to upgrade tickets since General Admission were already sold out just three weeks after availability.
My boring days are suddenly filled with excitement. Every time I hear an Incubus song, I imagine myself jumping along to the Araneta Colliseum crowd. I was seeing the sun that was invisible to others.
Two days before the concert, the weather was evil. We were expected to land in Manila along with a superstorm. Think fiction movies with plane slicing a dark sky, cruising past the lightning and dancing along to thunders. It is almost like suicide. But the airline thinks they are angels, so they rescheduled the flight, an hour before the concert.
We have to gamble and hope for the best. The adrenaline rush has killed my humanly fears. Plus, I have discovered the secret to flying during a bad weather, meditation.
It was a huge, “If Not Now, When?” moment.
We were able to land safely in Manila but we have to travel an hour to get to the venue. We took the fastest route, but halfway thru the ride the train went to a halt because of power outage. Our next option was a taxi ride, the problem is we dont know where the nearest taxi bay is. We were running late, badly. I could wish on a star, but there was none on the building covered sky. I was already frustrated and ready to give up.
It was the most heart breaking taxi ride I have ever experienced. The what ifs in my mind were frustrating. It was like the universe conspired against us.
When we arrived at the Araneta Colliseum, the crowd was more of screaming than singing. I saw Brandon Boyd, Mike Einzinger, Ben Kenny, DJ Killmore and Jose Pasillas on the stage. Suddenly, the hardships evaporated.
Brandon vowed and kneeled at the end, it was as if he knew what we just went through.
