Explosions in the Sky Live in Manila

from Manila Concert Scene blog

I went to the concert of Explosions in the Sky last Wednesday night at Samsung Hall in SM Aura. I didn't expect Samsung Hall to be so small! but at least it has a nice sound system perfect for EITS that makes up for its size. It's also quite saddening that EITS weren't able to fill the standing area of the scene despite it being small. PR!! But oh well...

I've been a fan of the band, I think ever since I was in college and never would have thought in a million years that I'd be able to see them in person, or hear them play live for that matter. That's why I went berserk when Anne, my office mate (who's also a fan of the band) texted me that EITS is going in Manila.

Explosions in the Sky live is almost identical with their studio recordings but what's more amazing is that I see them create the sounds I used to only listen in my iPhone, sounds that I thought was impossible to produce by real instruments. They're incredibly talented in music.

Also, prior to seeing them, I thought that the concert would be peaceful and calm, but it's actually the other way around, it's very affecting, gripping and an exhilarating experience overall. I found myself head banging to their beat several times throughout the concert.

EITS have the ability to swallow their crowd into a new dimension of magic. That's what their songs do to people. They create a story through their instruments, instead of words and we were all absorbed by it. And they're very passionate with music, you can tell by how graceful they use their instruments.

From the beginning, when one of them (Munaf) talked to the crowd in Filipino (with superb Filipino accent btw).

"Magandang Gabi"

"Salamat po *gibberish*"

*crowd laughed*

"Kami po ang Explosions in the Sky"

...and to my surprise, they played First Breath After Coma, which is a song they didn't perform in Hongkong, a few days before their concert here in Manila. And from this song to end, all I heard was pure music. They never stopped playing and they never said any word throughout their concert. Pretty impressive because they sounded so clean and the progression was neat.

Anyway, EITS concert is one for the books. They're very unique that I don't think I will attend any concert like it anytime in the near future.

Here's their Manila setlist:

First Breath After Coma

Catastrophe and the Cure

Postcard from 1952

Greet Death

Yasmin the Light

Your Hand in Mine

The Birth and Death of the Day

Let Me Back In

The Only Moment We Were Alone

And here's a 2 minute video of my favorite: Your Hand In Mine :)

Now for some pics!