Mayday Parade, an American rock band based from Tallahassee, California, performed at the SM Sea Side Sky Hall last October 29, 2023 during their second leg of a three legged tour to the Philippines singing their iconic songs.
Last October 29, 2023, I attended my first ever concert. I’ve bought this ticket all the way back in May, the moment the tickets have become available – although the event didn’t really sold out of tickets. But that’s alright. Nonetheless, it was a novel experience for me.
The concert I attended was that of Mayday Parade. A band that has quite grown on me since 2019 when it was first introduced to me. Prior to the concert, I joined some online chat groups of concertgoers in Cebu. For someone who wasn’t that big of a fan at that time, I was the only one with a VVIP ticket.
Lines started forming as early as 2:30PM. It was quite intimidating to be in a crowd of diehard fans that were all perked up with merchandise. Either song titles or song lyrics or just some simple Mayday Parade is an Emotion shirt.
While at the concert, I was keeping tabs with my dearest Indian friend, asking for tidbits on how to behave and how to enjoy a concert properly – I am a first timer after all. He said, I should just vibe with the emotions. And with the emotions and the mood of the crowd, I vibed. During the soundcheck which was available to VVIP ticketholders, it couldn’t have been a more emotional opener for me than I Swear This Time I Mean It. And from then on, I just set free and sang along with the crowd.
Here’s a quick look at the entire Set from their Manila-Cebu-Davao tour.
I have always been a fan of punk rock music and I have genuinely enjoyed listening and have been a fan of Mayday Parade myself… but it’s really something different if you get to listen to a band like them perform live.
Derek’s energy is contagious and his energy is on another level for sure. Aside from the great music there, I’ve also made some great friends. Though I don’t really seem to remember their names anymore, except for their codenames that are displayed in our Telegram group.
While Mayday Parade didn’t draw a crowd like other artists would (in Manila) it was very much appreciated as I didn’t have too much hassle heading back to my dearest Molave Suites. I am definitely looking forward to attending more concerts in the future, whether it be in Manila, Cebu, or back here in Davao, since I have just recently returned to my lonesome home at the Germansion. More on that in another post.
On another note, while rather expensive, I decided to take home something from the concert in the
form of a Mayday Parade hoodie. So that next time, I won’t be merch-less joining the Mayday Parade army at their next concert. The hoodie, in the short time that it has been with me, also turned out to become a signature apparel of mine as few people have noticed. :p
For those interested, here’s a YouTube video of the entire concert as well.
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