A Day of Serenades

I was so excited when I found out that Secondhand Serenade was coming to Manila. Kat introduced me to his (Secondhand Serenade is a one-man act consisting of John Veseley) music a year ago, and I've been hooked since! His music is called acoustic emo, and I really feel his songs. After a year of listening to his album, it's still one of my daily must-listens. He writes all of his songs, and I find that really impressive. His songs were serenades for his wife (who he's unfortunately no longer with), and everybody else gets to hear them secondhand, hence the name =)

Anyway, he had his concert at Greenbelt, and since the tickets were for free I had to make sure I got to snag some. I went to the Boys Like Girls mall concert last year, and though I got to the mall 15 minutes after the mall opened, there were already over 250 people in line so I didn't get any ticket. This time, I got to the mall two hours before the concierge arrived (haha), and sure enough I got to secure some tickets. The crowd? Not many of the pre-teens and high school kids. Most were in their 20s to 40s (maybe?).

The concert was in the evening, but I just opted to wait in the mall, as going back and forth from home to the mall would be too much of a hassle. It was very hot, but I still braved the heat and hung out outside in hopes of catching a glimpse of John Veseley during the sound check. Well, my tolerance of the heat paid off, as I got an eyefull and earful of him during the sound check. He sang one-and-a-half songs, whereas most music acts would sing only a few lines during the sound check.

The show was really good as expected. Great vocals, and I loved it that I could understand every word he was singing. He sang everything acoustic, and it was just him singing and playing the guitar or keyboard on stage. He did mention wanting to come back here with a full band, and I sure hope he does! Will definitely watch out for that! By the way, did I say he was really cute, too? ;)

John was such a sweetheart. He seemed like a really nice guy -- very charming and quite funny. He kept saying he really liked performing here. He must've been awed by the audience's response. He didn't seem to wanna leave, too, as he kept making adjustments to make his stay longer (aww..). like performing an extra song and bending the rules a bit with the autograph signing to accommodate more people.

He was really sweet. He was very huggy with the fans. Of course, I got a hug, too (woot!) and an autograph (woot!). Unfortunately, my camera had died by then. It was also unfortunate that one of my contact lenses popped out when he hugged me, so the second half of the meeting was literally a blur...darn!

I wonder when I'll stop being music crazy. Music is the one addiction I can't get out of my system. Will I still be going to concerts ten years from now? Hmm...

Well, I really had a lot of fun. Though I no longer felt as giggly as before (hmm, getting old? lol), I did enjoy screaming and singing along to the songs. The experience was surreal, and I know it'll be a few days before it sinks in.

What an awesome day, though! =)

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Random Thoughts:

• I hope Paramore or The Fray comes next.


• Can't wait for the David Cook-David Archuleta concert on May 16!

Easy ways for musucicians to cash in:

• Release a regular album.


• Release a deluxe version of the same allbum a few months later. The only difference is that a few new tracks are added.


• Release a CD/DVD version of still the same album, but with concert footage in the DVD.


• Come out with a greatest hits album that includes the songs in the previously released album that had a deluxe and CD/DVD version.

Seems all so redundant to me, but fans buy them anyway. I know I do! LOL...