Monday, November 26, 2012

JLo Dance Again World Tour Live in Manila!

November 26, 2012

This was a most anticipated concert ever.  Jennifer Lopez, whose music career was revived when she became a judge in the last season of American Idol,  was a well-loved performer in this country, where "Let's Get Loud" is a videoke standard.  It became controversial  when the price list was released, showing probably the most expensive tickets ever sold for a local concert.  P26,000+ for Patron tickets was unprecedented.   Even the General Admission tickets were at P2500+ each.  However, despite this, those incredible P26K tickets quickly sold out, and later so did the rest of the sections.  When we decided to buy in September, there was nothing left but those at the upper and outer edges of the MOA Arena.  And they said, the Philippines was hard up financially!



When we reached our seats, there were some front acts performing, who were unknown to me.  Most of them were dance groups and singers.  I recognized Jay-R dueting with the last female singer.  This is the third time I have seen Jay-R sing front act for a foreign act at the MOA Arena (after Taylor Dayne and the NKOTBSB concerts).  Is he now the Front Act King?

The concert proper started at 9 pm.  There seemed to be a theme of Hollywood-glamour, with her dancers in white fur stoles and top hats and canes.  When she ripped off her white gown, J Lo was wearing a sparkly nude catsuit.as she went into her first song, "Get Right".  After that, she sang "My Love Don't Cost a Thing." (VIDEO) Her local fans were all singing along in that song.  After that was another new song, "I'm Into You," followed by another Filipino fan favorite, "Waiting for Tonight" where J Lo was performing on a moving white stage, which was being pushed around on the stage.


The second set was prefaced by a boxing ring with dancers boxing onstage.  J Lo then stepped into the ring and sang "Goin' In."  (VIDEO) At this point, the people in the P26K area dared to approach the stage already.  J Lo was very generous in reaching out to them and shaking their hands.  I am sure everyone there is getting their money's worth!  She then spoke about her origins from the Bronx, which led to a medley of her songs with rappers, such as "I'm Real" and "Ain't It Funny."  The last song of the medley sounded like "Jenny On the Block" but I could not hear it very well.

In the next section, her male dancers were all wearing glittery blue suits.  When J Lo came out, she was wearing a snazzy blue outfit herself.  The songs in this set were funky, I was not familiar with any of them, but her dancing was really amazing to watch.


The next set was introduced by slow music, so we were expecting her to sing a ballad as she entered in a glamorous flowing green gown (not the one she wore with David Duchovny in that MTV Awards Show).  She sat down beside her guitarist and started to sing a slowed-down acoustic version of her first hit song, "If You Had My Love"  (VIDEO). The audience of course was loudly singing along.  J L decided to stop and call a woman from the audience to sing along with her!  This lucky woman (I hardly though she was young) not only sang with J Lo, but also got to bear hug her for a long time.  She had certainly gotten more than her P26K worth!  After this, as video of her twins played, J Lo sang another ballad "Until It Beats No More."

The next section had J Lo playing the bongo drums at the top of the stairs.  When she stops and dances down the stairs, we hear the recognizable tune of "Let's Get Loud!" (VIDEO)  Of course, everyone was standing up, dancing and singing along!  Toward the end of this song, J Lo was covered by her dancers with big red feather fans.  After a few moments, she burst out from under the fans wearing a fiery red dress and continued her hot dance with her new hotter costume. After that number, she stayed on stage to talk to the audience, nothing of which I understood.  She was given a Philippine flag by someone, and she drapes it around her and takes pictures with it.  I do not know if a conservative nationalist would take offense at this action.


J Lo then sang "Papi" (VIDEO).  This was then followed by a dramatic introduction to the hit that signaled her rebirth into pop world superstardom, "On the Floor." (VIDEO)  At the end of this upbeat song where again everyone was on their feet dancing and jumping, J Lo bade her goodbyes and left the stage.  We knew it was not over yet of course.  The lights did not come back on yet as the audience clamored for more.   A video with quotes about love began on the screens.  Then finally, J Lo appears onscreen and utters the words, "Dance Again." (VIDEO) The audience then got up on their feet and sang and danced along to this most infectious hit song.  When a huge fountain of silver confetti exploded around the stage at the end of this song, we knew this was already truly the end of the show, and it was.

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It was obvious from the start that, as expected, this show is more about the dancing and performing, rather than the singing.  J Lo is truly a fantastic performer as she really gives it her all throughout her show.  She can connect to the audience and she seemed genuinely friendly.  Watching her shake her famous bootie in the flesh (so to speak) is certainly a surreal experience.


I also made the conclusion tonight that the acoustics of the MOA Arena really leaves a lot to be desired. My companions and I could barely make out anything anyone onstage was saying.  Even the lyrics of J Lo's songs are unrecognizable and we merely relied on the tune to identify the songs.  For the MOA Arena, I had been in the Patron area for the Taylor Dayne concert, Upper Box in the NKOTBSB concert, and Lower Box in the Icons concert, and now Gen Ad for this J Lo concert, the sound was not really perfect in ANY section.  I would say so far, it was when I was at the Lower Box that I had heard the best sound quality.


27 comments:

  1. thank you for that wonderful review,i envy all of you who were able to be with her....i also thought the same regarding the acoustics of the arena,i think araneta coliseum is still the best for these concerts...again thanks for uploading the videos and for the review,it's as if i was there dancing and singing with all of you

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  2. I've heard about how bad MOA's acoustics. For the ticket prices, they should've made some improvements. Not a fan of Jlo though. But it looks like it was all worth it, sans the acoustic problem.

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  3. Thanks for the review

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  4. JLO is a great performer, hands down. Arena acoustics last night at the vertigo section was completely horrible. Gaga last May was better, considering we watched twice from the moshpit and the vertigo section and everything was completely audible and understandable.

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  5. My friend also watched JLo's concert and she was raving about how great the concert was. I guess the MOA Arena is a work in progress when it comes to acoustics but I'm sure it's gonna catch up real soon.

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  6. Kylie Minogue's concert for me is still the best concert ever.

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  7. Oh I watched the JLo concert here in Dubai and it was awesome, for me at least. We have a tough crowd here. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more in Manila.

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  8. J.Lo made around 3 million last night, the reports say. If only these were given to the less fortunate brothers and sisters...I have nothing against J.Lo or any foreign singers, but I just wish Pinoys would spend their money wisely. It's better to spend 26K by donating to charitable institutions than spend it in one whole night seeing J.Lo in flesh...

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  9. That Concert Ticket was really expensive! But hey if you can buy that ticket for a concert and really a big fan of J.Lo why not, right. Too bad you we're able to enjoy the music! but hey at least you we're there to see J.Lo perform.

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  10. wow! ur so lucky you were able to watch the concert.. i was surprised when told that the vip tickets were the first ones to get sold out..26k for a concert? i'd just save it up haha :)

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  11. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING!!!

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  12. But where is the DANCE AGAIN video?????hehe..demanding?!

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    1. Posted already my Dance Again video as requested! I did not think of posting it at first because it is rather shaky as I could not help dancing along to its catchy beat. Haha!

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  13. It looks like you're having your rounds at the concert scene to seeing the number of big name concerts you've been to.

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  14. Wow! I've heard from those in the VIP section that the concert was really great and the performance was awesome... well I guess it depends on where the audiences are seated right? Well I wouldn't spend 26k to watch a concert - I'll just spend a very small fraction of that amount to buy the Live concert DVD that will probably come out 3 or 6 months after hehe.

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  15. So really inggit you have that opportunity to watch JLo live. She is a family favorite eversince lalo n when she become judge in American Idol.

    Anyways, thanks for sharing.

    Jinkee Umali

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  16. Very nice experience, 26k? hmmm... I guess it's cheaper than going to the US and watch her perform, lol... but for me, I'd rather spend it for more important things coz I'm not richy-rich :)

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  17. 26K for a tix??Oh..can't really afford such price. Pero, in case siguro that I got much, baka I would CONSIDER spending it on a night like this. Who wouldn't want to see Jlo in the flesh, ayt? :) It's not everyday you get to see Jlo dance live. :) IMHO

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  18. Glad you enjoyed it - and more than Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago at least, hehe. Still, pretty pricey for a concert - thanks for sharing the experience.

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  19. thank you for sharing...

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  20. Thank you so much for this! I am a JLo fan and I feel very sorry not able to watch it. If I am in Manila, I will spend some of my earnings just to see her LIVE! And I think there is nothing wrong with spending since we are working hard.

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  21. Wow! that is one experience of a lifetime. I enjoy her music too especially her RnB songs. She performed here in Dubai last week and it was a massive success as well but tickets are not pricey.

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  22. I'm not J.Lo's big fan but I like some of her songs. The concert may not be perfect but what is important is you had that unforgettable experience (that was made controversial by Sen. Miriam Santiago).

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  23. As for the dear Senator, surely she was in the 26k section with a FREE ticket. Senator was clearly more into opera and classical music. That precious ticket could've been given to a real fan. Shucks.

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  24. The famous "asset" priced at 25 million (or so I've heard)... At some point, I was thinking if I should be distracted with the thought of you dancing "Let's Get Loud" (peace bro) or of J.Lo using the flag as a drape. But I chose the latter. Although, Im not ultra-conservative about these things I just dont think the NHCP will be too happy to know that tidbit of a fact. :)

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    1. LOL! My friend watched her concert in Paris. Ironically (or maybe not), the most expensive ticket there was only 75 euro (so much less than our vaunted P26K!). Also, she also did the draping of the French flag over there. So it was not really a unique stunt she pulled here in Manila.

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