Manilla, Philippines (Araneta Coliseum), Rescheduled to April 28, 2012 Options

[dangum]

Ed Kowalczyk (Ed K.) Thrilled to announce my first trip to ASIA! I will be performing at the Araneta Coliseum in Manila, Philipines on August 24th, 2011! Tickets onsale June, 1st. see you there! :-)



Link to tour poster.


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Edit: This date has been rescheduled to November 17, 2011 (same venue)
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Edit: This date has once again been rescheduled to an unknown date in 2012
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Edit: This date has been rescheduled to April 28, 2012
Vertical Horizon will also be performing on the same bill
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[SJN1279]

Yet another review:
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/life-...-live-in-manila

Vertical Horizon and Ed Kowalczyk Live in Manila

Written by : Paul John Caña

I had to dig out my dusty old Vertical Horizon CDs to prepare for their double-bill show with Live’s Ed Kowalczykat the Araneta Coliseum on Saturday night. Along with a few friends, I went on a long drive out to Pampanga earlier that day and blasted the band’s songs for the most part of the trip. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed their music back in college and during my early years as a young adult, trying to find my way out in the real world.

Vertical Horizon is essentially Matt Scannell. The bald frontman had formed the band in the early ‘90s with a classmate and friend, and have kept it going through the years. Best known for their alternative sound, they were at the tail end of the college rock boom during the ‘90s and early part of the new millennium. Their very first hit was “Everything You Want,” a sassy, incredibly catchy song about jealousy and the uncomfortable feeling of coveting something (or someone).

The band first came to Manila in December 2007. It was a solo headlining show and I remember the Big Dome was quite full then. Five years later, the same venue was nowhere near as packed. Fans of Vertical Horizon may have considerably thinned since the early 2000s, but I had thought the addition of Kowalczyk, who was playing his first ever show in Manila, would have been reason enough for more people to fill the seats at the Coliseum.

Still, when the lights dimmed, the audience loudly made its presence felt. Scannell and his current band mates—Steve Fekete on guitars, Ron LaVella on drums and Cedric LeMoyne on bass—started with “Save Me From Myself,” a song from their latest album Burning The Days.

The band quickly followed up with one of their biggest hits, “You’re A God.” Introducing the next song, “The Lucky One” Scannell said, “When I wrote this song, I kind of hated myself for it.” He explained that it shouldn’t be that easy to write something that just felt right. By that time, it was obvious that the band sounded just as good as they did when they first made it big years ago.

Scannell himself didn’t seem like he aged at all. He endeared himself to the crowd by reciting short Filipino phrases like “Magandang gabi sa inyong lahat” and “Gusto ba ninyo kaming bumalik?” At one point, he said he thoroughly enjoyed his meal earlier of chicken and pork adobo, to which the reply was enthusiastic screams and applause.

After a few more enthusiastically received songs from Matt and the band, it took almost 45 minutes to get the set ready for the next act. Reports of Kowalczyk performing in Manila began to circulate as early as last year, but it took the ex-vocalist of Live almost a year before finally coming to our shores.

The audience gave the frontman (also bald, like Scannell), a warm welcome when he came onstage singing the Live hit “All Over You.”

Beyond inquiries of “Are you guys alright?” directed at the crowd, Kowalczyk, who is of Polish descent, was not as chatty as the Vertical Horizon frontman. He did, however, moved more freely around the stage.

The singer also performed songs unfamiliar to all but the most hardcore fans. The 40-year-old father of three released a solo effort called Alive in 2010 soon after his less than amicable split with the other members of Live.

He finished the regular set with a new song, “Dolphins Cry,” but came back for a five-song encore.

The noisiest howls were reserved, of course, for the biggest hits of his former band: “Selling The Drama,” “Lightning Crashes and the big finale “I Alone,” when fast-aging rock fans let out their inner angst that have undoubtedly laid dormant since they were in high school and college.

Concert organizer Ovation Productions hit the nail on the head by bringing two bands that still have sizable followings here in Manila. There is much to mine from the ‘90s if they’re looking for more artists to bring to these shores. Perhaps Goo Goo Dolls next?