There’s an old saying “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” It seems apt to describe our collective mental state during the pandemic. More so with the fans of live events, who have been longing to get a much needed respite from a long isolation from everyone else.
The combination of loneliness and a prolonged escape using social media may have grown our attachment with certain influencers, celebrity content and in this case musical artists.
Sweet Anticipation
One band seems to have harnessed this pandemic induced anticipation from a fanbase who have spent countless hours watching their YouTube videos in their efforts to wait out this state imposed Covid house arrest.
They sold out six straight nights. Five at the SM Mall Of Asia Arena and one at the Vivo sponsored event at Solaire Hotel and Casino. Much evidence can be seen from the band’s social media pages as fans dropped comments like “I was there Day Four!” as if they’ve landed on the beach at Normandy during World War Two.
Record Turnout?
A bit of an exaggeration perhaps but there is no band in recent memory, local or foreign who probably accomplished such a rare feat in concert production history. They may have just beaten super bands like U2, Guns and Roses and Coldplay in terms of aggregate number of ticket sales when they visited the country in the last few years. The only artist who perhaps holds the record is the late great Michael Jackson, who had a 100 thousand people come to his concert in 1996.
The Gospel of Lany
The band and their Filipino fans have created such a strong bond over the years starting earnestly in 2017 when they first visited the country. Year after year until the pandemic broke, they performed to sold out shows, reaching as far as the queen city of the south, Cebu City for their last concert here in early 2020.
They are so accustomed to certain cultural traits that when asked about their favorite local food during a Q&A at Solaire last November 14, Paul and Jake easily muttered “ADOBO” as their favorite dish much to the delight of the crowd.
Feels
The definitive single that became a watershed moment for Filipino fans discovering the band on social media may have been ILYSB (I LOVE YOU SO BAD). The song, according to lead vocalist Paul Klein, endeared them to their exponentially growing fanbase.
If the high pitch shrill of the ladies at the start of ILYSB’s heart timed beat where an indication, it must have been an amplified collective sigh of relief that finally the dizzying numbers that came together in this November to Remember concert dates may have put this pandemic in the backburner for now and truly enjoyed a memorable night with family, friends and a crowd that just wanted to experience each other once again and the positive energy brought about by a huge shindig.
If only people were more concerned about being in the moment than capturing it with their phones, perhaps the experience would have been more visceral. But this is the world we live in, the dream pop FEELS of this band epitomizes a world looking for peace of mind.
As this Instagram post suggests perfectly, https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck6AmO1yvfx/
The world is a better place with Lany in it. The final leg tour dates in Manila got the long end of the stick for sure and we are better for it.
