the ulitmate Sarah experience

our NY trip's highlight is, of course, yung concert ni sarah. sad to say, but Ka Noni didn't deliver as i expected. or siguro hindi pa kasi namin sya kabisado? we took lots of pics, but most of the concert pics came out blurred. we've tried different settings, but sarah was so dynamic on stage that it's hard to capture her in a frame, unless she's singing a ballad. sisihin daw ba si sarah. hehehe! we should've brought a tripod, or i should've gotten an SLR. =P

btw, this is going to be a looong post. so grab a popcorn tub, a beer, and prop up your feet on a chair. =P

nov. 19, we arrived at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ around 3pm. concert starts at 4pm, or so the ticket said. the show actually started around 5pm na ata. the main floor level of the venue was packed, pero yung sa balcony, hindi napuno. ibig sabihin ba non hindi tinitipid ng mga fans si sarah? kasi willing gumastos eh! ;-) it was the same repertoire katulad ng mga nabasa ko about her previous The Other Side of Sarah concerts. i don't think it would matter if i list the repertoire here or not. so yung mga side comments na lang ikukuwento ko...

for her third song, kumanta si sarah ng "Sa Iyo", an original, upbeat, teeny-bopper song. then she started heading towards the right side of the stage (facing the audience). dun sa area na yon kami nakaupo. nasa first row kami, at katapat ng seat ko yung landing ng stairs. so when she started heading towards the stairs, sabi ko, pagkakataon ko na to! umiwas pa sya sa mga cables na medyo nakalawit bago sya nakarating sa steps. she headed down, and i was shouting the life out of me. "saraaaaah!!" hahaha! =P

as soon as she stepped on the landing, i felt a sudden rush. CARPE DIEM!!! shempre, mega-sugod ako kay sarah bago pa sya makahakbang palapit sa amin! hahaha! sinalubong ko sya, sabay kiss sa left cheek nya! *LOL* if i remember it right, she leaned forward a little, parang welcoming the kiss pa nga eh. grabeeee!!!! nakakatuwa! anlambot-lambot ng cheeks nya! ambango-bango pa! tapos medyo nakahawak ako sa shoulders ata yon or likod nya, lambot-lambot at medyo powdery sya. siguro dahil sa makeup kaya powdery? ngayon ko lang naisip, nakakahiya kay sarah kasi nanglalamig kamay ko non! ninenerbiyos kasi ako eh! pero naunahan ako ng kapal ng mukha, kaya ako ang unang sumugod sa kanya. :p ako ang unang nakakiss sa kanya! hahaha! after ng aking kakapalan, may mga tumayo na rin at lumapit sa kanya.

bago pa nakalapit yung iba, tumabi ako kay sarah para magpa-video or picture. itong si hubby je, nagulat ata sa ginawa ko, kasi natameme lang sya sa amin at nataranta sa pagkuha ng pic!! wala tuloy akong kuha! *sayang talagaaaaa!!! ungh!* usapan kasi namin, pictures pag nasa stage si sarah, pero pag malalapitan ko, video na. kasi makakapag-capture frame naman ako sa video eh. nataranta si mister, he was in photo mode at zoomed in nung bumaba si sarah, so ni-zoom out nya pa para kasama ako. pero naka-auto yung setting nya, so nag-a-adjust pa yung lenses and all that dahil may spotlight. ayaw mag-click! demmit talaga! *ungh ulet* he finally got the camera on video mode, pero siguro 1 second lang yung shot ko na katabi ko si sarah, tapos umalis na ko kasi merong lola at bata na magpapapicture din. hindi ko naman kasi alam na all those times na nakatutok sa amin ni sarah yung cam, hindi naman pala nagrerecord si mister. medyo matagal ko syang katabi, kaya tinablan na rin ako ng hiya. di naman kasi nagsalita itong si alfredo na wala palang nangyayari behind the lenses! =P

dapat pala nagpaka-selfish ako at tumabi pa ng mas matagal kay sarah para may mas matagal na video naman ako. hehehe! pero oki lang, it's the experience that counts. ;-) grabe talaga!

at hindi man lang ako nakapag-thank you sa kanya sa pagpapa-unlak ng kiss at video clip! ni hindi ko nga nasabi yung matagal ko nang gustong sabihin sa kanya eh, na "ang galing galing mo, i'm a big fan!" *LOL* tagal kong pinagisipan yung sasabihin ko na yon ha, pero nung nakita ko na sya, wala na kong ibang nagawa kundi kumiss at bumungisngis sa tabi nya. hahahah!! oh my goodness, i'm in for a long period of teasing and humiliation here. hahaha! anyways, i was so star struck talaga! when i got back to my seat, ang bilis ng heartbeat ko! i was just staring at her habang nagpapapicture yung ibang fans.

her performance was astounding. may mga times na nakatunganga lang ako sa kanya, hehe! si hubby je ang kumuha ng pics, kasi gusto nyang ma-enjoy ko every moment nung concert without worrying about the pics eh. so talagang nakapako lang tingin ko kay sarah everytime she's on stage. she's sooo beautiful! she's a little taller than i am, maybe because of her shoes? we're probably the same height lang. she's such a great performer! i can't think of words to describe her and her talents. je even commented, "magaling pala syang sumayaw" when she did the Beyonce moves and the Michael Jackson medley. ang galing nya mag-moonwalk ha. and she's so pumped up sa mga dance sequence nya. something that's hard to keep up kung mag-isa ka lang nagsasayaw sa stage. anyways, i feel proud as a fan, feeling ko anak ko yung pinupuri tuwing may nagsasabi ng "ang galing nya!!" hehehe!

she really wowed everyone that night. there were like 3 standing ovations, pero hindi full house. meron pa rin mga nakaupo. it's fascinating na sobrang diverse ng fan base nya dito sa US. merong bata, lola, lolo, yuppies na boys en gerls, mga teeners, mga mid-life crisis sufferers, meron pa ngang sanggol eh (my cousin, na sinama namin kasi walang magbabantay, hehehe!) meron din mga non-pinoy. napansin ko lang na mas tumayo pa sa standing ovation yung ilang puti kesa sa ilang mga pinoy. oh well. kanya-kanya lang yan.

whenever sarah walks over to our area, i keep waving my arms frantically. shempre most of the time, she waves back. hehehe! there were some young ladies behind us na sobrang kukulet! so talagang enjoy kami kasi walang KJ dun sa area namin. sigawan nang sigawan! i had a great time talaga!

yung tita ko naman, hinarass si mark bautista. sya naman ang unang kumiss dun kay mark. pareho kaming buena mano kina mark at sarah. hahaha! sabi ng tito ebet ko, nagugulat daw sya sa mga unang lumalapit dun sa mga artista, then he realized na kami pala ni tita charry yon. hahaha! =P sulit ang VIP tickets! sakto lang yung seats namin, tapat ng stairs ng stage!

the concert ended after 2 hours. there was an autograph signing afterwards, pero since gagabihin na kami masyado, pinakiusap na lang ni tita charry dun sa kakilala nyang may pass na ipa-autograph yung cd ko. i would've preferred na personally magpa-autograph, after all, that's the essence of lining up and waiting for your turn di ba? pero sa haba ng pila, aabutin siguro kami ng 2 hours don. there will be other chances. =)

grabe, i'm more into sarah na ngayon! ang galing nya magperform live, wala akong masabi talaga! parang hindi 18 year old yung kumakanta. i haven't seen an artist with so much stage presence, so much passion in her craft, so much power in her voice, and so much humor. tagos sa buto yung pagkanta nya. and her diction is perfect. hindi nya kinakain yung words nya, and i would say nag-improve na yung breathing nya pag kumakanta sya at sumasayaw at the same time. she's also so goofy, and like a child at play, sa mga spiels nya. yung mga hirit nya, pambata pa talaga eh, it's like listening to my bro or my cousin lei pull a joke from thin air. she's not afraid to make fun of herself to solicit a laughter from the audience. hehe!

i'm a certified sarah fanatic. self confessed. no doubt. and in 2 words... die-hard. ;-P