With her spectacular concert still fresh and alive in our minds, we happily share exclusive and official photos from last weekend’s LiSA – Another Great Day in Manila Concert from cosplay.ph. It was an affair to remember as LiSA performed her best hits in front of an eager and enthusiastic Filipino audience. She candidly admitted she was afraid that nobody knew about her in the Philippines, but when LiSA got to see firsthand the almost-full Samsung Hall at SM Aura, she knew she was pleasantly wrong as hundreds of fans and supporters turned up to watch her perform at her first-ever concert in Manila.
It’s not often that we get to have high-caliber Japanese performers come to the country for a concert, and yet this year we are graced with a tremendous opportunity to get up close and personal with one of the best new artists in recent times. LiSA, one of Japan’s most watched up-and-coming singers, came to the Philippines for the first time, and it was definitely an experience those in attendance won’t soon forget.
Excitement about the famous Anisong singer has been tremendous since it was first announced, with local fans either in total shock or disbelief. It reached fever pitch the day of the concert itself, with fans lining up as soon as the venue opened in the hopes of getting the best possible seats closest to the stage.
Attendees were led to their places, with almost all seats in the premier and balcony being filled. Everyone was barely holding in their excitement, waiting for their idol to finally make her appearance. When 6pm came, the host appeared and welcomed everyone, then urged the audience to call LiSA out on stage. With their impassioned voices, LiSA obliged the crowd and skipped to the center of the stage with a huge smile on her face. Addressing her fans and greeting them with Filipino phrases she had learned and asking them if they’re ready to have fun, LiSA had the audience instantly engaged in her performance.
The audience went absolutely crazy when LiSA started off right away with Crossing Field from Sword Art Online, one of her most popular songs among fans here, followed by Oath Sign from Fate/Zero, another crowd favorite. She got to perform 10 songs during the almost-hour-and-a-half concert. She never held back anything for her Filipino audience. She had some help from her guitarist, Co-K-san, who was equally eager and entertaining and was instantly popular with the crowd.
She was a solid performer: passionately singing and dancing while continuously engaging the crowd. Her voice was powerful and expressive, so much so that her feelings shine through despite the language barrier. Her talent was the real deal, and the audience knew that she was indeed worthy of the praise and adulation given to her by fans in her native Japan as well as her admirers all over the world. She had the audience shouting, screaming, singing, even dancing, with light sticks being waved all throughout. It was undoubtedly a moving experience, one that left a huge impression on everyone who got to witness her live on stage.
She said goodbye to the audience after her last song and exited the stage. The fans started chanting, almost immediately, “Encore! Encore! Encore!” After some minutes, LiSA reappeared on stage to oblige her fans, singing Crow Song from Angel Beats. That song was her last for her first Philippine concert, and although the audience wanted more, they knew it was the conclusion of this rare performance. She told everyone that she wants to go back to perform again here in the Philippines, and probably the next time around she’ll be performing with her full band.
Later after the handshake session, LiSA peeked out from behind the hall door to say her final goodbye to her fans who were faithfully waiting for even the faintest chance that she’ll show up afterwards. She did, and we got lucky to have this footage of her:
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For our first feature/article of the concert, click here.
With the good attendance at the concert, LiSA – Another Great Day in Manila was a great success, exceeding everyone’s expectations. Congratulations to the organizers who made the almost impossible happen of bringing LiSA to Manila. We earnestly hope that this will pave the way for other talented Japanese artists to consider performing in Manila. Many thanks as well to cosplay.ph for the photos and accommodating us for our coverage and for this great opportunity.
Thank you for dropping by, and do visit us again for more features here at arkadymac.com.
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