So, this has been sitting on my drafts for a while now, and I think it's about time to post this stuff. Plus, it's been more than a month since my encounter with this gorgeous lady! Good music and great times, I must say.
I got my pass by chance. It was a random evening when our managing editor posted out of nowhere on who wanted tickets for the show, and I automatically raised my hand (or replied to the tweet, obviously). I've always liked Christina Perri since I came across her Lovestrong album a couple of years back, and I could totally say that seeing her live was nothing but a pleasure. Although most people know her from belting Twilight's most romantic song, "A Thousand Years" or the more emotional "Human", Christina has actually a lot more to offer to fans and music lovers.
If there is one thing that Christina Perri proved, it would be the fact that concerts can be minimalist but would still create a huge impact to its audience. She performed with much vigor, accompanying her upbeat tunes with faux-ballerina poses and dance moves. She needed nothing more but a keyboard, a couple of back up singers, guitar players, and her superb vocals to pull it off. I honestly expected nothing much from the concert, except for some emotional songs that may or may not break me into tears. Nonetheless, she exceeded my expectations.
Aside from seeing her perform live, I also had the chance to take the photos during the first three songs for the WheninManila article. It was my first time to actually cover an event, although I've had my share of taking photos during Jessie J's performance in Araneta Colosseum early last year (a gig where I attended with fellow blogger and WIM contributor, Anna). I'm currently using an amateur Canon camera that I got back in 2010, and I just borrowed a 70-300mm. lens from a friend. It was hard to shoot because the lens that I borrowed doesn't have any image stabilizer (kinda technical, but let's just say that it doesn't have that ~shock proof~ thingamajig that would help you to take sharper images), plus the stage doesn't have a "pit" of sorts. The area where we had to shoot was filled with VIPs, and they were almost always shooing us for blocking their views (we're really sorry).
Anyway, the shoot went pretty chaotic at first. During the first song, I was armed with the 70-300mm lens and I can't get a thing. Aside from the fact that the VIPs were always poking our backs and asking us to adjust, I think the nerves has gotten into me, leaving me with a bunch of blurred photos. After a solid 15 seconds of failure, I decided to switch on my kit lens, hurriedly put it together, and tried shooting again. It was no better, so I decided to get back to the original zoom lens and do whatever it takes to take decent photos. Fortunately for me, I got that to work after a couple of tries.
After much fumbling, panicking, and crouching, I was able to get a good couple of shots for the article, plus a couple more for my personal collection. It has always been a dream to take photos on concerts, and I can imagine myself ending up with those killer lenses and high caliber cameras in the near future (or not), so covering the event was pretty much exhilarating.
So, as a tribute to my Christina Perri experience, I've decided to come up with a quick list of my favorite songs from her album. I swear, she performs way better live, and some of the more "solemn" songs felt more alive when you see her swing her hips and smile in between.
