Gin Blossoms lands in Manila, tears down Araneta Center … no chocolate cake needed

The Gin Blossoms are back with a vengeance! They landed in Manila on November 18, 2010 to promote their latest album, “No Chocolate Cake”. My friend Jean luckily got her hands on lower box tickets courtesy of Tutti which she graciously shared with me (luv yah Jean!).

It was an electrifying evening as Robin Wilson and the gang rocked Araneta Center with 20 songs including 3 encore songs. The list included old-time favorites like Hey Jealousy and Alison Road to their latest songs like Miss Disarray and Wave Bye Bye.

Front acts included Delara (formerly Mojofly), Cookie Chua, 6 Cycle Mind (Tutti you rock), Gloc-9, and Fahrenheit 43, an Aussie band which happens to have two Pinoy members.

The acoustics were so bad in the opening acts that I was a little worried that the Gin Blossoms would sound the same. You could see the artists giving their all, but the sound was just terrible. The vocals aren’t clear and the instruments were muddy. The guitar solos did not ring as distinctly as they should.

Gin Blossoms live in Manila playing one of their latest songs from the album No Chocolate Cake entitled “Goin’ to California”

However when the Blossoms came, the sound instantly changed. Though the Araneta Center was not equipped with enough speakers to fill the entire hall, at least the audio was tuned well enough it felt like taking dirt out of your ears.

Look towards the sound control area and you will find that they actually brought their own eqipment and audio technician. Smart move on the part of the Gin Blossoms. The effort they took to sound as good as possible really showed, and it is definitely something the more audio-sensitive in the crowd would appreciate.

After the group finished playing “Hey Jealousy”, I noticed that a sizable number of the audience went on to leave the arena. They went on to play “Wave Bye Bye”, the final song of the main set.

Gin Blossoms live in Manila playing “Now” (The Plimsouls cover)

The Gins went on to play three more encore songs, including a Pinsouls cover of “Now”. The lack of reaction from the crowd reflected the unfamiliarity of the songs, which makes me think they should have ended with “Hey Jealousy” instead.

After Manila, the Gin Blossoms proceeded to Cebu for the second half of their promotional tour in the Philippines.

Gin Blossoms live in Manila playing “Hey Jealousy”