5 unforgettable moments from The Script Manila concert 2015

Paolo Abad

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5 unforgettable moments from The Script Manila concert 2015

Stephen Lavoie

'For this one song, just live in the moment, yeah?'

Photo by Stephen Lavoie/Rappler

Hailing from Dublin, The Script – made up of Danny O’Donoghue, Mark Sheehan, and Glen Power – admitted that Manila is one of the best tour stops they have ever made at their Manila concert, Friday, April 17. It was their third time around, and they even promised to be back soon. (READ: IN PHOTOS: The Script live in Manila 2015)

Here are some of the highlights from that unforgettable evening: 

‘Let’s make this place feel like our own… Tonight, we’re gonna paint the town green.’ 

Photo by Stephen Lavoie/Rappler

You can’t get any more Irish than starting the show with a parade of green flags and with the song “Paint the Town Green.” The song even has a riff that sounds like a jig, and seeing Danny prance across the stage is – in some ways – better than the familiarly Irish Riverdance. 

One can’t help but notice small details like the Irish tricolor emblazoned on the microphones, or Danny’s very conspicuous shamrock and “Irish Power” tattoo. 

 

O’Donoghue vs. Sheehan

Photo by Paolo Abad/Rappler

Everyone is excited about the upcoming Pacquiao-Mayweather fight – even the guys from The Script. 

Mark and Danny even teased the crowd with a bit of timely role-playing – Mark played Pacquiao and Danny played Mayweather. They also showed off a pair of boxing gloves, signed by Manny Pacquiao himself. The band, of course, seemed delighted.

 

Who would you pick to win by knockout? 

‘Nothing’ can spite the ex. 

Photo by Paolo Abad/Rappler

Danny asked the crowd to play a bizarre game: call the ex-girlfriend or boyfriend and hand the phone to him.

 

He asked the crowd to shush as he listened. Someone answered on the other end, and Danny said, “Hey, this is Danny from The Script!” He asked you to stay on the line, and proceeded to sing “Nothing,” with lyrics that go, “Am I better off dead? Am I better off a quitter? They say I’m better off now than I ever was with her.”

It’s hard to imagine how the person on the receiving end of the practical joke has reacted. Thrilled? Astonished? Awkward? Embarassed? It would be fun, however, to tell people around about this story.  

Huge spaces can be made to feel intimate. 

Photo by Paolo Abad/Rappler

At one point, Danny called out the bouncers for excessively hindering some audience members from having a good time. He also surprises the lower box crowd, walking among them while singing “You Won’t Feel a Thing.” A separate tiny stage stands at the back, where they play a few songs such as their hit “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved.”

Photo by Paolo Abad/Rappler

Here’s The Script performing mega hit “Breakeven”:

 

These are testament to The Script’s caliber as a live act. They have an open disposition that rewards both performers and audience. They were able to condense a huge space through their showmanship, making sure everyone enjoys the night.

Photo by Stephen Lavoie/Rappler

‘Just live in the moment’

O’Donoghue et al certainly have substantial experience in the industry. With this, the band took moments to talk with the audience to share some interesting anecdotes.

Mark warned the crowd to be mindful of the things you write or say, and for someone afraid of heights, it’s a more pressing matter.

The vivid imagery of “Man on a Wire,” has been realized as a very daunting music video. Mark talked about what happened behind the scenes, and confessed that there was no green screen involved. But they just let it happen, and it’s one for the books.

Photo by Paolo Abad/Rappler

Photo by Paolo Abad/Rappler

They also shared how fans have asked and requested them things on social media, and appreciate the virtues of this kind of interaction. However, Danny astutely observes the double-edged zeitgeist: characterized by many cultural quirks such as that impulse to incite #FOMO (fear of missing out) by constantly Instagramming or tweeting.

While hyperconnectivity has brought a lot of good, he bemoans its excesses, “There’s so many things these days. So many people spend their lives on their phone… They’re too busy.” 

He asks the crowd, that for once, to use their phones for another purpose, “Something that we’ll remember for the rest of our lives, something that we can take to heaven with us, something we won’t forget, you can’t get those things if you stay on your phone. So for this one song, just live in the moment, yeah?”

 

 

Phones lit up the arena like a galaxy. They played their hit track, “Hall of Fame,” and everyone sang in unison.

 


It was a glorious thing to behold. – Rappler.com

Paolo Abad is a film/television editor and motion graphic designer. He is also a self-confessed concert junkie. Follow his Instagram for live music @outoftunephoto

 

 

 

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Paolo Abad

Paolo Abad writes, edits, and shoots for a living. He is one of the founding partners of the online radio platform Manila Community Radio.