Sony launched a new line of headphones called the MDR with the brand ambassadors being Bamboo and Ely Buendia.
They had a promo wherein if you buy one of the headsets in the MDR line, you can get, for yourself and two other friends, tickets to the first ever silent concert in Manila called MDR: Music Deserves Respect.
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| The soundproof stage where the artists will perform. |
So the concert took place in the Rockwell Tent behind the Powerplant Mall. There was this sound proof booth in front of the tent wherein the artist will be performing.
The whole place had cocktail tables so everyone had to stand throughout the whole concert, apart from the media, VIP's and other exceptions.
Each table would have this on it wherein people can plug in their Sony headphones to be able to hear the artist in the soundproof booth. Each machine can accommodate 4 people.
If you weren't able to buy a pair of headphones, you will be loaned a pair of earphones for the concert. While the MDR headphones were amazing, the earphones they had on loan were not super great.
The time on the tickets said the concert will start at 8pm but it was half past 9pm when the guest artist started to perform.
First from the lineup was Jay Durias from Southborder.
I have the worst memory in the whole world! I cannot remember the songs he sang apart from Rainbow.
After Jay Durias was Bamboo and he came equipped with a lineup of covers, songs from his previous bands and original songs as well.
Apparently, Bamboo had no way of hearing the audience from the outside. He had to way to gauge how everything was being received so in the middle of one of his songs, he walked out of the soundproof area and went into the common area.
After Bamboo came Ely Buendia and he performed the hits of the Eraserheads. Probably my favorite part of the whole concert!
As the grand finale, both Bamboo and Ely Buendia exited the soundproof booth, we were all asked to take off our headphones and they both performed a cover of Come Together by the Beatles.
Overall, the concert was such a unique experience. With that being said, I think I still prefer the old-fashioned way of holding concerts. In the silent concert, the sound quality was impeccable because of the headphones but it was almost too good. It sounded like you were listening to a song from your phone. I still prefer hearing the raw energy that comes from the performer.
Apart from that, having this type of concert completely eliminated that little thing that performers do when they made the audience sing the chorus with them.
Despite all that, it was a great, albeit unusual, experience nonetheless.
Moving onto the place itself, I absolutely love what they did to the place.
The place felt very elegant and special which doesn't really directly connect to the music that Ely Buendia and Bamboo had but considering the interiors individually, it was gorgeous. The layout was pretty typical with an elevated area for VIPs.
I wish though that they had some chairs set up for the audience. Only a few people were given seats while the others were left to fend for themselves. I understand that chairs take up too much space but having some well-laid-out benches shouldn't really take up that much space anyway.
But my favorite part of the whole interior would be the lighting. The lighting did magical things to the place, most especially to the ceiling. It made everything soft and ethereal.
Again, it's at a disconnect with the actual performers but we're letting that slide.
This is probably the only photo I got which (kind of) shows the magicof the lighting all throughout the whole concert.
So there you go!
Manila's first ever silent concert!
