Highlights of my P1,500-worth Josh Groban Concert Experience

- P1,500 is cheap if you know that in high street, the ticket costs P3,000 (the cheapest from a price that summits at a whopping P20k!). I got the ticket from Zarah whose dad backed out on the last minute. She, by the way, got her tickets from a friend in Smart (clever!);

- The concert started at exactly 20 minutes past eight in the evening. PICC-ing was last done ages ago;

- I was wearing my office get-up (black tops with pinstripes, gray pants). My peeps observed that I was too formal (for code reviewing and internal designs?). I gladly confirmed that, yeah, I was too formal and, yes, I will be watching Josh Groban that night. I intended not to share the ticket price for them to keep on guessing that maybe I bought an expensive ticket but was too shy to admit (ha-ha!);

- Josh is as tall as the geeky-looking guy from his album covers. Manila cheered and screamed for him even before the opening song which I didn’t know the title;

- Most songs are from the latest album “Awake”. I realized that I was watching Josh Groban live when he sang “You’re Still You” and other hits;

- "The Prayer" was beautifully sung with our very own Lani Misalucha;

- Lucia Micarelli is one hot violinist. She stole my attention. Sexy dress, bare feet, a rocker attitude and a violin solo of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”. Now I’m jealous of Josh Groban;

- We were seated in the balcony’s Row A (which could be misleading since it’s at the front row located in the left most part of the hall). It’s a relief though when Josh played the piano from time to time and he had to face our side;

- T-shirts cost P800 to a grand, depending on the length of the sleeves. I got the black one with Josh Groban on it, sitting on a corner of what seems like a cheap motel bed with the word “Awake” on his feet. The list of the concert stops for this leg is printed on the back (Australia and Philippines only);

- His last song was Michael Jackson’s “She’s Out of my Life”;

- The show’s almost smooth except for a scene with a mom and her little daughter. In between staged encores, the mom in red dress put her hija on the stage’s edge and was joined by Josh out of politeness. The kiddo gave Josh a bunch of flowers but she was not smiling and was not overwhelmed at all by what was happening. It was obvious that the cute girl was forced to do this act as the mom captured the moment with a digital cam. The mom later on single-handedly took another photograph, this time only with her and Josh. This part of the show ended when a Caucasian security staff gently put the kiddo down (while the mom was perhaps checking if the photos that she took were OK);

- I spotted Julius Babao, Tintin Bersola, Joel Lamangan and Manny Valera. The other night, I read from PDI, had Rufa Mae Quinto, Erik Santos, Imelda Marcos and Cory Aquino;

- I particularly like the live version of “You Raise Me Up” though I was expecting some bagpipes and that too Irish intro (which always makes the Westlife version authentic);

- Four nights after, I am still dreaming of buying a Lucia Micarelli CD which I won’t be getting until next payday.