Still shocking, still super

MANILA, Philippines - It was 2:30 in the afternoon. Fans waiting to enter the building crammed the area   in front of the main entrance of the Araneta Coliseum. Within minutes of arriving, I was already clutching a paper heart and two paper banners. The sun  was mercilessly beating down on people not lucky (or early) enough to wait in a  shaded spot. It was four and a half hours away from showtime.

A year has passed since K-Pop band Super Junior was last here in the Philippines. Newbie that I was to the genre, I was shocked by the dedication of both the band  and its fans when I watched Super Show 2 (SS2). But even now that I’m more  aware of this intense concert culture, I was still shocked by the passion, time and  effort the fans exerted for their Asian idols.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so surprised. I knew fan girl friends had been  preparing for Super Show 3 (SS3) the moment SS2 ended.

Yet, even after a year of anticipation and organization, the hours before the  concert were not spent idly.

Fanclub members wove in and out of the line of waiting fans, distributing a  variety of props to be used during different parts of the concert: Rose petals

in baggies and banners cheering on individual SuJu members, paper hearts, and  signs bearing the Korean word “gajima,” meaning “please don’t go.”

Unaffi liated fans also kept busy by putting the fi nishing touches on homemade  pins and posters, while those not working with their hands were practicing and  memorizing fan chants.

By 4 p.m., screams star ted piercing the air every time a bouncer would remind  the people the gates would soon open.

“Maglakad po, wag tumakbo (Walk, don’t run),” said the guard at the entrance,  when he started letting in ticket holders. Promptly ignoring the advice once they  were allowed past the man, the cheering fans rushed into the Coliseum as though they were already late for the show.

People with reserved seats settled in for the long wait, while those in the standing  area near the stage tried their hardest to creep as close to the platform as possible (ignoring all of the bouncer’s pleas for them to move away).

Despite the heat and claustrophobic air in the mosh pit, no one wanted to move,  let alone leave their precious spots — even for food, water or bathroom breaks.

I was squished between a couple and a gaggle of girls who spent the entire three- hour wait arguing over who their favorite Super Junior member was.

The one-and-a-half foot space I had staked out was small, but it was close to the  stage. I thought I could stay rooted there for the rest of the night. But, as our own local band Eraserheads once sang, “Marami ang namamatay sa maling akala  (Many die because of wrong assumptions).” While I didn’t die, I was thrown  around quite a bit because I didn’t expect the extreme force of the crowd which  surged forward as soon as the lights went out.

Opening with a SuJu member rising above the stage on harnesses, Super Junior’s Super Show 3 started with one of the band’s biggest hits, Sorry, Sorry.

The words echoed through the crowd, and for stageside fans, not only as part of  the song, but also as actual apologies whenever they stepped on or elbowed each  other as they rushed from the corners of the mosh pit to the center stage, where the boys made their fi rst appearance.

Even those who wanted to stay put were dragged along by the frantic movements  of others.

Throughout the fi rst few songs of the night — including monster hits Supergirl,  No Other and Don’t Don — the tide of blue glowstick-bearing people shifted left and right, from the center stage to the main stage. It was a sea of fans moved by the gravitational pull of 10 moons.

Soon, however, people stopped struggling to move to wherever the members  were. All of us looked like we had just run a marathon (some even smelled like they did). It was just sheer exhaustion — and not even an hour into the show!

Being in the mosh pit, though defi nitely a privilege, proved to have some  disadvantages, too. Because the boys spent so many of their performances on the smaller center stage rather than the main one, the SRO crowd had to either watch the boys’ backs perform or depend on the LCD screens to see what was happening.

Those like me, who enjoy and appreciate Super Junior’s dance moves and  choreography, were frustrated in the mosh pit because it was hard to see all of  them together. But for those who would rather see the members close up, stage- side is the way to go.

VIP section fans had much more personal interactions with the SuJu  boys, who would lean over the sides of the platforms to shake hands and take pictures with  the crowd. Also, only the nearest people could throw mementos onstage for the  members, and more importantly, only they could catch the objects the boys threw back. And of course, being closer means pictures are clearer — always a plus.

But no matter where in the stadium a person sat, she (and the occasional he) could enjoy the show in one way or another.

Some of the highlights were the Lady Gaga and Beyoncé parodies done by Heechul, Eunhyuk, Shindong, and Donghae. Donning skintight leotards, wigs

and high heels, the four of them strutted around and danced to Crazy in Love, Single Ladies and Poker Face.

Fan favorites Bonamana and U, as well as the member solos, especially  Ryeowook’s ballad, Eunhyuk’s dance routines and Super Junior M member Henry Lau’s rendition of Justin Bieber’s Baby, drew some of the loudest cheers from the crowd.

Some of the most high-pitched and frenzied shrieks, however, were for Siwon  taking his shirt off, Donghae tearing his shirt open, Kyuhyun’s high note during his solo, Sungmin in a pumpkin costume, any close-ups of Yesung on the LCD screens, and Leeteuk’s goodbye message to the fans.

But it was a slow instrumental song that really captivated the audience. The  tribute to Kangin, a member currently serving his mandatory years in the Korean

army, was performed with the SuJu members miming playing various  instruments while light illusions were projected on silk screens placed on the stage and Kangin’s saluting image was shown on the giant LCD screens. Fans  thunderously chanted Kangin’s name to show support for the absent member.

It has been said that some things are better the second time around.

The saying holds true for the Manila leg of Super Junior’s Super Show 3 concert. Some things were defi nitely better, though some sadly fell short of last year’s  show.

Zhou-mi, a member of SuJu subgroup Super Junior M, was absent from the  concert because of visa troubles. Many fans were also disappointed that Henry

wasn’t given as much stage time as last year and that he didn’t showcase his  renowned violin skills.

The shorter member introductions, though cute, still paled in comparison to last  year’s very interactive and more impromptu performance.

In terms of song line-up, some audience members thought SS2 had better song  choices and were played in a more balanced order than SS3’s.

However, this year’s special effects — the lights, fi reworks, confetti, light  illusions and harnesses — were defi nitely more impressive.

And of course, the Super Junior members themselves, though they made a rilliant fi rst impression last year, gave an even more enthusiastic performance this year.

There may not have been a campy Puff the Magic Dragon routine or water gun fi ght in SS3, but other things, including a song sung in vegetable costumes, made up for it.

Not all things were created equal. Super Show 2 is different from Super Show 3  — but if there are two things that have remained the same, they’re the  entertainment value of the concert and the mutual love the EverLasting Friends and Super Junior have for each other.