The exhilarating David-David concert experience

MANILA, Philippines – Being an "American Idol" fan, I can honestly say that there has been no season in the past, or present, as good as the show’s seventh season. So imagine my excitement and delight upon hearing that both David Cook and David Archuleta would be coming to Manila for a back-to-back concert. I assure you, the feeling was insurmountable. When the day finally came, my friends Yumi and Chikai and I were extremely excited, and arrived at the venue a bit over four hours before the concert was scheduled to start, despite the fact that we had reserved seats. So we strolled around the mall for hours and grabbed a quick dinner before heading down to the concert grounds. Once we located our 3,000++ peso-worth seats, I watched in awe as the venue slowly started filling up. I even spotted fans that flew over from Malaysia and Singapore in the crowd. It was quite a scene. All the excitement of over 40,000 people packed in one venue was an amazing thing to witness. But nothing beat seeing the house lights start to dim, and smoke beginning to fill the stage, feeling a soft hush overcome the crowd, and then suddenly, hearing a burst of applause and a roar of enthusiasm as David Archuleta took the stage. Archie pumped up the crowd with his hits such as “Crush," “A Little Too Not Over You," and “Touch My Hand." He also covered a few songs of other artists like Robbie Williams’s “Angels" and Vanessa Carlton’s “Thousand Miles," both of which he performed behind the keyboards. The audience loved every last inch of his performances and you could tell Archie, too, was enjoying himself. He sang his heart out and sounded incredible, just as pitch-perfect as the record. He jumped and danced around on stage and his energy never swayed. Unfortunately, time does not stand still, and after a dozen songs, Archie’s set was over. That was the sad news, but the good news was, David Cook was next! After being wowed by a display of fireworks, and the people chanting the Idol winner’s name repeatedly, the stage was again filled with smoke. The house lights dimmed, and the stage was bathed in a mixture of reds and yellows. Everyone in the audience was on their feet, some were even standing on their seats, and despite seeing no one on stage, you could hear that distinct voice singing the opening bars to Collective Soul’s “The World I Know." The crowd went absolutely crazy as David Cook emerged from below the stage, guitar in hand. Now that’s what I call an entrance. He then proceeded to perform his own hits such as “Avalanche," “Come Back To Me," and “Light On." He even thrilled his Filipino fans by performing his most popular rendition of Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby," which he has never done on a concert stage before. But a personal favorite would be his wild performance of the immensely beat-driven “Bar-ba-sol." Aside from singing his own tunes from his current hit album, he also performed songs from his past, much to my own delight. He performed “Straight Ahead," a track off of his pre-Idol independent album, Analog Heart. He also sang a song from an EP of his earlier band, Midwest Kings, called “Make Me." I confess that I’m one of the biggest David Cook fans around, but I will say without bias that he is a brilliant performer. He’s tireless and charming, and the quick and witty banter he has with his audience is winning. The whole concert experience was surreal. It was mind-blowing, amazing, yet surreal. And as the concert came to a close, with both Cook and Archie on stage, concluding the show with the remaining bars of Cook’s “A Daily Anthem," I wished I could suspend that moment in time. But alas, all good things do come to an end. The David-David concert was worth it – worth the sweat, the tired legs, and the sore throat I was inevitably going to have. I guess all I can do now is look forward to the amazing careers that both Davids are sure to have and anticipate their return. They promised they would. - WMN.ph