An UNSCRIPTED Night to Remember!
Pinoy fans of the popular Irish rock band The Script was left with six degrees of separation- just like one of the band’s popular songs- after giving one great concert last April 14 2018. The group composed of Danny O'Donoghue, Mark Sheehan and Glen Power, returned to the Philippines for the 4th time, absolutely delighting their Filipino fans with songs and heart-stopping performances from all their albums.
The trio began the show with a very apt tune, “Superhero,” setting the tone for the entire night. It is one of the things that makes The Script stand out from all other musical acts in the world, their ability to just grab the emotion from their fans’ hearts with their relatable, heartfelt lyrics and sweet melodies, while effortlessly lifting the spirits of their followers with a whole new series of inspirational rock anthems. To be able to conquer the musical spectrum in such a powerful way is truly a gift.
After “Superheroes” The Script rocked the arena with “Rock The World,” followed by a crowd favorite “Paint The Town Green.” It was a beautiful sight to see everyone in the audience bathed in green lights, drizzled with shamrock green confetti. Keeping everyone’s energy, the boys eased into one of their more popular hits, “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” the anthem of all generations who can’t move on from someone they exceedingly fell in love with. And in true The Script fashion, they moved the atmosphere from a more somber aura to a more hopeful one with “Wonders.”
If there were two words that would perfectly describe the theme of The Script’s latest album Freedom Child it would be social consciousness. And with the song “Arms Open,” a tune coming from that album, the boys said it loud and proud-the world needs more love, and judging by the expressions on the faces of the fans in MOA Arena, that message was communicated very well.
Another highlight of the show was the song “No Man is an Island” also from Freedom Child. It was very fun to follow the instructions given by Script vocalist Danny to the audience, to put their arms on the shoulders of the people beside them and jump from side to side. Danny’s encouragement to the audience to not let the people in the audience be shy because we are all family, made everyone feel like they were part of something special. May this be a small but significant contribution to the dream of living in a lovely world where love overpowers hate and animosity.
Not that many people write songs about grief and loss, perhaps it doesn’t sell or it is too heavy a topic, but that was clearly not in the mind of The Script when they wrote “If You Could See Me Now,” a song about the pain of losing someone and the determination to honor their memory by being a better person. The last few minutes of If You Could See Me Now, where Danny looks up to the ceiling and throws his arms in dedication to his late father, took everyone’s breath away.
Another distinct trait of The Script is their audience interaction. For a huge part of the show, the band was singing in the audience performing "If You Ever Come Back" and "Never Seen Anything Quite Like You" and it made their fans very lucky to be beside them during their performance. It shows just how special The Script Family is to the boys and made The Script family members really feel like they were part of the Script family. This was followed by another up close and intimate experience with Danny singing while greeting fans at the lower box portion of the arena. The excitement continued with “Rain,” a song that made the crowd start to move their feet.
The Irish three-piece closed the show with "Hall of Fame." It was a moment that sent chills down everyone’s spine, as Danny requested the place to be lit by the phones of the audience. It was a moment that sent tears down the faces of the fans, undoubtedly moved by the band’s enthusiasm and passion for their craft. And, just before the initial spots of post-concert depression was about to set in, Danny, with the Philippine flag wrapped around him, gave us the words that made our hearts give one last thump- "The only way we can say thank you is to keep coming back again and again," before saying goodbye to the Manila crowd.
We can’t wait to see them again! The Script Freedom Child Tour Manila was presented by Midas Promotions!
