By KYNESHA ROBLES
Ben&Ben wrapped up the year with their Homecoming Concert last Dec. 18 at the SMDC Festival Grounds in Parañaque. After the nine-piece band dominated Spotify Philippines charts again this year, they expressed their gratitude to their “Liwanags,” their moniker for their fans, with a historic night. More than 65,000 witnessed live the band’s milestone of a year-ender show, with their longest setlist and grandest performances yet.
Indie singer-songwriter Clara Benin opened the show with performances of her own songs, while fellow OPM artists KZ Tandigan, Juan Karlos, and Zild joined the band onstage to perform their collab hits live. The band also handed a number of fans Christmas gifts and capped off their 26-song setlist with a firework show.
The concert also stood as a wrap-up show after the band’s successful North American tour that spanned the entire month of October of this year. But “homecoming” was used for more than its literal term; the band also meant to capture the idea of home as a person.
Maybe even as a large crowd, as made evident by the excitement etched on each band members’ faces throughout the show as they reunited with, or came home to, their fans.
But despite a stellar show, fans lamented their stresses on Twitter caused by the general disorganization of the event. Fans cited the unnecessarily long lines, unhelpful “help” desks, little to no security and crowd control, and unsanitary portable toilets, and requested official event producer Ovation Productions for ticket refunds.
Concerts, after all, are more than the performances of the artist, but the entire experience itself. The lack of preparation from the event management company’s side dampened what would have been a magical night for Liwanags.
The band’s official apology followed last Dec. 20. “While we can’t undo the pains that you’ve been through, we can help make things right moving forward,” they posted on their social media pages.
As of writing, Ovation Productions is yet to release an official statement.
