Chris Daughtry told me...

...to "just breath". At that moment, I died

Long fangirly post ahead...proceed if you've got nothing better to do

Rewind to about an hour before...

Andrew who came from Xavier picked me up at Pisay around 5pm. Us high school teachers then went to Eastwood on a school night to watch Daughtry. Got to Eastwood around 5:30pm, parked, went down to the gig venue (Eastwood City Central Plaza).

Chanced upon where Daughtry CDs were being sold. Learned that there were still passes to the autograph signing session, so we quickly grabbed one copy and one pass each. Yey! (Wasn't counting on that anymore.) We also got to hear Chris soundchecking inside the venue with his acoustic guitar. I tried my best not to squeal or do cartwheels - ok, cartwheels I really can't do, but I did succeed at not squealing.

Autograph session started around 6:15pm in front of Shanghai Bistro. No cameras allowed, and only one CD per person (boo!); and I was good enough to comply (tucked Tomi the cam and my old Daughtry CD into my bag then proceeded to wait for the band to appear).


If this pic had audio, you'd hear the announcer saying, "...no cameras allowed during the autograph signing session..."

Chris and the band finally showed up, amidst hushed shrieks from the ladies in line. I spotted Chris, and was immediately drawn to his tattooed arm - I love it when guys' tattoos just peek from under their shirt sleeves.

We were part of maybe the first 30 folks in line, and the line was going awfully fast - strict security/assistants were making sure things went quickly.

I flipped through the CD inlay looking for a shot of the band to autograph, and it was only then that I discovered that it was only the back part (upon which the CD rests) that had a band pic; the rest were all just Chris. Pried that out of the case and presented it to Joey (drummer) to sign. I wanted to start a conversation, but the cat got my tongue - I was starstruck and speechless! As I said, we were ushered quickly, so this rushing and the fact that Chris Daughtry was in front of me didn't help one bit. Joey passed my inlay to Josh (guitarist), and I still failed to say hi or to offer a handshake - I just stood there smiling stupidly as he signed. When it was JP's (bassist) turn to sign, he asked me how I was and I replied truthfully, "I'm nervous!" And I think he answered something like, "I can see that!" And even though I got to talking, I was still too starstruck to offer a handshake.

Next thing I knew, it was Chris signing my CD sleeve, and all I could do was look...

I sooo wanted to say hi, to welcome him to the Philippines, to profess my love for him from waaay back Season Five semifinals...

But no...I just stood there stupidly like a freshman watching her senior crush go by...

Then Chris looked up and met my gaze...silence for a second...then he smiled and said, "Just breath..." at the same time I blurted out an attempt at conversation (what I actually said, I don't remember anymore!) So I just laughed and smiled back and was pulled down from Cloud 9 when the usher notified me that I had to go! The last guy, Brian (guitarist), had already signed my inlay without me knowing it. And he was grinning as if amused that once again Chris Daughtry had charmed another fangirly fan. So I quickly thanked Brian and proceeded to leave.

That moment wasn't as breathtaking as when I met Elliott Yamin, who I actually spoke to and whose hand I got to shake. But as I left the line, I was just as giddy as I was in TriNoma, September of last year.

After all the egging on of my bio co-teachers (Dacs, i-hug mo na si Chris ha!) as I kept lamenting that I didn't get to hug Elliott last year when almost everyone else in line did, I was even more chicken this time around! Not even a handshake! Buti pa si Drew nakamayan si Chris and some of the guys. So siya nalang kinamayan ko



Hahaha, autograph signing palang yung kwento ko!

Anyways... So we had dinner at Fazoli's then proceeded to our seats (Patron Center Left) inside the venue. I was seriously hoping the rumor that the Pinoy Idol contestants were fronting Daughtry wasn't true. And THANKFULLY it was just that - a rumor! At around 9pm, Daughtry started appearing one by one onstage, and the crowd went crazy.

This was how far we were from the stage.

I didn't write down the setlist, so I can't really recall the order. But basically they played everything from their debut album, plus two or three new songs, and one cover - Helter Skelter by the Beatles.

Rawr. Love the beard, love the tats.

Maaan, they're good! They're a tight band (I would've wanted to see some solos though), and Chris is one helluva vocalist, shining so very much more this time than when America the world watched him on TV in 2006.

By 10ish, the gig was over, and although I would've wanted them to just keep playing, I was super satisfied and thankful that I got to watch Daughtry. I can't wait 'til they come back to promote their second album. Hindi pwedeng hindi sila bumalik!!!

As we drove out of Eastwood City, we were stopped in front of McDonald's by traffic guards...the Daughtry van was passing through! I tried to take a video but was again all shook up by the fact of Chris's presence Kung pwede lang sila sundan all the way to EDSA Shangri-la, ginawa ko na. Yes, I'm a self-professed rocker-stalker.

And so ends my first encounter with Chris Daughtry and his band. And this definitely ain't gonna be the last!

Some of my fave shots:

JP and his hot tattoos.

Shoutout to Meg and Angelo, fellow Yaminoys who were out there to see another Season Five alumnus. The next pic's for you! (sorry malabo)

One word

More PICS and some VIDS are at my music Multiply. Do check out the snippet of "All These Lives". That was, for me, the best part of the gig. It was sooo beautiful, I had to put down the cam and watch it for myself.