Is this a phenomenon, or a millennial routine - to wake at dawn, stand in line for the ticket counter to open at 12 noon, and agonize if you’ll go home with tickets to the concert of a Korean boy band called Enhypen? Meanwhile, parents, friends, and fans queue online for a chance to do the same?
It must be - but I’m too old to know that except that my granddaughter, an “engene” (adopted term for Enhypen fan), has been talking about “meeting’ her beloved stars in a concert here in Manila.
So as I write this (11:38 a.m., Sunday, Jan.15), my daughter is No.16 at an SM Mall in QC. Meanwhile, at an SM Mall in Manila , her husband is no. 8, but pushed back to no.10 because two senior citizens arrived to buy for their “apos.”
They are covering two options because their last attempt to buy Enhypen tickets for the same concert in February was a failure, with my son in law lining up at the mall (no. 103 at 6am) and my daughter online was no. 3,630 at 6am).
When Enhypen was here in December for a “fan meet” - not even a concert- my daughter had queued online, and called distant acquaintances to buy tickets to that event at the Araneta Center. All attempts to buy - not ask for complimentary tickets - failed.
The experience at the queue last December was something else. My son in law related how fans clapped and swooned each time the line moved. Finally, at about 10am that sad day in December, the woman closed the window saying all tickets had been sold. My son in law was next in line.
The mood at the queue immediately changed . It was like someone died. Some cried openly, others got teary eyed, others showed exasperation at the whole experience.
Today, minutes ago, my son in law reported that the mood where he was had become somber, so quiet- after they were told that the computer system crashed.
And so the saga continues.
Friends tried to get us the privilege to buy tickets ahead of opening of selling time. That failed.
Now my granddaughter will have to accept the law of the universe- the lucky ones win. That’s life.
UPDATE: At 1:06 p.m., my son in law paid for two tickets to the super popular Enhypen concert in Manila next month!
So , my apo is lucky after all! Lucky to have parents who will queue for hours.