CIGNAL’s veteran libero Jheck Dionela will always remember her first Taylor Swift concert experience all too well.
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A diehard ‘Swiftie’ for over 15 years, Dionela opted to shake off all things volleyball and was among the legions of Filipino fans who came to watch ‘The Eras Tour’ live in Singapore — Swift’s lone stop in Southeast Asia.
Long story short, it goes without saying that Dionela, who even donned a 'Fearless' era-inspired silver dress to the show, had the time of her life realizing one of her wildest dreams.
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“Surreal lang na nakapunta ako doon [sa The Eras Tour] and thankful siyempre na pinayagan ako kahit papano. Alis, concert, uwi,” said Dionela.
Dionela, who saw the second show of the Singapore leg last Monday and went back to Manila straight after, revisited how the full circle experience from listening to Swift’s music in her MP3 player back in 2009 to the very first night seeing her live still hits different.
“Since 2009, ‘yung ‘Teardrops On My Guitar’ pa lang, nasa MP3 ko yun dati ‘yung video nu’n [tapos] ngayon pa lang [ako nakanood ng concert live kasi] nung 2014 Red Tour niya before dito, gustong-gusto ko pumunta kaso estudyante pa lang ako noon so walang pera.
“Can’t afford [pa manood live noon] kaya sabi ko talaga ‘pag next tour sa Pilipinas, manonood ako. Kaso this time around, walang Pilipinas [sa The Eras Tour] kaya sabi ko, ‘di ko na papalagpasin kasi baka mamaya, lola na siya kapag ‘yung next concert niya. ‘Di natin masasabi,” said Dionela.
“Naniniwala ako na kung may chance i-grab, i-grab mo na. Isang araw lang naman ako nawala sa practice. Babawiin ko rin ‘yun bukas,” she added.
‘Masterful’ show
For starters, the HD Spikers’ libero shared that her favorite Taylor Swift track is ‘Long Live’ from the album ‘Speak Now,’ with ‘Red’ and ‘reputation’ being her favorite eras from the 14-time Grammy-winning artist.
And just like her on-court defensive antics, Dionela described the three-hour long show as a ‘masterful’ celebration of Swift’s timeless hits and longstanding music career.
“’Yung production talaga mismo from beginning to end, wala talaga kong pinalagpas. At saka ‘yun nga, ‘yung experience with friends actually, ‘yun ‘yung pinaka-tinetreasure ko kasi minsan lang ‘yung ganun na nandu’n ka sa moment na ‘yun tapos magkakasama kayo, nag-outfit pa kayo.”
Dionela added: “It’s one thing na magiging memorable na maku-kwento mo na ‘Uy, nakita ko yung idol ko magperform’ pero super galing kasi talaga ni Taylor (Swift) mag-perform, as in super professional. Masterful — ‘yun ‘yung word talaga [to describe the show]. Masterful ‘yung performance and overall production.”
Back to work
While citing the need to balance volleyball and her personal passions like music, Dionela made sure that she’ll be able to recover lost time — albeit brief — and put in extra work on what is supposed to be their rest day following Cignal’s three-set win over Nxled on Thursday.
“Very passionate din ako pagdating sa music [and] I make sure na balanced din ‘yung life ko na hindi lang volleyball lahat ng ginagawa ko,” said Dionela.
“Siyempre, may responsibility [pa rin] tayo dito sa liga. Bukas, mag-eextra workout ako. ‘Yung na-miss ko nung Monday, i-eextra workout ko tomorrow. Supposedly, rest kami bukas para mapunan ko yung absence ko [since] Monday lang naman ako technically absent,” she added.
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