RELATED: Why SB19 is the Pinoy boy group to watch out for It was something that captured my attention only occasionally, like K-pop did back then. But they remained in my periphery since my interests were still pretty firmly on sports and pop culture. I first heard about SB19 the same way many of their would-be fans did: when their “Go Up” dance practice went viral in 2019. You could bring your CDs, magazines, shirts and other merch (or buy them at the venue) and have them signed. If they weren’t performing in variety shows, they were doing gigs in local bars, sometimes even popping up in school fairs. It had been year after year of great hits that spanned my high school to college years, from Rivermaya, South Border, Bamboo, Hale, Urbandub, Sponge Cola, Mayonnaise, among others. The last time I watched a local act perform live was when the Eraserheads had their reunion concert in 2009, “The Final Set.” It was that long ago that the pictures I took then were hosted on Multiply, it was held at the Mall of Asia Grounds since the MOA Arena had yet to be constructed. The experience of lining up to enter was like going into a time machine. I had the opportunity to be back inside the Big Dome as part of the limited in-person audience for SB19’s third anniversary concert “Our Zone” last November. I had yet to be sucked into the world of Hallyu then it wasn’t until a couple of months later that I realized I was within walking distance of IU and passed up on watching her concert.
She apparently even ate at the Café Adriatico nearby. My last visit to the area was a few months before it closed its doors because of the pandemic, when I was told by an attendant that a popular Korean singer was holding a concert. I haven’t been to Araneta Coliseum to watch anything since 2016.