Last month, my friend Lyra invited me and Vince to Zedd’s concert in The Cove Manila. Little did we know that the passes were actually to the launch party of BlocNation (BNTN), which was held in a private cabana at the concert.

Vince and I had to do some waiting and explaining because our tickets weren’t being recognized by the scanners, but then we found out that we should’ve gone through a different entrance. Still, get in we did. We soon found ourselves in one of The Cove’s special cabanas being welcomed by a rep of PouchNation.

While BNTN was completely new to us, I was already familiar with PouchNation. It was the system I used to buy tickets to this year’s Philippine Art Fair and assign them to my companions. What I particularly enjoyed about it was how it allowed us to check in online and skip the registration lines at the venue itself. That’s convenience right there! [Learn more about PouchNation here.]

Opening Act: BNTN

And that brings us to PouchNation’s brainchild, BNTN. It’s said to be the world’s first decentralized Initial Coin Offering, and to be perfectly honest, that painted a huge question mark on my face. Bitcoin and ICOs are concepts I’ve yet to fully explore. Luckily, I got a taste of it at the launch.

We were given wristbands with the BNTN token, which we used to “pay” for our drinks without the need for cash. All users had to do was to load it up at specific terminals then tap it to pay. I love how simple it is and how it reduces the need to keep a lot of cash on-hand. Oh, and it’s not just for events but for booking hostels too. Now that’s something I want to try for myself!

Zedd Hits the Stage

Being the EDM concert newbies that we were—fine, that was just me—Vince and I were there by ticket time, which meant we were about three hours early. BUT when Zedd hit the stage, all my sleepiness fled. I was up on my heels, because how could you not be when it comes to Zedd?

I thought it wouldn’t be as impactful because there were no live singers and he was just one guy with all that equipment, but I was wrong. That one guy had the crowd wild and the sprawling area of The Cove electric with energy. Sure, Zedd’s music’s undeniably infectious with catchy lyrics and rocking beats, but he gave them a different dimension—something you wouldn’t get from just any DJ spinning his tunes. From the way he dropped those beats and built up the tempo to the way the lights and the visuals perfectly synced with the music, it was such an engaging experience. It almost felt like he was telling a story with an intro, a climax, and an end.

Close Encounters (aka Why You Should Look up from Your Phone)

Zedd played for almost two hours straight, and I barely felt the time pass. It gave me a taste of why music festivals are so popular. The energy’s different from your usual concert, and I got a high that had nothing to do with illegal substances or alcohol. He was definitely worth the wait…and at the end of it, I got the surprise of my life when the elevator doors opened and out he came, surrounded by his bodyguards.

For a few seconds, he stood just an arm’s length away from me. Our eyes met, and just when I processed that yes, it was Zedd, he was whisked away. I was left blinking at Vince, who hadn’t realized what just happened. We tried to go after Zedd, but he was gone.

I didn’t even get to sneak in a selfie.

Still, it was a great night—my first brush with dICO, my first EDM concert, my first time to see Zedd up close and personal. Not too shabby for this tita!

 

Check out this cool video of BlocNation’s launch party at Zedd’s concert! Guess who makes a quick cameo?:))