Coming to you live: DPR: Regime World Tour in Manila

Setting the Dreamer’s dreams a reality, the collaborative and multi-genre music, and video group, the DPR gang made their Manila debut as a part of their Asian-Pacific leg of the DPR: Regime World Tour at the Filinvest Tent in Alabang on November 30, 2022.

The event headlines DPR Live, DPR Ian, and DPR Cream who electrified thousands of their fans, each act showcasing their own uniqueness and creativity while staying true to their purpose in music: engaging all audiences by actualizing a distinctive audiovisual experience.

Dressed and glammed up, the dreamers showed their enthusiasm for the group’s long-awaited performances, cheering even before the show even started and successfully executing multiple small fan projects that signify a piece of DPR in their career.

Cream Colored Drive

Grasping the first set, DPR Cream brought his producer skills by setting off the mood for the night, with the trancelike music he played on stage. With nothing but a laptop and his keyboard, Cream showcased his impressive remixing skills in creating music, already giving the fans a treat, albeit his short set with the dreamers.

Coming to you LIVE

Making his landing on stage, Hong Dabin, famously known as DPR Live, immediately made the crowd jump with his song “LEGACY”, energizing the room with his electrifying performance and giving a nod to the music video of the song in an orange jumpsuit. Staying on theme, an enormous astronaut balloon appeared behind him while performing the songs “S.O.S.” and “NEON”, all three songs coming from his first studio album IS ANYBODY OUT THERE?

After the visually pleasing space-themed shtick, he breezed through some of DPR’s previous tracks from the ‘archives’, “thirst”, and from his first mini album Coming To You Live, “Cheese & Wine”, “Know Me” and “Laputa.”

Live had a small sit down with the dreamers and threw roses to the crowd as he serenaded them with the song “VENUS.” He also grooved and flirted with the fans while dancing freely and performing the songs “Kiss Me” and “Jasmine”, which are known classics in his discography.

Jam and Butterflies in your stomach

Live made the Filipino fans extra special as he reminisced that his first crush ever was a Filipina while growing up in Guam. He noted as well that it “…feels like home going here (in Manila)” as he also shared that his best friend growing up is a Filipino. With this, he performed “Jam and Butterfly”, and transitioned to “Yellow Cab” and in return, the fans made him feel extra special by waving pink wigs, also a reference from the song’s music video.

He then promised they will definitely return but left the fans for now and asked the dreamers to “…text me when you’re free”, an excerpt of lyrics from his song “Text Me.”

It was a back-and-forth gimmick from Live and the fans as he let them have fun with transparent lifebuoys he threw to the crowd during his fun and the jumpy song “Hula Hoops.” He also tapped on “Summer Tights”, and “Geronimo”. Of course, a fitting song to perform is “Martini Blue” while a portion of the dreamers also enjoyed liquor drinks and Live capped his set with DPR Cline joining him on stage with the song “Set It Off”, a track they created for League of Legends, specifically the South Korean region LCK for the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational online battle arena.

A Fallen Angel

Following DPR Live, a completely different set was performed by Christian Yu or known as DPR Ian, who let the fans have an immersive, intense experience from the get-go. Coming on stage with a horned costume and transforming into a fallen angel, DPR Ian gave the crowd a chilling intro while “Mito” is playing, which is also the intro song of his first album, Moodswings in this Order. In two tracks coming from the same album, Ian danced to “So Beautiful” and “Dope Lovers” while unveiling his bedazzled jacket and accentuated red eye makeup, making him even more ethereal looking than we are already used to.

In between the songs, he mentioned how he feels so much of the energy the Filipino crowd is giving, leaving a great first impression as he emphasized that this is his first time in the Philippines. We’re off to a great start, am I right dreamers?

He continued his setlist by plucking some songs from his newly released second album, Moodswings In to Order, “Avalon”, and “Miss Understood”. One of the biggest treats the dreamers tasted from Ian was bringing off “Calico” while dancing under his fedora hat and then proceeding off in playing the bass. We can all agree that not only Ian is a charismatic performer, but also a multi-talented beast, and this kind of eccentricity gracing the Philippine live stage is something that doesn’t happen often.

Ballroom Extravaganza

It’s safe to say that DPR Ian’s stages are a different experience than most artists and he proved this throughout the night with the diverse stages he carried out.

The room’s temperature just got a little higher as Ian takes off his jacket and comfortably presented “Sometimes I’m.” The fast-paced 12th track from his second album is not an easy song to sing but he was able to nail it with the fans singing along, matching his energy. And literally setting the stage on fire, he enacted “1 Shot”, turning the whole room red and even more steamy than the last.

Also a natural storyteller, Ian became intimate and shared his insecurities and fears with the fans on how he hated being in the spotlight and was grateful that the fans let him overcome it by letting him share his stories through art. With this, he performed the song “Scaredy Cat” with another stage gimmick that is visually appealing as multiple hands appeared on the curtain behind him while performing.

Another impressive stunt he made was when a giant hand grabbed Ian backstage after performing “Ribbon”, a rather funky tune that will want you to get up and dance.

He returned a few minutes later wearing a black oversized fur jacket and performed “Mr. Insanity”, driving the fans a little over the edge. And probably the best stage he has done for the evening was setting the stage on snow while doing a modern interpretative dance of “Winterfall”, slowing it down to set the mood while “snow” drops on him, showing a perfect picture-perfect moment every second.

He finished his set strong with incredible performances of “Nerves” and “Ballroom Extravaganza” before DPR Live joined him on stage.

Together, the duo sang “No Blueberries”, which is probably Ian’s biggest hit, and bid the fans goodbye for the night.

Manila Officially Part of the DPR Gang

Of course, the ensemble cannot end the concert easily without performing the song that made the group’s mark in the music industry as the fans jumped in honor of the song “To Myself” with the chant “DPR WE GANG GANG!” The whole group: DPR Live, DPR Ian, DPR Cream, and joined by DPR Cline, and the whole DPR crew joined the dreamers with a final photo.

The multi-faceted crew closed off the night with a promise that they will return, as Ian undoubtedly became impressed with the Filipino fans saying, “The best so far!” and of course, the members of the crew saying, “Mahal kita!”

The Filipino dreamers answered back with much enthusiasm to this, creating a long-lasting bond with the team, and as passionate as ever, the fans will wait for another concert, hopefully soon and surely with the right hunger in continuing to support the group for releases and more aesthetically pleasing audio-visual art in the future.

Written by Arielle Elep for Philippine Concerts

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DPR: Regime World Tour in Manila was presented by Karpos Multimedia. Special thanks to Karpos Multimedia for the invitation to the event.