MANILA, Philippines—It seemed half of the city’s youth population was at the Araneta Coliseum Saturday night for the Lifehouse concert.

The kids couldn’t contain their excitement. High-decibel shrieks greeted the first few bars of a keyboard intro that accompanied the band’s entrance.

What is it about Lifehouse that attracted so many young people, and which had its promoter ecstatic because some P1 million worth of tickets were reportedly sold on concert day alone?

The band’s sound, dismissed by some critics as “drab FM radio rock,” connects because it’s straight-away simple but with steady, powerful guitar chords that propel front man Jason Wade’s personal lyrics.

At the gig, lead guitarist Ben Carey and Wade on rhythm struck a tight partnership that had minimal solos and lots of sustained riffs on the mostly downbeat numbers.

Roars from the crowd erupted each time Wade opened his mouth to sing. His vocals, resembling the Eddie Vedder school of grunge warbling, was indecipherable for those unfamiliar with the songs. But shouts of approval rang as Wade delivered some of the famliar and more penetrable phrases: “Shine your light…”; “I wouldn’t change a thing…”; “I'm still breathing, holding on…”

Sing-along session

“Hanging by a Moment,” the song that won for Lifehouse the 2001 Hot 100 Single of the Year Billboard Music Award has vague lines (“Forgetting all I’m lacking/Completely incomplete…”), but the chorus speaks volumes for the young: “I don’t know what I’m diving into/Just hanging by a moment here with you…” So the Big Dome turned into a humongous karaoke joint — with a live band.

In true grunge fashion, Wade’s rock star attire looked like an ukay-ukay find: a rumpled, off-white T-shirt that was nevertheless very interesting with a print of The Specials, a popular ska group.

Another hit, “Blind,” followed. It sounded very close to mellow rock — except that the cranked-up volume of Carey’s riffs and Wade’s pained vocals made it more compelling.

Bassist Bryce Soderberg was given a spot number to sing, and the song had touches of Nirvana — giving credence to a critic’s observation that Lifehouse thrives on post-grunge music. But it’s the kind of grunge that had less of Kurt Cobain’s punk rage.

In a song called “Better Luck Next Time,” Soderberg plucked his bass like a super-bad funkster, even as drummer Rick Woolstenhulme’s beats stayed on a solid course. Again, as in most of the numbers, heavy riffing marked this song’s climax.

TV exposure

Lifehouse never had to rely on selling millions of albums to get noticed, although a good number of its singles have entered the charts. What made it big was a constant and financially lucrative exposure on several TV series led by “Smallville,” which acquired many of Wade’s songs for its soundtracks. One of them, “Whatever It Takes,” illustrates another aspect of Wade’s knack for crafting tunes that are deceptive in their simplicity: It is emotionally wrenching.

When “You and Me” came on, the spectators practically leapt out of their seats.

One more hit, “First Time,” had the 28-year-old Wade unstrapping his guitar and singing to the gallery with his body lunging forward like a wholesome Johnny Rotten.

The band apparently enjoyed the gig. Wade’s voice cracked as he yelled, “Philippines, we love you!” It sounded like he meant every word, having thus confirmed that his fans here were legion. The show was actually a one-off gig, the only Asian date that served as a break from a long-running US tour.

The encore was intense but, like many of the other songs, constantly mid-tempo, like REM-type college rock

The show’s success will surely spur promoters to book similar young acts with a solid local fan base.