Kjwan 2011 Scorpio Bday Bash

After so many months, I was finally able to manage keeping a bit of my time for my "after-school dream life". I gigged the night out with some college schoolmates at Saguijo for Kjwan's Scorpio Bday Bash treat. Hooray for Scorpios! Happy Birthday Kelley and Marc!

I enjoyed the night with some cool songs from Mayonnaise and Archipelago.  I'm glad that I'm experiencing OPM again after that low point in the industry with all that shutting down of pinoy rock radio stations and disbanding.

Here's Kjwan's setlist:

Love the crowd as they go wild during the last two songs!

It was indeed one great rocking night with Wendell Garcia as the highlight. Hope to see more of him next in Pupil's gigs. Speaking of Pupil, let's greet one Scorpio too a Happy birthday. Happy 41st Bday Ely!

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rakenrol

I miss the Philippine rock scene. It has been a long time since I posted something about OPM rock. And it was even an entry about farewell of one of the rock foundations of the industry. Come to think of it, I haven't seen a gig for almost 4 months already and I am super missing it.

Time to rekindle the passion.

What prompted this post is the the on-going promotion of an indie film entitled Rakenrol. It's a movie directed by Sir Diego Castillo and Quark Henares that revolves around the journey of Irene (Glaiza de Castro) and Odie (Jason Abalos) in putting up a band to initially share their music.

See above embedded trailer for a glimpse of the movie. It's quite an interesting piece with a little touch of love story on the side. I read somewhere that this has been in works for years so it's not surprising that I found the theme to be fitting an earlier point in the industry's timeline. But I'm glad the issue is being documented in this platform.

Currently, the landscape is being challenged by the left and right disbanding and rock stations reformatting. 2011 is really a hard time. Though rock music have moved online (i.e. DIG radio=), I admittedly haven't tuned in a single segment given the annoying sound lags and buffering. I hope they'll make a good fight in 2012.

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The Kids Love 'Em Too!

"All the parents are here and all the kids are at the [insert name of the kid here] concert."

But hey! Can't you see that the kids were the most enthusiastic attendees of the concert? We, the kids, love you and your music too. And we mean REAL music.

And I'll stand as a proof. I've been emailing PG since 2009, requesting the band to come over to the Philippines for a concert. This was long before the boom of concerts in our country. Imagine the desire, given that the creation of “What If” is still unknown to me that time. It’s praying for a seemingly impossible come back from across the borders. I have been lurking around online forums, signing in my name for petitions that might bring them here even with the slightest possibility. I also install applications in my websites which would request the band to play here in Manila, LIVE. Finally, my dream came true. May 10, 2011 (Tuesday) is the date I’ll never,  ever forget. And mind you, this post is not about Justin Bieber.

Mr. Big! Thank you so much! You made a 22-year old Filipina’s heart feel more than satisfied. I am so overwhelmed that I cannot even express how grateful I am both online and offline as I temporarily lose my voice from screaming to my heart’s content yesterday.

So I’ll just post few of the pics I took from my new cam (specially bought for this concert above all).

Mr. Big Live in Manila

Paul Gilbert

 

Pat Torpey

Billy Sheehan

 Eric Martin

The Best Band

It has been a pleasure to hear from you guys. Thank you for the screaming guitars, booming bass, thundering drums, and killer vocals. I have always been in love with your kind of melodic rock. You give music meaning. No exaggerations.

"We'll be back sooner than you think (Martin, 2011)." That will surely be anticipated.

As a documentation of the concert, the set list follows:

1. Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy

2. Take Cover 

3. Green-Tinted Sixties Mind 

4. Undertow 

5. Alive And Kickin 

6. Just Take My Heart 

7. American Beauty 

8. Merciless 

9. Paul Gilbert solo 

10. Still Ain't Enough 

11. As Far as I Can See 

12. Price You Gotta Pay 

13. Wild World 

14. Road To Ruin 

15. A Little Too Loose 

16. Rock & Roll Over 

17. Around the World 

18. Billy Sheehan solo 

Encore:

19. To Be With You 

20. Colorado Bulldog 

Encore 2:

21. Smoke on the Water 

22. Anything for You 

23. Shyboy 

Thank you Lord for giving me the opportunity to see and hear them. :)

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Paalam Pilipinas

Sugarfree

Sugarfree's album launch for Dramachine at the SM North Edsa Food Court is the first band gig I attended. It was in my fourth year in high school that time, year 2005. Prom was in the air so the band really hit the spot. I fell in love with all the songs from Dramachine and just then I decided to follow them. From the mailing list to twitter updates, I've been silently watching. Backtracking, I got myself a copy of Sa Wakas too. Because I truly believed in them, I completed their albums and attended their concerts. I was so down when I lost my favorite but still decided to buy another (repackaged version) for the love of the band.

Ebe Dancel

Their songs have truly touched my heart, thanks to this song writing genius, Ebe Dancel. I have never understood what Burnout meant before. I thought it was insensible but not 'til I matured. Naks! Mariposa, Unang Araw, Kwarto, Kandila, Sinta, KAMNSA, Hay Buhay were just a few of the songs that I would really miss.

 Jal Taguibao

Back in my second year in college, we were tasked for a project in Humanities 2 which I still don't get what. All I remember is that I chose the OPM topic for being an enthusiast. It was the peak of an issue wherein a Filipino band gets publicized to have sort of plagiarized a music from the British. I was hyped enough to get Sir Jal's POV regarding the matter. Right there and then, this man struck me as a very humble person with outmost respect for all the musicians, creative or not. 'nuff said. While interviewing him, the radio went playing Batang-bata Ka Pa's second verse. :D

 Kaka Quisimbing

Mitch Singson

Kaka's takeover to Mitch's playing of the drums was a bit risky, I thought. But it was proven wrong when the band continued on making Tala-Arawan and Mornings and Airports. I remembered my unrestrained self dreamily (and I mean dreamily with watery eyes) saying "Sir, ang galing nyo pong magdrums" to Mitch on an album signing part of the event. It was so out of character just because this person's aura is too powerful.

So this is good bye Sugarfree. Thank you for your songs. You don't have an idea how they really affected us in different and strange ways. God bless. I'm keeping my doors open for a reunion concert in 10 years' time.

*photos are taken in Eastwood Central Plaza 03.01.11 (Tuesday), Paalam Pilipinas: The Farewell Concert

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2011 UP fair

Well, the crowd's not that hyped enough but it's a good thing nobody seemed to be hurt.

I felt that urge to watch the fair particularly on this day since this was deemed to be sugarfree's last. The bands were given a chance to play 3 songs as usual but things were different for sugarfree's set. They played prom, mariposa, kwarto, overdrive, burnout, hari ng sablay, and tulog na.

I think people were there for them. A lot started to exit the grounds after their stage performance, including me. I would love to stay to hear kjwan but my friends wouldn't keep me company so I darted out as well.

The other artists I enjoyed listening to were imago, pedicab, paraluman, razorback, and giniling festival. Kudos to UPsurge team for keeping the security quite intact.

Cheers to shawarma rice, fishball, scramble, and isaw!

I miss UP.

posted from Bloggeroid

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Big, Better, and Definitely Best!

I've been dreading to have Mr. Big play in the Philippines. Last year, I was doing extreme efforts of encouraging people to click an application, which acts like some sort of a petition, to invite the band play here in our country. I was so obsessed that I even send messages to Paul Gilbert through his official website, requesting for this BIG thing. They have played in Japan anyway.

Last week, I saw Billy Sheehan's post that they'll be touring South East Asia by April. My heart stirred, I knew this is coming, but things are still surreal. What more on the 10th of May? I am so excited. Now, where to get those tickets?

Thanks Lord for making one of my wishes come true. :)

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what a way to start the year

I learned from fb that Ebe will be quitting Sugarfree for still some unknown reasons. The other band members' reaction weren't sought yet but this news quite saddening. It's just a month since I've seen them played together. Ebe was thanking their supporters, kept on saying that they should've made Sugarfree Christmas parties before, and all to that effect, where you wouldn't have any idea that's this is coming to an end.

Not long before this sinks in, I saw from twitter that Bamboo called it quits. Well, it didn't strike me that much since I haven't heard from Bamboo, the band, through the airwaves.

Are they going solo? I don't know. But it's exciting to hear the sounds that these people could produce on their own. Rico Blanco's Your Universe is admittedly good. Ely Buendia's Wanted Bedspacer too has demonstrated progress, not only in the skills of the musician, but also to the whole local music scene. And songs from Ebe Dancel and Bamboo Manalac would be something to look forward to.

I hope they would still pursue doing music. Love and support for OPM!

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