*picture "borrowed" from Chuvaness... they were just too cute, I couldn't resist :)

Labels: concert, eraserheads, francis m

"Now we can dance upon the sweetest love refrain
you're my tomorrow and you're my today
now only you can show the way
through fire and rain I'm feelin' pain so much
you're such a part of me I want you back
hey! It's good to see you again " - Let Me In, Mike Francis

You're not a real 80's kid if you don't ooohhhhhhhh whenever you hear this song. This brings me back to memory lane, of time when love was all kilig, even if it meant just holding hands with the boy who made your heart beat faster as you make your way through the crowd in your school dance... Yeah, he was the boy you let in with the flowers. ;)

I got a chance to hear Mike Francis perform live at ATC last night. Siyet. He is super galeng. That voice and sound is just so distinct. And the encore number was so beautiful. They performed this taglish version of Sana'y Maulit Muli. Kung kaya kong iwanan ka, di na sana aasa pa.. Kung kaya kong umiwas na, di na sana lalapit pa... Haay, kaka inlove. Made me wanna grab the hand of the cute boy with the colorful reggae hat across the room. Hehe.

Labels: concert

Still kinda not over the disappointment from last Saturday night. I have been so excited to go to the Fete, just because I missed it last year. This time, I made sure I got there early (730PM) so I'd beat the traffic. I made sure I wore low-heeled sandals (which after walking around and just before the official festival opened, I had to remove in exchange for my reliable flip-flops, which I carry with me in the car all the time). I even brought antacids so I could drink up. I was ready for the Fete.

I hung out at the main stage as planned. Everything was ok. I discovered this cool ethnic-flavored band called Kadangyan. I fell in love with them.

These guys brought me to way back when... I was then a tubao wearing high school kid, wearing a native backpack to school, who was taught to love her country and its culture.. And that's what Kadangyan means, btw, it's an Ifugao term for "rich in culture".. Which we are. Ain't it great just to rediscover that? :)

After a 15-min break, there was a brief fireworks display.

The crowd cheered, and soon after, Capoiera went up the stage with some members dancing off-stage (I could not see them but I saw legs flying up the air)..

All I know was, I was having great fun. Then I saw him. My man. My bassist. Louie Talan of Loquy/Razorback. He played with Cynthia Alexander, who officially opened the festival. Who, as always, wowed the crowd with her haunting voice.

The Makiling Ensemble was next, then while I was loving Radio Active Sago project, and as Lourd de veyra shouted his lyrics, felt huge drops of rain on my forehead. Not a good sign. Had to run away, and was just in time before the rain poured.

The music soon faded. And that was the end of it. No more fete, washed away by the rain, leaving thousands of people stranded, some of them soaked, without anywhere to go. All the bars were packed. The beer was warm.

And it was just time to call it a night, at 1AM.

Labels: concert, fete

Tom. night will be the start of the summer solstice - longest day of the year, the beginning of summer, for the people in the northern hemisphere, that is.. For us living right on the earth's equator, well, it's sort of the end of ours (not really.. but, I'm not going into all the scientific details, because, I don't know. hahaha)...

Oh, summer, you went away too soon!! I don't want you to go yet.. Summer is the time for brief love affairs, with someone, with some place like Bora.. It's also the time for inhibitions to go away, and for people to play... It's the time to get out there and get burned.. Well, literally and figuratively... :p

And one of the most popular summer solstice festivals, is the Fete dela Musique, which started in France (don't you just love them? they gave us, among several other wonderful things, ern, French kissing, and French fries.. hahaha)... The Phils. started the fete about ten years ago, in Malate, then somewhere along the way, they moved to El Pueblo, and this year, in Eastwood.. It just gets bigger and bigger.. This year, they will have ~2x more bands playing all kinds of music! They're expecting 2x more people (10000++!!) flocking to the venue. Bad of course.. Where to park? Argh. How to breathe? Double argh.

But, I totally enjoyed my first Fete.. Music and alcohol are two of my favorite things ever.. hehehe.. Never mind all the inconvenience (like feet hurting like hell after about 5 hrs of standing up/dancing/walking, etc; people stepping on your poor toes; 2 hrs to find a parking space; getting sweaty and sticky, and all sorts of eewwwww)... It is FUN, FUN, FUN!

Here's a quick overview to what we'll see tonight :

World Music (main stage)- opening by Cynthia Alexender at ~9PM.. Various performances by Pinikpikan (including closing at 3AM)... Loquy at 1230AM.. Makiling Ensemble (after CynthiA), Brownbeat, Radioactive sago, Bayang Barrios... I'm hanging out here most of the time

Reggae (Via Mare) - Tropical depression (2AM)ROck (Parking lot) - The Dawn, Mongols (940PM), 6 Cycle Mind, Rivermaya, Bamboo (1130PM), Sugarfree, Cambio, Sandwich -- all happening after 9PM..

Alternative (Cybermall) - Narda, Session Road (150AM), Kitchie Nadal, Barbie's Cradle

Hiphob/RB will be at the Basement, Electronica at Big kahuna, Drum Jam by K-honistas at McCau Fountain area (830PM).. Well, there's also Jazz, lounge music and blues..

Footnote: IT RAINED! HARD! AND THE RAIN KILLED THE FESTIVAL :( More about this year's fete when I'm over the inis. Hehehe.

Labels: concert, fete, summer

The concert was a blast! I have not been in a mosh pit for soooooooooooooooooooooo long! There is just something very liberating about being in a rock concert, specially jumping, shoving, pushing, body slamming along with the music. Hahaha... Maybe last night was a tribute to my lost youth (argh!), a sort of last hurrah... but then again, maybe not.. Not just yet (I still have my Metallica concert to go to..) ;) Youth is after all, a function of our well-being and attitude, and not merely by age. :p

Well, I could carry on about Incubus and Brandon Boyd (OMG! hahahaha.. I'm such a groupie). But apart from the obvious bad boy appeal of the latter (i luuuuuv the tattoo'd arms), the band just has so much talent. Brandon writes good lyrics and their music is just, for lack of a better word, awesome.

Some of my favorites are Drive ("lately I'm beginning to find that I should be the one behind the wheel.. Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there with open arms and open eyes", Pardon Me ("So pardon me while I burst into flamesI've had enough of the world and its people's mindless games"), Warning ("Learn to love ourselves before it's made illegal.."), Just a Phase ("Temporaryism has been the black plague and the Jesus of our age"), Are You In?, Wish You Were Here, and from A Crow Left of the Murder -- Megalomaniac, of course, which made for a very good opening song because it definitely set the mood of the concert!; Talk Shows on Mute ("You're so much more endearing with the sound turned off"), Southern Girl ("Look no further, I'm yours") and Here In My Room ("If the world would fall apart in a fiction worthy wind, I wouldn't change a thing now that you're here...")... The list goes on.

The songs definitely express different moods, which makes it even more appealing. Some lyrics are angry, some can be tender. And in some cases, the lyrics echo thoughts that don't find their way out of my mind and to the person concerned. Just like this. This one's for you :D

"When you were down i always picked you up
Why didn't I recognize that everything was never fine?
I'm kicking myself that i shared spit with you
So fuck yourself
And fuck this bleeding heart of mine" - Leech

Labels: Brandon Boyd, concert, heartache, Incubus

Dalawang tulog na lang!! Guess who's going to hear Incubus live on Friday?

Are you in? ooh...ooh.. ooh... :)

Labels: concert, Incubus