fallen oppression @ the dayo bar

april 17, 2009
it has been awhile since i've watched my brother play. bj just got back from australia thus able to pull a few strings & give fallen oppression a number of gig scheds.
we went to the dayo bar, w/ alex, to see them again.

compadres

unsure if fallen oppression will go through hibernation once again for bj's off w/ slapshock for a 6 month world tour. i bet they're looking out for a temp guitar player. well, goodluck bj & bro!

up fair amp11fied

february 11, 2009
up diliman
the up fair never gets old, neither do i...or do i?... sigh...
i joined my brother, plus my friend alex, to accompany & see my brother's childhood friend bjorn play for slapshock again.

we entered through the backstage as usual & eventually mixed w/ the crowd. it was past midnight when we arrived so all the established rock bands were already in the line up; that includes the band we chaperon(ed), slapshock. the rest were parokya ni edgar, kamikazee, cheese, chicosi, urbandub & moonstar 88.
alex & myself pigged out at the tapsilugan stalls w/ meat loaf + sunny side up egg + fried garlic rice & alex w/ tokwa't (tofu) baboy (pig meat) & lugaw (porridge). prior to settling at that tapsilugan, we shared a big slice of an all-meat flavor yellow cab pizza.

there were not too many tiangge stalls anymore as we noticed so after pigging out, we just returned to the backstage.

myself & alex were saying to each other every hour: "uwi na tayo (let's go home), i feel too old for this already!" hahaha

but ofcourse we ended up waiting for chicosi to finish for my brother ian & ariel agreed to meet up for some drinks after the show.

the slap boy bjorn on guitars *:)

bored, so we just took pictures of ourselves

including the folks outside the backstage & myself staring at a blank wall ahehe

down the frames @ bela bar

september 12, 2008

accompanied my brother to his band kamada's gig at the bela bar. my first time to tag along by myself (alex was honeymooning w/ her hubby in baguio).

they were invited by mudslide productions to guest in their show called down the frames at the bela bar in san juan. they were one of the 2 guest bands enlisted.

i was astounded by the profound appreciation & applause they garnered during their 3-song stint from both the bar patrons & other bands as well.

as soon as they stepped down the stage, i watched as various individuals approach each of 'em, showering them multitude of compliments & absolute admiration. i heard one of 'em devotees (i assume) who stole a quick chat with my brother, that they were the highlight of the gig, incomparable to any of the bands who just played(yihee!).

oh well. i guess the heavier metal, the better. *:)

congrats guys. i hope you stay level-headed always.

after bela bar, we went to timog for a few drinks.

freedom @ the freedom bar

september 5, 2008
freedom bar
featured:chonkeys, talahib & more

ofcourse the birthday week of alex didn't end at saguijo & ten02.

earlier, a couple of my workmates sent me a message that the first leg of the oktoberfest was to be held that night as well. imagine that, my birth month's most anticipated festival has already began a month early. awesome!

eric was summoning me to go but i had my eyes on the freedom bar gig so i just replied that i'd follow...which i didn't...coz they sent me an sms after a few hours that they backed out due to the sheer volume of crowd that came. the venue could no longer hold those who were still incoming even those who had tickets.

anyhoo, having met so many friends lately, i get random gig scheds through sms everyday, favorably. i got the freedom bar gig set that friday from jolly of good leaf (buenos dias jolly green! ahehe). chonkeys' guitarist is my bro's band cakewalk's frontman years ago & had been in our house so many times for practices so it was perfect that i knew someone who was on set. syalam members were friends back in the days but only jamir was present & just jammed w/ one of the bands.

the event by the way was a benefit gig for a non-profit org TABAK (tunay na alyansa ng bayan alay sa katutubo). slides were previewed during breaks demonstrating the support & appreciation of various musicians & groups towards our ancenstors.

the last band caught my undivided attention. talahib. ethnic ensemble w/ music blended w/ heavy guitar riffs, emotional lyrics, pieces were extremely passionate about our country. their last song was about stopping the war & saving mindanao & delivering peace to every filipino. touching.

chonkeys' frontman

yohan at the left

talahib

showing off my rag doll; the birthday cheerleader (literally, she wore a pink shirt & ruffled mini skirt w/ a 'save the cheerleader' print haha)

tara

i forgot to mention that the event held at saguijo on the 4th (posted below) was a benefit/fundraising gig for tara bosch-santelices (guitartist of saffron speedway, stormy & a regular guitar sessionist for scarlet tears).

tara is the girl who got shot in the head during a holdup aboard a jeepney ride along cainta on the eve of her birthday. more details found in this news report.

after the incident, numerous fundraising gigs have been set, extending to strangers (like me), to support her family in paying the medical bills (she has shown slow, but remarkable progress the past weeks).

i have not met tara. not even through my kumareng ayn's band scarlet tears. the news came to me via sms the day after, through my coffee break island contact. only later did i learn that she is the bandmate/friend of my kumare.

i went to route 196 for one of the benefit gigs last week of august. i finally saw scarlet tears but minus my friend ayn *:(

i got introduced to strikingly talented bands though like cherry cornflakes & good leaf.

scarlet tears' kat

ingat avenue @ saguijo

september 4, 2008
saguijo bar

so my good ol' gal pal alex had her birthday & she implored me in the early weeks to plan the shindig.

choices:

her house? (which is just a studio-type room. gets fairly crowded w/ 3 people inside);

our house? (it was a thursday & everybody's gonna be asleep before midnight);

ten02? (reggae mistress every thursdays but naaaahhh...entrance pa lang ubos na pera niya saka sabi nga niya, sa iba naman! ehehe);

saguijo? (P150 entrance, 5 bands. she'd constantly nag me to bring her to saguijo, overly jealous of the stories i tell her about the gigs i've seen there)

needless to say, i brought her to saguijo. another gal pal salie & my brother tagged along. alex's brother followed after.

the line up, chillitees & top junk (ofcourse there had to be friends playin' right?). the rest were the ronnies, mozzie & gasulina. the pleased birthday girl ordered us non-stop cerveza negras & pulutans.

no need for spoken words, i am oh so glad she had one helluva birthday!

w/ alex & her brother

my bro w/ euela of chillitees & ene of the ronnies

that's salie, ian & myself

my idol timot of top junk (yihee hehe)

after saguijo, we fetched sam from guilly's (stayed for less than half an hour there too), then we had coffee at abs-cbn's starbucks (the only open starbucks branch after 3am in qc).

at guilly's at left; the aficionados at starbucks

the bday girl & the drunk me; at starbucks

we went home before sunrise.

feliz cumpleaños bonita! mwaaah!

the last dance

september 2, 2008

alex's birth month. she declared that it's her birthday the whole month. who doesn't proclaim their birth months as solely theirs? a short period in this lifetime in which you hold ownership of, alone? so i did not object. heck, i'll celebrate w/ her every week! love yah sis!

last day at work, on a tuesday, though not yet her day (her birthday's sept 4th), i asked her out for a pre-birthday celeb that night, for maybe the last time we'll be seeing (for the meantime) juan pablo dream's tuesday gigs at ten02 for my offs has changed these following weeks.

this time we ordered food & only then learned how sumptuous their dishes are at ten02. any of their pasta & appetizers are fantastic!

outside ten02

perderé mucho bing, ygor, bianca & lot!