(no subject)
On Saturday I fell to my knees in worship of the sea.
It was the last day of Surf and Music Festival and it was the lineup of bands that night that I was most excited for. Razorback, Wolfgang, Franco, and Urbandub. I walked onto the beach during the first couple of songs of Razorback and made a beeline to the festival area to watch. They were playing songs that I really didn't know. I enjoyed it, but when Wolfgang took to the stage, that was when I started singing along.
Wolfgang - I don't remember the last time that I saw them play. It must have been sometime when I was still in Ateneo, before Basti left for the states. Watching them onstage brought back a lot of old memories. I wasn't near the stage when they opened, I wandered off to the bathroom after Razorback. But when I heard the opening strains of "Come together" I knew it was them.
An old memory: it was New Year's 2000 and my family was staying at one of the Makati hotels. After the clock hit midnight, I went to find my own thing to do. I was 14, didn't drink, and I don't remember a lot of what happened, or how things went. I don't know how I got around, I don't know who I was with, but somehow I wound up at the Fort to watch the bands that were playing. My clearest of that evening was seeing Wolfgang play "Come Together." I didn't even know that song back then, as I'd hardly listened to the Beatles.
At La Union, as Wolfgang ran through their set, I sang along and jumped around. A friend called me a 'fanboy' - and while I'm not intimately familiar with all of Wolfgang's discography, I accepted it as true. Wolfgang was the local band whose sound and influence I admired and aspired for for most of high school. I'm happy I got see them, I'm happy they're together and doing shows, I hope I catch them again soon.
I fell asleep sometime between Wolfgang and Franco. I was absolutely exhausted for many reasons and figured that I needed to conserve some energy for the final bands. I woke up as Franco was setting up.
Prior to SMF I'd never seen Franco live. The first experience I had with their music was hearing my brother singing with great gusto in the room next to mine. Then I started recognizing their songs on the radio, and while I liked it, I never really paid all that much attention.
As they took the stage during the show, I knew I was going to see something special. The energy from the crowd as they soundchecked was palpable. Then the lights focused in on the man on stage and all I could see was the image of what I can only describe as a Filipino rock god. Dark skinned, white haired, and bearded he looked positively immortal on stage. The crowd knew his words, and I sang along to the parts that I could.
While listening to Franco I realized just how long I'd been out of touch with the local music scene. I'd been going out again more recently, and seeing more and more of what's happening, but something in me snapped during Franco's set. An epic set by a band I'd never seen before, there on the sand, under the half moon and stars, I felt absolutely moved.
As the set ended and the stage cleared, the emcees took the stage again, and I went out onto the beach to give my ears a break and my mind a rest. The whole experience of the weekend culminated here; I was drunk, high, overcome with a spectrum of emotion, and standing on a strangely familiar beach. My heart was full. It wasn't just the set I'd just seen, it was the music from the whole festival, the songs from crowd, the sheer diversity of the people around and interacting. I walked into the surf, danced with the waves, and flirted with the sea before I let her overcome me like a long lost love.
The first time I was on that beach I almost drowned. The year was maybe 2005. I was drifting, maybe on LOA from Ateneo, and soul-searching. I took public there, from either Manila or Baguio to go meet a friend from out of town and learn to surf. We got to the beach late in the middle of the afternoon, and in my excitement, I foolishly ran straight into the ocean and swam out as far as I could. I remember struggling to swim back to the shore, my feet barely reaching the sand underneath me. I remember the strength of the waves, and images of the people on shore, resting in the shade. It's the one experience in my life where I felt like I touched death; I was losing strength, being dragged out into sea, and trying to call for help only resulted in me swallowing more saltwater. I remember thinking that I was not ready to go. I did the only thing that I could: I closed my eyes and swam as hard as I could. I didn't stop until I reached the sand.
I was born a city boy, but my first love was the ocean. When I got back to shore after almost drowning I was afraid of the ocean. Until this year, that fear has stayed like a shadow over my heart. This year, I've been immersing myself again and again in the ocean.
That night as I swam in the beach that once almost killed me, I realized that the fear of the ocean that I once held was gone, or tempered now into a deep respect and reverence.
I returned for the rest of the show, changed.
Urbandub was the perfect closing band for an amazing festival. Gabby convinced the organizers to let in everyone on the beach to watch the show. Sailing was very appropriate for the setting, and First of Summer really brought the crowd together. A moshpit formed, and I could not pass that up. I went in pushing, jumping, and dancing around in the name of music, peace, and love.
I didn't get much sleep that night. I hung out on the beach with friends, swam, stargazed, and by 8am we were surfing again.
This whole weekend was incredible. I'm glad I went.
It was the last day of Surf and Music Festival and it was the lineup of bands that night that I was most excited for. Razorback, Wolfgang, Franco, and Urbandub. I walked onto the beach during the first couple of songs of Razorback and made a beeline to the festival area to watch. They were playing songs that I really didn't know. I enjoyed it, but when Wolfgang took to the stage, that was when I started singing along.
Wolfgang - I don't remember the last time that I saw them play. It must have been sometime when I was still in Ateneo, before Basti left for the states. Watching them onstage brought back a lot of old memories. I wasn't near the stage when they opened, I wandered off to the bathroom after Razorback. But when I heard the opening strains of "Come together" I knew it was them.
An old memory: it was New Year's 2000 and my family was staying at one of the Makati hotels. After the clock hit midnight, I went to find my own thing to do. I was 14, didn't drink, and I don't remember a lot of what happened, or how things went. I don't know how I got around, I don't know who I was with, but somehow I wound up at the Fort to watch the bands that were playing. My clearest of that evening was seeing Wolfgang play "Come Together." I didn't even know that song back then, as I'd hardly listened to the Beatles.
At La Union, as Wolfgang ran through their set, I sang along and jumped around. A friend called me a 'fanboy' - and while I'm not intimately familiar with all of Wolfgang's discography, I accepted it as true. Wolfgang was the local band whose sound and influence I admired and aspired for for most of high school. I'm happy I got see them, I'm happy they're together and doing shows, I hope I catch them again soon.
I fell asleep sometime between Wolfgang and Franco. I was absolutely exhausted for many reasons and figured that I needed to conserve some energy for the final bands. I woke up as Franco was setting up.
Prior to SMF I'd never seen Franco live. The first experience I had with their music was hearing my brother singing with great gusto in the room next to mine. Then I started recognizing their songs on the radio, and while I liked it, I never really paid all that much attention.
As they took the stage during the show, I knew I was going to see something special. The energy from the crowd as they soundchecked was palpable. Then the lights focused in on the man on stage and all I could see was the image of what I can only describe as a Filipino rock god. Dark skinned, white haired, and bearded he looked positively immortal on stage. The crowd knew his words, and I sang along to the parts that I could.
While listening to Franco I realized just how long I'd been out of touch with the local music scene. I'd been going out again more recently, and seeing more and more of what's happening, but something in me snapped during Franco's set. An epic set by a band I'd never seen before, there on the sand, under the half moon and stars, I felt absolutely moved.
As the set ended and the stage cleared, the emcees took the stage again, and I went out onto the beach to give my ears a break and my mind a rest. The whole experience of the weekend culminated here; I was drunk, high, overcome with a spectrum of emotion, and standing on a strangely familiar beach. My heart was full. It wasn't just the set I'd just seen, it was the music from the whole festival, the songs from crowd, the sheer diversity of the people around and interacting. I walked into the surf, danced with the waves, and flirted with the sea before I let her overcome me like a long lost love.
The first time I was on that beach I almost drowned. The year was maybe 2005. I was drifting, maybe on LOA from Ateneo, and soul-searching. I took public there, from either Manila or Baguio to go meet a friend from out of town and learn to surf. We got to the beach late in the middle of the afternoon, and in my excitement, I foolishly ran straight into the ocean and swam out as far as I could. I remember struggling to swim back to the shore, my feet barely reaching the sand underneath me. I remember the strength of the waves, and images of the people on shore, resting in the shade. It's the one experience in my life where I felt like I touched death; I was losing strength, being dragged out into sea, and trying to call for help only resulted in me swallowing more saltwater. I remember thinking that I was not ready to go. I did the only thing that I could: I closed my eyes and swam as hard as I could. I didn't stop until I reached the sand.
I was born a city boy, but my first love was the ocean. When I got back to shore after almost drowning I was afraid of the ocean. Until this year, that fear has stayed like a shadow over my heart. This year, I've been immersing myself again and again in the ocean.
That night as I swam in the beach that once almost killed me, I realized that the fear of the ocean that I once held was gone, or tempered now into a deep respect and reverence.
I returned for the rest of the show, changed.
Urbandub was the perfect closing band for an amazing festival. Gabby convinced the organizers to let in everyone on the beach to watch the show. Sailing was very appropriate for the setting, and First of Summer really brought the crowd together. A moshpit formed, and I could not pass that up. I went in pushing, jumping, and dancing around in the name of music, peace, and love.
I didn't get much sleep that night. I hung out on the beach with friends, swam, stargazed, and by 8am we were surfing again.
This whole weekend was incredible. I'm glad I went.