As far as the local music scene is concerned, I’m up for those oufits just hovering around the mainstream circuit, like the Terno bands. Sadly, a good number of the younger bands sound the same, which does reflect the sort of sound coming out of the radio and the music video channels as well, anyway.
Since Club Dredd is pretty close, and I haven’t shot a gig for weeks, I went and shot a part of the scene I don’t think I was ever exposed to: the metal side of things.
Descant Gott at Dreddbanger’s Ball, Club Dredd, Eastwood City, Libis, QC
Melody del Mundo, ex-Sugar Hiccup, now in Stella’s Notch
I thought I’d be going through a slow-shoot period, since my main lens is currently being cleaned of fungi, but I had to see a late high school, early college rockstar crush of mine.
Alex singing with Angulo at Effinboiche’s last gig last Saturday
My current muse-of-a-band, Effinboiche, held their last gig last Saturday in Malate. I was there, and I gave Alex my book project.
Book project? See, I’ve had these ideas for compiling photos in a not so usual manner for the past few months. Pity I haven’t started printing even a small fraction of my photos, and the hundred or so prints I do have, pre-digital, are now unattended in shoeboxes. My affiliation with RFilipinas had me consider other practical ways to handle the situation, like inkjet printing on a paper-based album instead, or the actual making a coffee table type picture book. I wanted the photos from my China stay to be the initial project, but this was the time my feet constantly itched for gigs.
Funny that I should be semi-active in the rock scene coverage well past my twenties. My best friend, a year or two younger than me, was telling me how she’d go to the old Club Dredd back when she was in high school. Now she has pussycatdolls on her PDA. Ugh.
So Saguijo appears to be, hands-down, the venue of choice for anyone who’d like to watch the better bands of the local rock scene perform. Been there once at the last Narda gig, and got engulfed in the vibe of things. No complaints, except for the proximity. And that’s why this other venue, Route 196 in Katipunan, QC, became an enticing option.
See, Club Dredd being a 5 minute walk away from the office is rad and all, but there’s an observed slow acceptance of it being the legit predecessor of the original venue. Same owner, but too posh a location. Route 196, on the other hand, is a 10-minute ride away, and has built a reputation as being an very viable alternative joint for us northerners. So, what prompted me to go there yesterday?
Members of the now-defunct Narda (view this blog’s Narda archives), in one gig.
Tags: music, personal, photography
Not Exactly Narda at Route 196’s Helter Shelter Night
More gig info here.
I was with Che and super Effinboiche fan Joby at the first Electro-Rock night at Warehouse 135 in Makati City. And yes, I did want to catch Alex and co. (Effinboiche) again, but I have been curious about Taken By Cars for a long time, too. Oh and Sleepwalk Circus was a surprise; its lovely to know local shoegazing is alive and sounding pretty good as well.