That's literally and figuratively. The air was balmy all throughout the music fest; made more sweaty by the bumping jumping thumping bodies, thanks to beats from numerous local and international bands.
Elayne and I arrived at around 3pm (the peak of the heat), excited and clueless on the house rules. For starters, there's no re-entry allowed, meaning once your inside, you can never go out (unless there's an emergency). Boo to our limited wallet capacities. Well, at least there's a nearby ATM machine... Outside. This means we have to sweetly bully manong bouncer to let us out. Ha!
We just bought the gold ticket and regretted not getting the VIP (as initially planned). There's a barricade separating the 5k-payers and there are certain booths that are not accessible for us meager 3k-ers. We didn't bring any picnic mats or umbrella. Luckily, I was wearing a paper hat so I was able to bear the heat.
When we entered, the first thing that struck me was the floral head gears being sold in one of the stalls. "It's like the ones in Coachella," says may companion. "Do you want to buy one?"
I made a face, brows creased. "No. I don't like flowers."
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| No, not a flower. Its a sun! |
Girl: Are you lining up from this stall?
Me: Any one, I guess. Whichever comes first.
Girl: Oh, okay.
Me: (notices the cat whiskers on her cheeks) How did you get those? Its really nice.
Girl: Oh, its my sunblock. Do you want one?
Me: No, thanks.
Girl: (imposingly) No. You should. Let's paint one of your face.
Me: (smiles wide) No. Its okay. Thanks for the offer, though.
Girl: No...no... You should put one too.
I was about to protest but said girl was already rummaging through her cross body bag and pulled out said yellow-hued sunblock. In the end, I pressed my forefinger and made the dots in less than a minute. Funny things happen when you wait for your turn in the bathroom. Seriously.
So far, all the local bands (except for UDD) played in the afternoon. The first of the guest bands to play was Colour Coding, a duo of cuties that will probably hit it off with the young ones. I like the song "Had It All" and "Perfect" because I like how Chris almost whispers the "To me you are perfect..." (Kilig fanmode on) Elayne said the latter was very adolescent. Ha!
I also like the country sound of Avalanche City, a band from New Zealand. I bought the double-track CD and have been listening to it since the weekend. If they return next year, I'd definitely catch them again!
Come twilight, its Australian band Tully on Tully who conquered the stage. They don't sound very foreign, though. I even had the impression that its a local band, which means that their songs trigger a certain familiarity. Ding said they have a single that's being aired in V Channel.
And after Tully on Tully--its UDD time!
The last time I heard UDD live was during the Bloc Party Concert a few months ago. I saw the group in Cebu for another music fest. Ding and I were laughing at Arni's weird 90-ish hand gestures.
"Bangag yata siya," I said.
"Mukha nga," Ding complemented.
But we'll never know. We're just sure that UDD is still as kick-ass as ever. And that prior to the music fest, they were at Trinoma for a mall gig. And will cap the night at Saguijo. I really like the lifestyle.
Next on the list is Nada Surf:
They were really awesome! I love all the songs they played at the fest, especially "Jules and Jim". I had the impression, though, that the other 3k-ers were not enjoying the show as much as we do. Maybe its the generation gap?
This led me to conclude that Ding and I are in the wrong side of the fence. Our crowd is the VIPs upfront. Howell, next year I shall be in the front row! MARK MY WORDS!
But everybody's energy peaked when this band took the stage (after more than 15 minutes of waiting):
Yes, Neon Trees. Am totally clueless that there's a band like this. Ding said its one of two tings: 1) We're too old for this type of band or 2) We're not updated. I think we're both. Haha. I love the energy of the lead vocalist and Ms Drummer was good too. As they sing one song after another, Ding and I finally recognized the songs. Really neat stuff.
But not everybody seems to be affected by the jumpy vibe. These two girls were the only ones lying as Neon Trees rocked the circuit:
Hahahaha. After a few songs, they probably realized they're the only ones lying like this. They stood up, only to lie back after a few minutes. Seriously, ate?!
After Neon Trees, everybody waits in anticipation for the final act. Its way past midnight when they finished and it took awhile before The Temper Trap came out. As Ding and I waited for them, we managed to take a photo with Colour Coding!
Here's my pic with Chris:
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| Colour Coding Boy, with Ate Lei |
But no, Colour Coding boy was headed for the velcro man! I was in total fanmode gear while they tried it out. I even wanted to take a photo of them! But Elayne was like: "You're in fanmode, Lei." So I didn't do anything, just watched and laughed at them from afar. Poor me.
But Elayne was in a higher level of fanmode than I am. She bought a five-track CD (distributed by Ivory Records here in the Phils) and even rushed to have them sign the CD! Ha, sinong fanmode ngayon?!
After our ongoing restlessness, the highlight of the festival finally took the stage! Yoohoo to The Temper Trap:
They are breathtakingly good. I managed to get a 9-second vid of the group. Unfortunately, Flik died out on me and am was only able to capture this:
The guitar riffs were delicious. The vocals are flawless. One word: Orgasmic. That's Temper Trap.
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| The Temper Trap |
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