eyes wide shut

maybe i really have massive blinkers on.

when we (meaning my mum, aunt, two uncles and myself) drove down for a long weekend at nyc, i was not prepared. i didn't have an agenda, except to make sure we not get lost and manage the meet-up with my cousin. i had vague ideas about striking out to get the nyc experience, but i guess i'm too chicken. so when my uncles decided to go out and watch larry carlton perform a set at the famed blue note, i had to go with them if i would ever have something unique to remember of that weekend.

which was not to say i enjoyed every minute of it. i realized i'm not really into instrumentalists, though i appreciate how good they are. i guess music without words don't quite strike that chord within. and to think the only part i really, really enjoyed was when i realized he was playing the lord's prayer and i was the first to recognize it. after that, i had already drunk half a bottle of corona so i was a bit fuzzy.

maybe it was that corona that did it. because after the set, when the lights went on, we discovered we were sharing a table with this spanish guy who was nursing a bottle of red by himself. being the talkaative guy he is, my older uncle chatted up the guy (his name was jorge) and discovered he was a promoter. etc, etc. and i was like, bleh. because i really didn't know how to chat up someone i didn't know, much less a guy, i instead gave off the vibe that i couldn't care one way or the other. when in fact i really, really cared.

i don't remember whether he was hot, or even cute. i don't think i even bothered to look too closely. which now, i realized, is the whole problem. i know i have a defeatist attitude. i've heard that line about people loving people who love themselves. but i honestly don't know how to go past that. because i'm too chicken.

oh geez.

saw the davids concert last saturday. i was planning on going, a long time ago when david cook has just won ai, but when it was finally happening i lost interest. then i ran across an officemate who was watching, and so i went. ended up staying up until dawn keeping busy because i had to stay out until i could go on the first bus home.

david archuleta is a sweet kid. i still wish he'd grow into his own person really soon, but i have to give the kid some slack since he is just a kid. and i can't fault his singing. it's the stage awkwardness that needs some more work.

on the other hand, david cook is obviously very comfortable performing in front of people. and plus points for performing a fleetwood mac song. klashfopihqkwnfkjhqshjf i love his taste in music.

and little bits of that night led me back to love of fleetwood mac's the dance special.

drunk blogging

yes, i know i've never done this before because i've never had dsl on my fingertips at times like these. actually, i've never been this drunk and gone home like thisin a long, long time. so this really is a first time for many things.

forever would be fine

not all was lost.

from the first chord of magasin, to the last stray note of toyang, the eraserheads (plus jazz) gave us the show we've waited 6 months (and 6 years) for. made especially poignant by the passing of a friend and collaborator, the final set (or to be accurate, four final sets) was all us fans could hope for and more.

the energy. the crowd. the shared knowledge, and the new tricks. the hard banging and the smooth sailing. the effort to make this not just a sequel but also an experience in its own right seemed to have paid off.

tease me. buddy, why did you have to run the bassline for the fabulous baker boy (and not sing)? same goes for marcus and combo on the run. hmpf.

versions. huwag mo nang itanong, di ko sasabihin sa 'yo (eh di 'wag.); kailan lounge ( so pretteeeeeeee); and alapaap lite. headspin.

name that tune. i admit that i'm not the biggest eraserheads fan. but my friend lin, who i don't think is as rabid a fan as i am, stumped me by beating me to the title of spoliarium. though i managed to beat her the other five times.

what genius. as the show went on, lin realized just how many eraserheads songs were actually really good. as in non-alienating, radio-friendly good. and because my head was muddled by alternative poser shit, i also just realized, they were good.

it was not a perfect night; for me, it was perilously close to being ruined. but you know what? i don't care anymore. because when ely called out for marcus for the impromptu set, i heard the proverbial click. history was made, and they made it good.

why i wasn't happy at the eraserheads concert

make no mistake. i enjoyed the concert last night. really. the music was great, no question about it. and the effort to make this a different show from the last time really paid off.

i just feel shortchanged.

in fact, a lot of us were feeling shortchanged. i was in the silver a area, and when we got to the venue, the people were like sardines. i wouldn't have cared about that too much, because generally the people were pretty decent. but when you can't see shit you have to take issue.

the main culprit is the smart tent (or tents, i might as well include the one further front) put up in the gold area that was right in front of the railings. given that it was close to the exits, so the people in the middle of the field have an unobstructed view. but those close to the edge 1) couldn't see the stage (unless they played hide and seek); 2) could barely see the 4 video walls on top of the stage; and 3) couldn't even view the videowall in the middle which was where we would've watched the concert anyway.

the secondary culprit is the layout of the videowalls. sure, it's inevitable that some people would have a better view in some areas, but surely not to take away from others who paid the same tickets to see only people's heads. and the silver a area where i got to was so narrow that people didn't have much room to move about and see beyond people's heads. i couldn't help comparing it to the rihanna concert with videowalls everywhere. and even if there were a lot of people in our area, we had a lot of room to move around especially in the middle so we wouldn't be stuck at the side and behind a frigging tent. behind the frigging tent would have been fine because we had a good view of a videowall which was mounted at the side. but noooooo.

the clincher? i had friends who were in the bronze section. and they had a better view of a videowall than i did. now tell me, producers, why my ticket was worth one thousand pesos more. i certainly didn't feel the difference got me anything better.

our song plays on

ah, the joy of being without guilt.

for some reason, i decided last night to visit the urbandub yahoo group page. i almost flailed when i found out they were playing at elbi tonight. it's common for the big deal gigs to happen on thursday nights here in elbi, so it's no surprise. still, i was undecided if i was going to make the effort. but i posted my dilemma as my ym status, and a friend of mine from high school buzzed me that she and another friend of ours are watching. yay!

got home at precisely 8pm, and broke all records in wardrobe change because i was meeting my two girlfriends at bean hub (near the up gate). they seemed not to be in any hurry, as the gig was apparently just starting and dub wasn't on yet, so i grabbed a sandwich and a cup of coffee for supper. afterwards we started on our short walk to the venue.

the gig was in between bands when we got to the social garden, and it was just our luck because urbandub came on immediately after. wheee! they played songs from the latest album, under southern lights, and a couple from the previous one, embrace. kevin, another high school classmate whom we saw there, was impressed with the technical quality of urbandub's sound (i was like a proud mother hen when i affirmed his observation). and linlin was excited to find she actually knew one of their songs, evidence, which was on heavy rotation at mtv.

i wasn't really planning to hang around for sandwich, but luckily i did, because i didn't know they were that good live. i was really impressed. i actually had newfound respect for myrene academia, their bassist. and their new guitarist is cute (i forgot his name, i read it somewhere a while ago).

not bad for a thursday night gimik, was it? it's just a pity best buddy mike wasn't able to come, but there'll be other chances.

special mentions:

• urbandub riffing a new tattoo (god i miss that song)
• raimund singing masilungan, then changing the lyrics to the first verses of alapaap. panalo! long live the eraserheads!

housekeeping

just one day short of my first month on last.fm, i'm doing some cleaning up. in fact, i'm writing this post while taking a break from deleting scrobbles. there can only be so many plays of foo fighters' the pretender that i can honestly admit to. i don't think i can own up to having 700+ plays of the foos on my ipod since i bought the ipod, let alone since i joined last.fm. but i'm getting tired of the intense mouse-work deleting entails. we shall see.

i wonder, since i've finally re-synced my ipod with the itunes, if the multiple scrobbles will stop. again, we shall see.

i've also been organizing my 80gb disk over the last few days. though i've actually been adding files more than deleting them. which probably means i'll be using the wd my passport pretty soon.

email inbox has been a bit busy, with a few missives from my classmate on graduation-related activities: getting the cap and gown, paying for the grad fee and the alumni fee and the yearbook, getting photos taken. i thought my multiple strama enrollments made the biggest dent in my (parents') pockets; defense and graduation seem to be coming in at close second. hay, just to get a degree...

speaking of classmates, spent wednesday evening with girlfriends from strama (and also the prof) at redbox. all part of my vow to enjoy my life after strama. except that there's still that teensy problem of going home late and catching the last trip. and me wishing i still have a place in manila. wonder what i'll do if i had to go on "dates". if that ever happens.

finally, i'm still struggling with the "read more" modification here at blogger. not that i've already tried it, but i'm thinking of the 200 posts that i'll have to modify as well to set the viewing right. oh whatever. basically the internet's too slow here and at the office for me to really work on it. i think i'd do better just sorting through my mba things this weekend. time to throw out some trash. and me a hoarder. what fun.

current playlist:

mariah carey, touch my body. i love the video, which features the geeky guy from 30 rock, one of my favorite comedies. i'm not going to admit to anyone that i have a girl crush on sexy mariah. nope, no way.

sting, ...all this time (the live album). i accidentally hit play on one of the songs and it all came back to me. this is one of my favorite albums ever. i have to look for the post (way, way back) that says why.

ne-yo, because of you. unlike my classmate rain, i can probably stand a guy who doesn't know ne-yo. as long as he loves either sting, u2 or radiohead. preferably all.

we'll never feel bad anymore

i only dare imagine.

past midnight. edsa. on your way home. stereo on full volume.

you spent the last few hours with the people who come first in your life -- your best friends. you've been talked out, sleepy, but high on caffeine. you're tired, but you don't want the night to end.

you've run out of excuses, so you head home. cruising on the highway. everything that happened is replayed in your mind. knowing little else gives you this kind of contentment.

it will happen once or twice in your lifetime. thrice if you're lucky.

i don't drive, so i can only imagine. nevertheless, the feeling is hardly made-up.

when you're on a holiday
you can't find the words to say
all the things that come to you
and i wanna feel it too

on an island in the sun
we'll be playing and having fun
and it makes me feel so fine
i can't control my brain

when you're on a golden sea
you don't need no memory
just a place to call your own
as we drift into the zone

on an island in the sun
we'll be playing and having fun
and it makes me feel so fine
i can't control my brain

we'll run away together
we'll spend some time forever
we'll never feel bad anymore

we'll never feel bad anymore

-- weezer, island in the sun

staying alive (the morning after)

what happens when you pull an all-nighter, with none of the results you were aiming for to begin with.

it's back to reality.

i got to work late again, for the second straight day. though the guard here at the office offers consolation whenever i complain ("ma'am, officer ka naman eh"), i really dislike being late for work. i do try to compensate by staying the whole nine hours, but it's a bit hypocritical when it was my fault in the first place.

---

so i stayed up until 3 this morning. big deal. the other night i fell asleep waiting for my roommate to finish with the bathroom, so obviously i accomplished nothing. last night i managed to tweak what little i have of my paper, but i got preoccupied with backing up my mobile phones. however, my biggest accomplishment was not my paper, but finally getting internet access through gprs. yippee! i can now check email, friendster, and my blog at my convenience anytime and anywhere through my underutilized globe plan, using my laptop. no need to be limited by the library hours at agsb, though i would still love to go there because of the connection speed. and i wouldn't be at the mercy of the sky-high hourly rates at my neighborhood 24-hour internet cafe. plus, i would be spared from endless scrolling when i use my phone gprs. i am so happy, i can almost imitate tom cruise on oprah. almost.

this is one instance when a bunch of bad decisions work out after all.

---

i started late last night because i met up with roge and ness at galleria earlier. i felt a bit guilty about not putting my strama first in my life, but when did i ever? so i decided i might as well go, and to paraphrase stephen covey, i also wanted to invest in my emotional bank account especially with roge. (or did i just feel coerced? just kidding, roge!) we had a great time window shopping, eating at chef d'angelo and chatting over coffee at starbucks. we were reluctant to end the night, but it's a workday and reality should be faced eventually.

---

i'm in lss (last song syndrome) mode again, and my song of the moment is stranded by plumb. but what i want to hear now is the jennifer paige version, which is the first i heard of the song. of course i'd prefer to get an mp3 copy (hint, hint) but for now i'll try to bug the guys over at klite... anyway that's where i heard this song in the first place.

pockets of free time, part 2

still have a lot of time to kill before i get out of the house, so here goes.

last week i watched the rivermaya and kitchie nadal concert at the araneta. a few weeks ago mike was asking if i wanted to watch. to give a little background, i first saw rivermaya with the current lineup at the klite anniversary party last year (see this: http://politicsaside.blogspot.com/2004/10/birthday-bash.html ). and early this year, i was lucky enough to see them perform at the petron launch, again with my best buddy mike. so mike has a pretty good idea how eager i am to see rivermaya again... especially mike elgar (hahaha!) but this time our hearts weren't really into it, since it was a saturday and i rarely stay in manila on saturday nights.

by some kind of fluke, another friend won a bunch of tickets to the concert. i had converted gary into a semi-regular morning brew listener, and we were constantly trying our luck on free tickets. this time, he got lucky (though he was gunning for tickets to the guess who premier). so mike and i got to watch after all.

gaaaah, i'm really getting lazy, so just read mike's review by clicking here: http://saveferris.blog-city.com/read/1206941.htm but i have to say, i still don't like kitchie all that much. the only song i liked from her is same ground.

the ultimate gig experience

for once i threw caution to the wind. i had no companion, it was weeknight, i'd never gone there before, and to top it all, i'm supposed to make headway on my strama external analysis. but no. i've reverted to my college student ways (only now, the educational level has changed), and who the hell cares about my paper?!?

last night was urbandub's last gig before heading back to the south. as in south, philippines. and no sched for return engagements. i just had to go.

because of my innate charitable personality, i found another dubista to hang out with, who also had no other companions. so while waiting for the performance, we exchanged small talk and swapped udub stories. believe me, i managed to breach my two-bottle limit without feeling too tired. and after 2 hours, the front act finally came on. hmm, good songs. my interest in the local rock scene just went up a notch. and then it was time.

my buddy and i had already moved to the front -- as in we were just an arm's length away. and even if i was not very familiar with udub's other songs, like the ones from the first album, i found myself nodding and swaying to the beat. man, they really rocked. and lalay is my god. i really wanted to be as good a bassist as she is, and it was like living my dreams through her. and the crowd was great. capone's isn't my usual kind of place, but the udub fans last night made me feel so comfortable. it wasn't rowdy, and though you'd find beatnik types they weren't alienating at all.

a pity i don't listen to nu anymore, i belatedly realized they were awarded album of the year in the last rock awards. now i can't wait to see them again, though i might have to wait until june (says their roadie). and next time, i hope i have my usual gig buddy with me. he would really enjoy it.

p.s. the front act -- menaya -- performs regularly at xaymaca. i'm thinking of going to their peligro gig next week. hmm...

(saturday, 5 march 2005 10:57 pm)

hah. i almost forgot. in my excitement i failed to mention this was the night of the jars of clay concert. i almost went there too, but i didn't have the money nor the time (though i did for this one)

mike and joe, two of my bestest buddies, watched the concert (separately shempre). so when i texted them both for this gig, they had to decline. hay.

birthday bash

i just love october. every time i get within a few weeks to my birthday, i'm occupied thinking of all the things i want to do on that day (or week). like where i'd treat my best buds, or whether we'll go dancing or just hang out at some coffee shop. or who else i'll see or bump into while i'm out there.

however, it seemed that i was bound to be disappointed this year. my best friend (who is now also my roommate) is going on a trip up north, while my next closest friend has training scheduled every weeknight. we can't even go out all together on friday nights. so the day after my birthday i finally called my best male buddy and got him to go with me to the klite anniversary concert at the fort.

after bingeing on grilled eats, we took a short walk over to pier one and found true faith warming up the crowd. wow, i so loved that band! as there wasn't a large number of people we got great spots at the front. which was good thinking on our part because the next band was river maya. i had a great time singing along to the old songs, even if i'm not a great fan. by the time their set was done i had developed a fine crush on... hahaha! secret!

we stayed a little longer, watching hourglass (sans egay), bridge, and mojofly, before deciding to call it a night. we have also consumed 6 beers between the two of us, needless to say we had to call a halt to get home in one piece. as it was we were already acting like college kids... and bemoaning the fact that we aren't kids any more. do you know that walking at the fort at midnight is almost like strolling at lb? hmmm...

i really missed my late teenage years... i have always accepted that i'm a college kid at heart. and i'm glad that i got to indulge in one of my favorite things -- listening to great music -- for my birthday. a really cheap gimik (well, if you didn't count the dinner) with a friend who enjoyed it as much as i did, if not more. the ultimate celebration of life.

now, if i could only meet that guy...