Lagare Nights Part 3: Shuffle Union Invincible Tour, 1962 Tambayanan, July 11 Saturday Night. Plus This Weekend's Gigs!

From España, Manila, I transferred to Timog Avenue in Quezon City. I did not get to see The Nudolls (featuring Smee, for those who frequented Kolumn in the past), the band that played first. Steady Movin' Beat was about to play by the time I arrived. Some people were already alcohol-fueled and skanked towards the middle of the set. The flurry on the dancefloor went on as Rocket Punch took the stage (and commissioned Mateo to sing some songs for them). These guys are good and they prepare their repertoire well. Of course, Shuffle Union (frequent victims of ill-functioning mics lately) was as always consistent and Nomer was a delight behind his keyboards. Tsunami Tsunami, Arnold Morales' new band, did an ambush set, while Lagare bands The GoSignals and The Marcos Cronies performed just as well after coming from Sazi's (and Ten02, as in the case of TGS).



Yup yup. A long Saturday night of music indeed. (And I was still dreaming of teleport - TP in Second Life lingo - on my way home.)

Some interesting gigs are up this coming weekend. Filter Zine's Unmerry Melodies is kicking off this Friday (uhm, that's today) at the Leprechaun Bar. Poster is at the siderail for your reference. Also at the Leprechaun Bar this Saturday, July 18, Try This At Home Productions will be presenting three musically diverse bands: Coffee Break Island, The GoSignals, and Hilera. Now this should be really interesting. Show starts at 9pm; entrance is at PHP100 inclusive of a bottle of beer. Watch out, too, for the First Manila Ska Festival set on July 24-25 (July 24: photo exhibit, July 25: actual gig). I shall be filling you in with the details soon.

By the way, I got a good number of positive feedbacks in reference to the Grrrl!!!!! playlist. As such, I am presently concocting Grrrl Part 2. Do watch out for it, hunnies.

That's it for now. As for me, I'm about to go to this other world where I can at least satisfy my TP cravings to my heart's content. [IM me or send me NC if you care to join me....]

Photo: A spirited Nomer of SU

Invincible...

... is the title of Shuffle Union's latest album consisting of live acoustic tracks off the Louie Louie gig held last January of this year. The lads are in the middle of their Invincible-Live Album Tour, and last night, they played at what seems to be their favorite haunt of late, 1962 Tambayanan at Sct. Madriñan at South Triangle in Quezon City.

I was late (so what's new?) so I did not get to see the jolly boys of Pink Cow play. Steady Movin' Beat performed after Pink Cow. All those nights of gigging are paying off: SMB is simply getting better and better, with demeanour to match. They obviously recognise that a band worth its salt does not rely on talent alone but also on diligence and the drive to outdo themselves. I am honestly happy to see SMB become into what they are right now.

Then came Shuffle Union, which I believe is one of the most senior, if not the most, active ska bands around. Like most observers and regulars of the ska scene, I have somehow followed this band's development, its ups and downs, not as keenly as Je did but I was witness just the same to SU's metamorphosis. Invincible the album is long overdue. You might as well buy their CD, and if you have their EP (the one that contains "Lovestruck" and "Freedom"), you'd find out that Shuffle has indeed trekked a long and bumpy road and picked up valuable lessons along the way. And if you have been following the ska gig circuit since the Clubska years, you too, would probably feel that you are part of their journey as well.

What can I say? At last, guys, at long last.

*****
There are a couple or so ways to get a hold of Shuffle Union's Invincible album, which by the way are in limited quantities only.

1. The best way is to be at their gigs (next stop will be at Java Ave, UP Los Baños, Laguna on July 2, Thursday, 7pm): you can check out their gig schedules at their blog site or at their MySpace site.

2. If you cannot be physically at the gigs, you can order their CD through their blog site, or here, YES HERE, at the Trash Radio Manila blog site. I have made it possible for both Paypal and non-Paypal users to place their order by clicking certain buttons at a specified area by the siderail. JUST LOOK FOR THE SHUFFLE UNION INVINCIBLE gifs AT THE SIDERAIL, and you'll know what to do next. You can actually own this great CD even if you are not in the Philippines. Coolness, oui? Oui! So what are you waiting for, hunnies?

*****
Again we start another week, but before we do, please, please, remember to greet your Dads a Happy Father's Day. And, be safe, y'all.

Photo shoots: 1962 Tambayanan, Steady Movin' Beat, Shuffle Union. I < 3 my cheap camera. No kidding.

A Tale Of Three Gigs

Mick Jagger? Paul of Coffee Break Island, Green Papaya Art Gallery, Kamuning, Quezon City, May 6, 2009

Wednesday, May 6, 2009. More than a year ago, I was in Jed Escueta's photo exhibit Escuebaks at Big Sky Mind. Many months, blog posts, and exhibits later and we were back together. This time, Jed featured the rowdy guys of Coffee Break Island.

It was my first time at Green Papaya. The place, I was told by a friend, was once a house where she stayed in for a few years. The place was filled up when I came in, and Coffee Break Island was already dishing out familiar songs off their repertoire at the ground floor of the gallery, much to the delight of the crowd. Beer was all over the place, and in the bloodstreams of most people in attendance.

Upstairs was where the actual exhibit was located, showcasing the band at various stages of their career. Very interesting.

Jed, consistently the reticent one, was at the background as always. He was one of those familiar faces I haven't seen in quite a while. Glad to see those faces once again. Yup, in spite of the rains raging outside that night.

*****

Joe Jackson? Emil of The Marcos Cronies, Sazi's Restobar, Espana, Manila, May 9, 2009

Saturday, May 9, 2009. Hilboy of Bisikleta Productions was putting some finishing touches on the tickets while awaiting the matinee crowd. Ah, but it does take a bit of getting used to matinee shows. Maybe Saturday is not a good day for a matinee. At any rate, when people started pouring in some two hours after the supposed sched, they really poured in. Pretty soon, Sazi's Restobar (formerly Mayric's) was filling up.

Bing showed up, of course, and was his usual bubbly self. The GoSignals played. So did The Marcos Cronies, Pink Cow, Rocketpunch, SMB, and essentially almost every band billeted that night. My bad, I did not get to see all the bands play and hence I could not give a fair assessment. I was doing a looooot of catching up with people and towards the tailend of the gig, I have to rush to another venue, which I will talk about later. All I know is, I had a good time talking to long-lost friends. (Or more like, I was the "long-lost" person, heheh.)

Sazi's (and this is just my personal opinion) has not changed much: the look, the mood still reminds me of Mayrics, but Sazi's is a little bit cleaner. It was little like time warp. Hopefully Sazi's eventually becomes another viable option for similar gigs in the future.

A little before 12 midnight, I was hitting the road again.

*****

Silenoz of Dimmu Borgir? Dagul of Shuffle Union, 1962 Tambayan, Sct. Madrinan, Quezon City, May 10, 2009

From Sazi's I went to 1962 Tambayan, a place once haunted (Don't we just love puns?) by news scribes and refurbished to cater for acoustic performances. That night, Shuffle Union and SMB (the boys were working double-time) were to perform acoustic sets.

I arrived and saw Arnold Morales jamming with JR and Dagul prior to Shuffle Union's set. The crowd was (obviously because of the acoustic sets) more laidback, and I actually like the way the sound bounces off in the venue. 1962 Tambayan is looking good as an acoustic gig venue, so far.

Shuffle Union, as far as I know, is presently preparing their EP which should be out anytime soon. If you were at the Louie Louie gig at Mogwai last February, you'd have a good idea how this album will sound. The boys and girls have retained the engaging trad-rocksteady quality of their music but added new elements to their sound making it a little different from how they sounded like four years ago. Now this is something to definitely look forward to, and I am personally glad that they are finally coming out with this album. I wish Shuffle Union all the luck in the world.

The night was not quite over yet for some when I left the tambayan. For me, however, it had just began. Up next, the playlist. Have a great week, people.