Monday, August 21

Crush

I used to dream about going to those Heavy Metal concerts in one of those large open Stadiums to see bands like Rage Against the Machine or Iron Maiden. Only problem was, back then in Manila, the artist that graced the Philippine soil were only the likes of Barry Manilow or Neil Diamond. I'd watch Luciano Pavarotti first before those two aforementioned acts. If i could afford it anyway. Relief came in late 1991 when news came that famed Metal band Metallica was coming to town. In support of their recently released Black album they held a world tour that included one night in Manila. To metal fans like myself, that was the zenith... I attended that concert which still remains the single largest concert event i ever attended. Immediately after i arrived at the venue though (a large Soccer stadium), getting a glimpse of the stage setup through the stadium walls, i realized logistical and potential crowd-control problems. The stage itself was fine, the potential problem were the portable waist high iron partitions that separated A, B & C ticket levels and 80,000 incongruous wooden chairs... Yes over 80,000 wooden chairs in the middle of the Soccer field at a Heavy Metal Concert. Do you see the problem there? Somehow the organizers failed to anticipate this epic problem.

After a very long wait to get in the Stadium, my friends and i, with our backpacks full of water and sandwiches, found a good spot in the B level area a few rows from the partitions. There were a few frontliners before the mainstay. The first two bands, oddly enough, were Punk Bands and were not received well by the predominantly headbanger crowd (Advent Call was then one of the best Punk Bands around). You see in the Philippines Punk Rockers and Headbangers aren't only musical classifications but more like rivals. Stupid i know. Its the same way the Social Filipino adapted the Collegiate Fraternity and made it into ruthless gangs rather than a social club... I didn't mind too much because honestly i like Punk Rock better than Heavy Metal. In the the middle of Advent Call's session the rains started to fall creating this sort of psychedelic effect with the lighting amidst the sea of people and mud. The band before Metallica was this popular rock band called Razorback (The drummer used to date Dawn Zulueta. One of the most beautiful Filipinas ever). I have seen Razorback perform before in a small club so i took that opportunity to relieve myself in one of the porty potties located in the rear of the stadium where a thousand other people await. It took so long that by the time i made it in one of the potties, Mettalica came on. I quickly did my business and rushed out to try to get back to my spot to no avail because 80,000 people rushed the stage. Consequently i never found my friends. And to finish the wooden chair story they were all pretty much destroyed...

Soaking wet, shirtless, and friendless, i gave up looking for my friends and decided to just enjoy the concert. By "Sad but True", high as a kite from second hand Marijuana smoke, i'd completely forgotten i came with friends at all. The rest of the concert was a blur but a blast nonetheless. I had to take the bus home shirtless and soaking wet. After this unforgettable adventure/ordeal i realized i liked live bands better in smaller more intimate venues. Places like Club Dredd and Mayrics (in Manila). These relatively small but popular clubs offered mostly promising underground rock bands. Its like College Football, you still see passion in their game... Best yet, every night of the week featured different music. The slower nights like Mondays and Tuesdays were alternative nights. Bands like Paint it Red, Sugar Hiccups and Tropical Depression. The premium nights Friday and Saturday belonged to Punk Bands like "Philippine Violators" and Filipino Punk music legends "The Wuds". In fact Club Dredd is where the Ultra-Popular band Eraserheads got their feet wet. Eraserheads used to play punk rock incidentally not the mickey mouse rock that they play now...

Sadly i'm no longer up-to-date with the Filipino Punk Rock scene. I do plan to visit Tatak Pinoy one of these days to catch up on some Filipino music. Besides i need another back scratcher lol. They're only going for $1.50 over there, isn't that great? Hopefully they have some new and old stuff i can pick up.

Well to conclude this musical blog entry, I have tickets to the Dave Matthews concert this Friday at The Pond. A good friend of mine was gracious enough to offer her extra ticket to me. Not my intimate venue but at least there wont be rain, porty potties, marijuana smoke and awkward naked bus rides...

1 Comments:

At 8:27 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Regarding Metallica, do you happen to have the setlist for this show, or any unusual/additional information? master_puppet85@hotmail.com

 

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