Last night, we were able to watch Ely Buendia’s solo major concert at the Music Museum. What’s special about this concert is that it’s backed up by a 15-piece orchestra!

The show started with “Alapaap” and ended with “Ang Huling El Bimbo”. Ely Buendia’s recent concert has a balanced song selection. Some songs featured are from The Eraserheads, songs from the album “Wanted BedSpacer” (post-Eraserheads era), and his collaboration with the late Francis Magalona.

Aside from the 15-piece orchestra, Ely Buendia was joined on the stage by Mayo Baluyut (bass), Romel “Sancho” Sanchez (guitars), Gox (keyboards), and Wendell Garcia (drums). Nitoy Adriano was the only special guest at the concert last night. He played with them during the song “Ang Huling El Bimbo” (watch the video here by Sharlyne Ang).

One of the songs which I think has one of the best arrangements during last night’s show is “Magasin”. It was awesome! To those who missed the show, watch the video below. I will upload more videos soon.

Check out some of my selected photos below.

Mayo Baluyut on bass

Wendell on drums

Ely showing his guitar tricks

Nitoy Adriano joins them during the song “Ang Huling El Bimbo”

Sing it!

A fan gets to be on the stage with Ely Buendia

Sancho and Nitoy Adriano

Check out my entire Ely Buendia live at the Music Museum photo set on Flickr!

It was my first time to watch a gig in Tiendesitas last night. Apparently, it’s the 7th anniversary of Tiendesitas. Aside from Wolfgang, Electric Sala, Razorback, and Chickoy Pura, Zach Lucero and Francis Reyes performed too.

By the way, Wolfgang has released an album entitled “Ang Bagong Dugo sa Lumang Ugat”. It’s available in iTunes! What’s interesting about their new album is that all of the songs are in Filipino. What’s also unique about this, is that they’re not releasing the entire album as one. They’re releasing it in three parts!

Track List (Unang Kabanata):
1. Kandila
2. Sandata
3. Ang Bagong Dugo Sa Lumang Ugat
4. Bulag

They are also selling CDs of the first part of the album. It’s available at PhP 180 each! Watch out for the last two parts of this concept album.

Thanks Niña Sandejas for giving us the opportunity to shoot Wolfgang! More photos coming soon

Oishi OWow and RockEd Philippines had a flash gig in Glorietta Food Choices last September 26. I’ve learned about the flash gig in Twitter. Just like the Flash Mob, the flash gig is supposed to be surprised and no one except for the people involved should know about it. Anyway, I guess it must be hard to execute a flash gig because it would be hard to hide a drum set.

Take a look at the picture below. This is how they hid the drum set.

The people who have probably seen the guitars at the back must have suspected something already.

Thanks to RockEd Philippines and Oishi OWow for putting up something like this. I hope to see more flash gigs soon. Check out more photos from the flash gig here.

Last Wednesday, I got a chance to go to a CCP Master Class with Act of Congress. Before Act of Congress went to Manila for the CCP master classes and a series of public performances, they went to Thailand. They taught Bluegrass (a sub-genre of country music according to Wikipedia) to Bangkok students. Check out their videos from their Thailand tour here.

Diwa de Leon and his group

In the recently concluded CCP master class, local artists performed and one of them is Diwa de Leon. Diwa de Leon used a hegalong. Hegalong is an authentic T’boli (a tribe from Mindanao) guitar. It was not my first time to see one since I’ve acquired one for myself. But it was my first time to see a hegalong that you can plug to an amplifier. It was amazing to see them live since they got to perform Diwa de Leon’s song that was just composed on the same morning of the master class. The song was called “Act of Progress“.

Time by Act of Congress

After the local artists have performed, Act of Congress followed. In the above video, they performed “Time”. It was from their recent album “Worth Fighting For”. You can get it in iTunes, Amazon Music or from their website. Act of Congress is just one of the artists that is part of the “American Music Abroad” program. This program aims to promote international cultural exchange by introducing various American musical genres in more than 40 countries in 2012 and on 2013. This program is brought to you by U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Association of American Voices.

Act of Congress is Adam Wright (guitar/mandolin/vocals), Chris Griffin (guitar), Tim Carroll (bass), and Bethany Borg (fiddle). They’re from Alabama, USA. Please do catch the scheduled public performances of Act of Congress in Manila.

Act of Congress Scheduled Public Performances in Manila
September 14 at 7:00 p.m. in Marilao, Bulacan
September 15 at 6:00 p.m. at The Podium
September 16 at 5:00 p.m. at the Concert at the Park at Rizal Park

They will also have a jamming session at the 70s Bistro with Bayang Barrios and Kalayo at the 70s Bistro right after their gig in The Podium.

Act of Congress
YouTube Channel
Official Twitter Account
Official Facebook page

Last August 3, 2012, Ely Buendia had a concert at Hard Rock Cafe, Makati. It’s a benefit concert for the building of A. Mabini Youth Center. Hard Rock Cafe was packed with people and I’m happy to be there because I was not only able to see Ely Buendia perform one of my favorite songs but because of my small contribution to the A. Mabini Youth Center.

Ely Buendia performed songs from The Eraserheads, from his solo album “Wanted Bedspacer”, and some songs from “In Love and War” (Ely Buendia’s collaboration with the late Francis Magalona).

One of my favorite songs that were performed is “Tikman” (from the Bananatype EP). “Tikman” was also once used as a commercial jingle for Burger Machine.

Do check out my other photos of Ely Buendia’s Greatest Hits here.

After Ely Buendia’s Greatest Hits Concert, the Ely Buendia Live show was held last August 17 at the Activity Center of Glorietta in Makati. Tomorrow, Ely Buendia will have another show at the Activity Center of TriNoMa at 7pm (August 24). Will there be a next Ely Buendia show? Perhaps in Cebu or Davao?

I received a message from Chino David, Silent Sanctuary’s violinist that they will be releasing a new single soon! I just played the pre-release copy of the single entitled “Paalam”.

“Paalam” is a song on saying on goodbye to a relationship. The lyrics are simple and straightforward with a very clear message that strikes you especially if you’re mending a broken heart. The message of the song also suggests some resentment of someone who possibly have done something wrong on why they had to say goodbye to their relationship.

Here’s an excerpt of the lyrics of “Paalam”

Paalam na sa mga yakap at halik
sa tamis at pait
Bakit hinayaan
Sinayang ko lang ang iyong wagas na pag-ibig

“Paalam” will hit the airwaves soon. Music and lyrics by Sarkie Sarangay.

I’m actually way behind in posting this.

I have missed a lot of bands in my foreign acts to see bucket list but I would definitely not miss seeing Death Cab for Cutie live. I was not able get the best spot however, thanks to my trusty point-and-shoot super zoom camera! I was able to record some videos and took some photos during the concert.

Soul Meets Body

It was definitely one of the best concerts I’ve been to.

It’s always a pleasure for me to go to gigs organized by Rocked Philippines because we’re not only there for the music, we’re also there to support a cause. It was held at Route 196 (along Katipunan Ave). The highlight for me that night was when Dong Abay performed.

According to Dong Abay, that was the last time that he’ll be performing before going to New Zealand (yes, he’s already there).

Mich of Death by Tampon

Also, I enjoyed Death by Tampon’s performance. I haven’t seen them perform for years! It’s a good thing they they had a reunion gig before Laurie (one of their band members) went back to Singapore.

Check out my other photos of the Sendong relief gig in Flickr.

Taken by Cars is just one of the Filipino bands that I follow. And yes, their songs are in my iTunes playlist. Let’s help them make it to SXSW by pledging at ArtisteConnect.

Taken by Cars, June 2010

What’s in it for those who pledged?

Option 1: ₱500.00 or ($11.33)
MP3 compilation of Taken by Cars’ Remix Collection consisting of:
1. Nikos… Let’s Call This Love (Endings of a New Kind remixed)
2. Uh Oh It’s Electro (Taken by Cars vs. DJ Funk Avy)
3. Stereolove (Funk Avy remix)
4. December 2 Chapter VII (Funk Avy remix)
5. surprise remix from ‘Dualist’

Option 2: ₱1,000.00 or ($22.66)
MP3 compilation of Taken by Cars’ Remix Collection (same track list as above) and an official Taken by Cars at SXSW 2012 T-Shirt

Option 3: ₱2,500.00 or ($56.65)
Taken by Cars’ SXSW 2012 Special Edition DVD which will consist of the following:

1. Abduction: The SXSW Send Off Party concert
2. Taken by Cars Road to SXSW 2012 – live performance and behind the scenes outtakes of the entire trip to Austin, Texas (co-directed by Quark Henares)

The supporter will also be credited in Thank You notes of the DVD.

For all of the three options, delivery is valid worldwide. For option 3, the DVD will be sent 120 days from March 4, 2012.

Aside from Taken by Cars, you may also support other great artists at ArtisteConnect. Browse other projects here.

Rico Blanco and Amber Davis are both solo artists but, their music belongs to two different genres which can result into an interesting mash-up. The songs that Rico Blanco and Amber Davis mashed up were “Neon Lights” (by Rico Blanco) and “Manila” (by Amber Davis).

I think that Amber Davis is very lucky to work with Rico Blanco since Rico Blanco has a lot of experience and is one of the country’s top composers/songwriters.

About Rico Blanco

Rico Blanco has been in the music industry for a long time and he’s first known as one of the founding members of the band Rivermaya. Rico Blanco left Rivermaya in May 2007. On June 2008, Warner Music Philippines released Rico Blanco’s first single (as a solo artist) “Yugto”. His song “Yugto” won the “Song of the Year” award in the Awit Awards. Check out the interview with Rico Blanco at: http://musicstudio.coca-cola.com.ph/index.php/videos/vid-1323155486426/videos.html

About Amber Davis

Amber Davis is a Filipina-American artist. Her first single ‚ÄúManila‚Äù instantly became a hit in 2007. In the same year, she won in the Awit Awards for ‚ÄúBest Performance by a New Female Recording Artist.‚Äù She also became RX 93.1‚Äôs ‚ÄúArtist of the Year‚Äù in 2007. In the 2010 Urban Music Awards her song ‚ÄúTaas Noo‚Äù featuring Gloc 9 won the ‚ÄúBest Original Song‚Äù award. She was also awarded as the “Best Female R&B Artist” in the 2010 Urban Music Awards. She has singles being sold in iTunes. Please do check it out. Check out the interview of Amber Davis here: http://musicstudio.coca-cola.com.ph/index.php/videos/vid-1323154924573/videos.html

“Neon Lights” and “Manila” Mash-up Review

“Neon Lights” is a song from Rico Blanco’s debut album, “Your Universe”, as a solo artist. “Neon Lights” made it to the number one spot in the Hong Kong charts. This is one of my favorites from the album “Your Universe”. “Manila” is from Amber Davis’ album “Feel Good Music”.

Hearing those two songs shouldn’t be that hard to mash-up together. “Neon Lights” is a bit upbeat and makes me want to dance while the song “Manila” falls under the R&B genre.

The “Neon Lights” and “Manila” mash-up sounded like a medley. They first started off with the first part of “Neon Lights”. I think it’s a faster version. Then, they transitioned to “Manila” with a reggae sound and then to reggae/alternative. And then both Amber Davis and Rico Blanco sang “Manila” and “Neon Lights” altogether for their finale. I think that’s the best part of their mash-up.

Check out the mash-up performance of Amber Davis and Rico Blanco: http://musicstudio.coca-cola.com.ph/index.php/videos/vid-1323154738933/videos.html

Here’s the backstage photos of the mash-up performance of Amber Davis and Rico Blanco: http://musicstudio.coca-cola.com.ph/index.php/album-level2/1320739187139/album.html

Watch the Coca-Cola Music Studio on MYX every Sunday from 5:30pm to 6:00pm with replays on Tuesday from 7:30pm to 8:00pm.