back to reality

Just got back from Cebu and had a blast. It was nice to see old friends and meet new ones and of course see lots of great bands. I decided to travel alone having the reason of no one wants to come with me (kaluoy) and I miss going out alone. For some strange reason I just turned 25 and in serious pursuit of fun and some alone time.
So here is the plan, No airplanes. Let’s take this on the road! So I took the bus from Davao to Cagayan De Oro and take a boat ride from Mindanao to Cebu. Cool eh, but not that easy. I just found out that the f*ing road at Bukidnon is under construction and it gave me a whooping 9 hours instead of the usual 6, imagine! But as I arrive at Cagayan de Oro it was then ok. Met up with my dad for a quick bite and hop on the first boat to leave, I stayed up for a while and feel the cool air from the ocean which by far is the only fresh air I got for the whole day. Tried to get some sleep after a while and get ready for the next day. As I arrived at Cebu Astroboy met up with me in the morning and immediately went down to business and smoked some good old sweet Cebu delicacies. Hahaha We basically spent the day at Astro’s place which is an hour bus ride from Cebu. Spent the day eating freshly baked cake c/o Lani ( salamat Lan ha) by far one of the best cakes I tasted. I saw my godson jcube and man could he be bigger. The kid is huge and so cute. Love that kid so much! Spent the afternoon at the beach and left for Cebu city. As usual arriving at Cebu is greeted with a warm welcome from Sra crew. I couldn’t ask for more, this people are one of the coolest, humble and kindest people in the planet. Was also surprise to meet some friends from Pagbilao and later on PLAY had arrived and chilled out and got ready for the day ahead. And P.S I got to taste that siomai ( dimsum) that Gray (NO!) has been bragging about. Got to taste it its really good, with a cool and simple spicy sauce that compliments the food very well. Plus its only 6 bux a piece, dirt cheap! Follow it up with some puso (dili heart ha!)it’s a rice cooked and wrap inside a leaf which until now I cant figure out if its banana or coconut. Basta! Its tastes good and again its cheap. Only 2 bux a piece I guess. Just enough to put me to a good sleep at casa ni Dexter yawa!!

The moment has finally arrive and the show was on. The show is held at this nice small place. It’s a convenience store with just enough space to accommodate the chaos that is yet to arrive. The show was scheduled at 4 pm but due to the late arrival of the bands, the show started at around 7.
I must tell you in advance that this is not a show review! So don’t expect me to elaborate on all the bands that played coz im really not good at that and before the show had started the heat was killing me so I didn’t got to see all the bands. Sorry!!! So these are the few bands that I got to remember.

I saw tiger pussy play. Dancing galore all over the place! I was an instant fan. Jan Sundays voice reminds me of Bikini Kill’s great set.
I also got to saw this new band Crooked which plays youthcrewish stuff ala Champion and HH. Plays well and looking forward for more from these guys.
I remember seeing Guilt to Flow also and did not disappoint. Later on I guess after a couple of bands it was Midday’s turn.
A female fronted metalcore band. Great vocals, and the metal parts are highly noticeable. If I was not mistaken it was the last song when they had Cari from Queen City Crew and Mitch from Substance 32 to join them and do some guest vocals. Great set! Up next was Vampire State, and as expected they were awesome. Swedish crustcore if im not mistaken, Very fast and very aggressive, enough to make me start to stand up on my feet and move. Kudos to Sam. Nice set and nice songs, just as I expected!
it was time for the Bulacan thrash titans to take over. Play time for PLAY , as expected they gave us 1 of the best sets of the night. Circle pit all over the territory. They played I think almost all of their songs and did not fail. How could you go wrong with their songs Set Aside and ALL. With a lot of new ones, sing alongs and stage dives (w/o the stage!) Man could this band be any faster! The set alone proved that my trip was f*ing worth it!

After their set was NO! one of my favourites in Cebu. Playing fast old school hardcore punk, reminds me so much of the good old Fast Times. Just quite disappointed because of the very short set, you could have played more songs! But still the short set was great and awesome, fast as fuck!!!!

At this moment the need for fresh air and ventilation is at its peak so I decide to go out. Im sure that there was a lot of great bands who played next like Toxic Orgasm and Boundary and more, too sad I missed your set but me got exhausted! Hehe

I went back inside to see Queen City Crews set. As likely, they tear the place apart. Sing alongs, circle pit and pile ons were inevitable. I don’t remember anymore what happened just that I was getting worked up and getting the mic! Giving us a flavour of old school style NYHcish stuffs, great set from this great people!

Gardo was next to end the night giving us their usual dose of beat down in your face hardcore. Perfect finale for a great night!!!

We basically spent the next day hanging out at the beach and find out na meron palang Red Horse sa ilalim ng dagat? Right Eng? Hehe

Spent my last day on Cebu buying stuffs that I need and left at night carrying with me lots of memories of fun and good times!
HARDCORE, GOOD FRIENDS ,GOODTIMES!!

Monday night, took the last boat home and bid goodbye!!

Till next time….

Special thanks to: Charlez and Dianne, Dexter, Mitzay and Sam, Gray , Jan Sunday, PLAY, Odessa, Aleg , Paolo for the weed! and the rest of the SRA CREW.

Thanks a lot!!!! Partey!!!!