The Scene Around: Red Ninja Year 9 Fest

05/01/2018 02:46:11 PM

I heard this name spewing from all corners since 2016 (well, I was then a newcomer). Imagine a simple prod's dream of setting up a music-festival like gig where people don't even have to splurge concert-amount money just to see their bands gather together for a packed afternoon-and-evening of music and fun.

Undeniably, Red Ninja Production has been one of the resounding bigwigs at the current landscape of the music scene today. Why not? It was during the past month in that year when they staged Year 7 and it featured most of the present-day crops and people has been checking on their B-Side shows ever since.

Just when I thought I will not make it to another big show for the nth time, my good friend Justin Villanueva of Medicate Media offered me something I could never refuse. After all, why would I take down a chance of working for of his crew and Tamago to cover the Red Ninja Year 9 Fest? Not that we all need a livelihood but it was all for the love despite being on a tito-phase already for most of the recent times.

I have missed some of the early birds, but we're just starting as Keiko Necesario (who came after Clara Benin, damn it!) has turned up the tide as the sun goes down. Crowd darlings She's Only Sixteen, Oh Flamingo!, and Lion Acrobats were the primers that wooed everyone with the alt-rock kind that they're offering.

We could probably say that at 7:30, everyone seemed to be delighted for a ride in the past as Dicta License, one of the groups from the mid-2000s band explosion, has set the stage on fire (well, not literally). It's quite hard to mark the shit out of me, but seeing this quartet was the highlight of the night for me. Hell, pandemonium is probably the most fitting word to describe, especially when Pochoy Labog hit the crowd for their last song Alay Sa Mga Nagkamalay Noong Dekada '90. Two gigs since 2016 and with a new material in the works? We can sense a series of fiery riffs and spits coming.

And that's not all. Rusty Machines and December Machine has keep the momentum on swinging as it gears toward other still-alive-and-rocking names Hale, Imago, Pedicab, and Ebe Dancel.

The clock ticks past midnight, and a number of crowd  left the stands after the former-Sugarfree frontman; not realizing this show has a lot left in tank, such as Assembly Generals, Run Dorothy, Over October and the glorious super-squad who shall be named Ben & Ben. And that probably has sent them back to the venue for a ride home.

It' rare for me to enjoy what I am seeing while working, especially if we talk about being part of the crew in music festivals and concerts (aside from being part of the media, of course). And make no mistake about it: Red Ninja has proved me that I still can. Made me forget the fact that I am standing for nearly ten hours, almost straining both my legs and arms in the process. A pair of Vitamin Boost and bottles of Pale just kept me hydrated and on the go, though.

Author: slickmaster | © 2018 The SlickMaster's Files