The Scene Around: The Last Rakrakan Festival Day 2

04/05/2024 04:20:53 PM

It was said that The Last Rakrakan Festival was bound to be the end all be all of all the Rakrakan Festivals that were staged before. Although a part of me think that this was meant to be the end due to the fact that it was rescheduled for a few times since their original date slated for 2020 was hampered down due to COVID, and there was another postponement due to whatever reasons.

The question: did this weekend-long festivity deliver? Although it may sound an unfair assessment coming from me since I haven't been into any other Rakrakan Festival before, and the decision to go through this show came at the last minute.

And here are some of the observations I've had.

The Pros:

So many bands

There are probably more than a hundred bands performed in this two day festivity. I've lost count in all my 10 hours of stay there during Sunday. But at least, I've saw some legendary names like Ely Buendia, Greyhoundz, as well as today's notable acts like Chocolate Factory, Mayonnaise, Sandwich, Brownman Revival, Blaster, Zild, Unique, Maryzark, Omar Baliw and even those up-and-comers at the indies like Yun, The Mox, Written By The Stars,among any others.

So many stages

Well, with many bands also comes three stages which means any other means to go and see whoever you wanna see perform live. That should've been self-explantory, but hey, not everyone realizes they have three main stages plus a couple of others like the ones with Red Horse as well as the busking stage (although I read some problems with that).

Wrestling!

I might be bias, but with Manila Wrestling Federation filling in for what's supposed to be for the now-defunct Philippine Wrestling Revolution three years ago? There goes our own version of rock and wrestling connection.

Rap Battle

Taking turns after MWF staged its series of wrestling matches are the rap battles by the legendary Sunugan. One can argue, they should've sent FlipTop; to which I say, there's more to Pinoy rap battle aside from the world's popular league. They're both great in providing art form and entertainment.

The Cons:

The filthy atmosphere backstage

Good lord. Not only the portable comfort rooms are at the nearest end of the backstage tents, but also the swinging direction of the wind that night? God, it's like unwanted aroma – and I meant the unpleasant one. 

Plus, if your car is parked nearby, I would ask, what were you thinking? I'm surprised you withstand the stench and smell of them. LOL. 

Darkness

The strangest thing about being at the backstage during these times are the tents were supposed to have a light at the very least. I hang around some of my artist friends backstage and we were even struggling to see some stuff, nor alone charge our stuff. Even the documentary team have to rely on extension cords to do their work. But what about the other artists there?

Less stage time for some

Obviously, with the stakced lineup like that? There's always a chance for a logistical nightmare to take place. Aside from the shorter than usual short sets, there's also delays. Hell, I even remember seeing other bands being either displaced or relocated at the later time of the event, like Row Keys as an example. I think they arrived early evening and was supposed to perform past midnight but they moved into the last band and frankly, no one seemed to watch.

To sum it all up, Rakrakan Festival wound up to be another festival that aims to end it with a bang.

And I think it's just a so-so ending. Nothing fancy although nothing really bad even if they have the numbers. Alas, festivals in generals, do really struggle with these anyway.

Author: slickmaster | © 2024 The SlickMaster's Files