The Gigs: Where To Catch Your Favorite OPM Bands (v. 2024, Part 2 of 2)

03/30/2024 04:15:43 PM

I first wrote The Gigs as part of the music issue of the Philippine Panorama (Yes, the Sunday magazine of Manila Bulletin) back in February 2018, wherein I featured some of the places which houses live music scene. Add to that is how and why online is also the place to be if one looks for sources of new music.

Fast-forward to 2024: It has been two years since the time the Manila gig scene resurfaced for good. The months of February and March were the times when music events had its full-blown resurrection for good after being halted by another wave of community quarantine at the start of the year 2022. Some of us have to understand that this was an era of a convergence of the new normal and returning norms as some of our beloved venues closed, a bunch of personalities we know passed away (be it due to COVID or not), and everything noisy has mostly been made virtually. As we know it, the shutdown has put us in uncertainty; but eventually, we found our way back to hum tunes with our voices and instruments. 

In 2022, we may have been walloping over the closure of Upperhouse, Conspiracy Garden Cafe and Route 196 (along with other shops and restaurants in various business fields that we didn't have chances to bade farewell), but new houses emerged to serve live music and all the merrymaking we barely missed that two-year stretch, and that was something we discussed a while ago.

For more of The Gigs, we shed the spotlight on the other names which probably rang the bell, also made their respective returns – although, in different locations. Add to that are the reopening of the venues that remained alive and kicking up to this day.

Truefaith to launch the '80s and deepfake-driven Uwian Na music video this Friday!

10/01/2019 01:06:51 AM

Truefaith will launch its newest music video for their latest single Uwian Na this Friday at 12 Monkeys Music Hall and Pub.

Sony Music Philippines launches its roster of Filipino music talents

07/30/2019 07:05:22 PM

All of the five artists (Ben & Ben, Syd Hartha, The Vowels They Orbit, Nathan & Mercury, and Alex Bruce) and the executives of Sony Music Philippines

Sony Music Philippines made a massive noise to end July when it launched its roster of Filipino artists at 12 Monkeys Music Hall and Pub in El Pueblo, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

Barbie Almalbis launches TIGRE, her first EP in 5 years

07/03/2019 11:26:46 PM

Singer-songwriter Barbie Almalbis, launched a 3-track EP titled TIGRE.  

In a launching party that took place at 12 Monkeys Music Hall in Pasig City,  Almalbis formally had her major record launch since My New Heart in 2014. In the same evening, the singer-songwriter took the stage alongside Orange & Lemons, Autotelic, Aia De Leon, Rocksteddy, and bird. 

The Scene Around: TEETH Bar Tour

01/10/2019 03:19:26 PM

A staple rock band during the 90s, Teeth waged a comeback of sorts last year in a series of bar tours in the country, specifically, Angeles, Cabanatuan, Dumaguete, and on the majority of the bars in Metro Manila.

Upcoming: Ryan Ryan Musikahan

07/17/2018 02:01:32 PM

To end the month of July, Barbie Almalbis, Mayonnaise, IV of Spades, South Border, and Mojofly will headline a tribute gig to one of the known and loved personalities in the local music scene.

The #FeteIndie2015 Experience

07/01/2015 08:24:33 AM

All my life I have been wanting to watch a big-time music-related event called Fête dela Musique. Originally known as festivity in Paris in 1982, the Fête—or World Music Day—has made its way to other parts of the globe, including the Philippines in 1994.

And now, on its 21st year, Fête dela Musique is still called by many as one of the “go-to” gatherings in the music industry. No wonder, and no doubt about it since a lot of musicians in different genres used to swing by to perform sets of their tunes in front of hundreds—and even thousands—of attendants inside the venue.

I could even remember that the FDLM once had Ortigas as its stage.

Well, fast-forward to 2015. Fête dela Musique were staged at 21 venues—including the concluding main stage in Intramuros, City of Manila. The rest, though, were situated at Makati City, where Greenbelt 5 and A-Venue housed the fete's two main stage; while the rest are pocket stages offering different genres and various lineups.