I wish I had known more Queso songs then I would have been able to sing along when Ian points his mic towards the crowd. I wish I had known Insekta then I would have been able to chant "Mokhamiyasaymokameh!".
Last night was one of the best concerts I've been to.
No Ordinary Summer: A Cross Fade Initiative featuring Urbandub, Queso and Franco was held on April 13, 2013 at B-Side, The Collective.
Me and my girlfriend were stoked when we learned that Franco will be having a performance on that date, April 13. She was informed about it by a colleague and I saw it from philippineconcerts.com. It was a perfect day for us as I had taken a leave off of work to go to Komikon which was held at an earlier time.
We came at around 9pm. We were a bit worried that tickets will be sold out but was relieved to see that they're still selling. When we came in, I was surprised to see that there were fewer people than I expected. B-Side was not even crowded. Not sure, maybe they took a break or maybe just ninjas lurking in the dark. Anyway, Salamin was playing, making it obvious that Dhruva Tara was the first band to perform. After a few more songs from Salamin, I decided to claim our free beer. All of sudden, the crowd went wild. It became apparent why the crowd suddenly got fired up; Franco will be playing next.The crowd now starts to get thicker and thicker as the rest of Franco tests their gear. The ninjas are now coming out of the shadows.
I forgot the first song, I think it was Renewal off of their latest album, Soul Adventurer. A few more songs from Soul Adventurer followed such as Muse, A Beautiful Diversion, Better Days, Moonset and To Survive. Few are singing along but majority of the crowd is just banging their heads slightly. It's apparent that they're not that familiar with the new album. The people then got pumped up when Franco started to play a bit of the familiar tunes from their first album such as Next Train Out and Song for the Suspect. More and more people are now raising their hands in tune to the songs.
Franco's performance was superb. His voice is great as usual. It's solid and sustained. Also, I was impressed by the drum tracks. I felt it was more powerful compared to the album. Or maybe everything just gets better when performed live. It was a treat for us to finally see Franco play again. It was great. It was an awesome night.
It's still hot and we were sweating like some Tae Bo instructor. But... doesn't matter, had Franco. I grabbed some more beer as we wait for the next band to play.
I said it was an awesome night. But then it got better when the next set came.
Flashed on the wall from a projector was "Next Band is Queso". My girlfriend was a bit apprehensive because, well, it's Queso. Who knows, some fans might get carried away and start a pit or some crazy shit that hardcore fans do. But I assured her that it will not happen. I noticed that there were a lot of couples, like us, gathered on the left side of the open ground and it seems that the "more hardcore fans" were gathered on the other side. There were even some people that wanted to go to the back of the area to avoid a possible "islaman".
It's been a while since I listened to Queso. The last song that I listened to is Mottaka, when they're still known as Cheese. Then some other bands came and went into my life and they were thrown into the dark corners of my brain, forgotten. But not for long.
They played songs that I'm not familiar with. Still, I banged my head, bent my knees and raised my fist. I'm enjoying it. Ian's stage presence is something that I began to love, in a manly way of course. I really don't know how to explain it exactly but seeing him sing, dance and do some weird and crazy things is very contagious. His antics, facial expressions and mannerisms will make you appreciate the man and the music. That was one of the best performances I have seen.
And here's one of the things that I will never forget about that night: Ian's infamous flip!
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| Note: I do not own this. This amazing photo was taken from Roxanne Nebres Photography. |
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