Buzz Night went well last April 24, 2004 at Mayric's. I arrived slightly later than my initially planned 9:30 pm and was so nervous about how the night was going to proceed under my supervision. Allan was away in Makati for work and wouldn't be there until past midnight, hence, I was tasked to receive the bands and decide on a sequence. The fact that I was lugging around Lara's super huge and super heavy keyboard didn't help my nerves one bit.
Flustered, I recognized Joel of Tether and the vocalist of Five Leaves Left and I asked them if they were complete; Five Leaves was, but not Tether. Okay, one band. I was so out-of-sorts that I rushed inside without letting my friends in (one of whom was lugging the keyboard for me)--- I rushed back out to retrieve them, then I approached a guy I recognized to be the bassist of Koza Nostra. I asked him if they were complete; okay, two bands. Then, Paolo of Bagetsafonik said hi and I asked them if they were complete and he confirmed that they were; then I asked if they wanted to perform first… he said, if possible, they'd like to perform 3rd. Suddenly, Omnie of Five Leaves was beside me asking where Allan was, and for a second, I just looked at him blankly when I realized his question and I answered that he was at work in Makati. I asked him when they wanted to perform and he said, "Siguro 2nd or 3rd," then I returned to Koza Nostra and asked them what they preferred. To my relief, they said they'd like to go first. So, I had three bands and a good line-up of three so far. Whew. That was easy. Koza Nostra started at about 10:15 and Buzz Night was good to go.
The reason I was nervous that night was because there had been a lot of bands lined-up and we weren't sure we'd be able to accommodate them all and finish at a comfortable hour. Some bands like Jello Torpedo and Carnival Park let us know that they couldn't come before that night, but as far as we knew, everyone else on the line-up was coming. Einstein Chakras didn't come, though, and neither did Boldstar. Weedisneys wanted to play but Mike texted that they didn't have a bassist and he asked me if anybody at Mayric's wanted to session and jam with them. I didn't know the bands so well that night so I couldn't assure him of a bassist (though I DID have someone in mind, mwahaha), but I told him to come anyway and then look for a bassist when they were there. Guess they decided not to risk it after all, which was really a pity as I was hoping to hear them again. The good thing about some bands not playing, though, was the fact that we didn't need to worry about finishing late and that the bands present could play more songs than we had initially planned. Candyaudioline couldn't play because Roel wasn't sure to come back from Baguio in time and Ayn had a gig at the Sickfest. Actually, Roel DID arrive in time, but unfortunately, Ayn already had her commitment and Ralph was nowhere to be found.
Eloha (former SPK vocalist) was there that night and Lara was early (surprise!). Charles and the PopDays guys arrived at around the time Five Leaves was playing. Knowing that Tether would probably be the only other non-Allan band left to play that night aside from Popular days, I asked him if he and the guys could perform after Bagetsafonik. He said that he had asked Allan if they could play when he was there already so he'd be able to fix the sound system for them while they were onstage (we all know how fantastic the mayric's mics are). That sort of ruined my plans a bit because I knew we'd all be lined up after one another (Popdays, Superminty and Pillow) and thought that it might come across as weird.
The Five Leaves vocalist gave me a sticker when they left (yay! Sticker!). Bagetsafonik played a good set and the vocalist said, "Thank you kay Sir Allan… at kay Selena," which made me think, "Wow, someone said my name onstage!" but also made me feel embarrassed because I hadn't really done much… and then I laughed because I noticed that everyone calls Allan "sir", which probably makes him feel bad because everybody else with him (including me) doesn't get any titles like that. Tether played a very good set, even if it was only four songs long… I really love that last song they always play.
Anyway, Allan arrived as Tether was playing and he commented that they were tight and improving. He asked me how things were going and I recounted the night to him. Of course, I was (ahem) rewarded for my valiant efforts :D He asked me who else was going to play and I said, "Popdays, Minty and Pillow. Yun na lang."
"Hah? Wala nang ibang banda sa pagitan natin?"
"Wala, eh! Sabi ko kay Charles kanina, mauna sila sa Tether pero ayaw niya kasi daw hihintayin ka nila para makapagpihit ka para sa kanila sa board!"
He turned to Charles and touched his nose. "Charles--- ba't ka nagiinarte diyan!"
"Eh, ALLAaaaN!!!!!… di ko naman alam na tayo na lang pala natitira. Akala ko maraming banda eh!"
"Eh di magmumukhang tanga tayo mamaya, Charles… magmumukhang tanga tayo dahil sa YO!" and then they wrestled in their seats, which was not much of a match since all Allan had to do was lean heavily on Charles. Tawa kami ng tawa dun.
Ang kawawa sa ganung arrangement, si Jann Paul, who plays drums for all three bands. After his set with Popular Days, which was wonderful, though they claim it was full of mistakes, Jann Paul was so tired and his sticks had almost snapped in two. Allan let him rest for a couple of minutes before Superminty started and he told us to play a laid back set. The Superminty set was fine from our point of view, but we didn't know how we sounded to the audience. Then, Soft Pillow Kisses played next with Eloha as vocalist (Luie had a previous engagement). They sounded great, of course. Allan had me sing the last song because Eloha didn't know it ("Wasting Opportunities").
After Buzz Night, we went to Timog Food Plaza to hang out. It took us longer to order than usual because Allan spaced out for about 20 minutes--- he was so tired from 2 Moonstar gigs that night plus two sets for Buzz night. His waist was killing him and all he could do at TFP was sit resting with his brain turned off. I kept telling the others to order ahead but they all wanted to wait for Allan, which puzzled me because they were all obviously hungry. I guess everyone was tired, including myself, having been a bundle of nerves the whole night. But once Allan had recharged a bit, it was back to the normal kulitan. Ian and Allan had a discussion about Soulseek adventures and his plan (hopefully) to buy airtime for an indie radio show. Unfortunately, it seems that that won't push through because airtime is uber expensive these days. Ian was telling Allan about a similar endeavor he and his friends made before. I hope they could someday figure out a way to follow these plans through despite all the obstacles.
We all went home after that.
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