BLOW OUT! @ TOMAS MORATO
It’s been a year since we got a new President and it’s been almost a year since the burial of a Dictator, and last Saturday marks as the celebration for a centennial birthday of our late president, Ferdinand Marcos. Pretty exhausting you might think but this isn’t a legit birthday celebration but a grand ‘fuck-you’ to his 100th birth anniversary. A day of remembrance they say, but this event was for everyone the President has tortured and abused under his reign of power in the country. I mostly wrote about these acts that is in this card. So it’s better to leave a Facebook mention on their designated image and please do check out their amazing material. Last night, they were bands, rappers, and poets hailing from other parts of the metro; collectively showing their furious rage and anger towards the dictator and his deeds. What started the show was progressive folk band, TUBAW, and what seemed to be this pinata hanging from a rope. A blindfolded half naked man with only in his underwear swung his stick around, hoping to hit the dictator right on the button of his face. Following the half-naked man were two individuals that wore barong and wear masks which are the faces of Ferdinand Marcos and our current president Rodrigo Duterte. Once the pinata was hit, pieces of paper were flying everywhere and what the paper contained was something I wasn’t able to read but I can assume those were the Martial Law victims’ personal experiences and quotes. What I noticed once I went inside Tomato Kick were occupied spaces for tripods to stand correctly. There were media personnel getting a flimsy coverage of the event. It was media frenzy when the sculpted cake of Ferdi’s body -- when he was preserved in the glass case -- being paraded outside the venue. Cameramen and Journalists walked around the place to get something out of the event.
The second to play in the show were blues-rock band, The General Strike. Again, I wanna say that this band is awesome and they are always awesome to see live. I’ve seen them participate in numerous mass oriented programs, I definitely recommend you guys to see The General Strike. Third was internet-core band, BEAST JESUS, and this performance of theirs are rare to come by. Not only I’ve seen these guys for a million times now, I completely thought that this was their best performance to date. It’s been a month and a half since their messy and underwhelming performance in Turnover last July, the band completely exceeded my expectations in Blow Out!. The 30-person capacity that can fit inside this small bar in one of the most busiest districts in QC felt the presence of this Beast inside a God. And that god came from a monstrous, loud, and noisy, anti-GV band that is Beast Jesus. (I had billions of reiterations describing this band, but the hell with this, I love ‘em). Following Beast Jesus were a bunch of spoken word poetry collectives (i apologize if i didn;t mention any mentions but it would be cool if you guys mention the collectives down in the comments below. Dressing in different types of costumes -- A farmer, Imelda Marcos, a bunch of nun headdresses, and the duo of Ferdinand Marcos and Rodrigo Duterte in barong tagalog -- while the Ferdi Cake was marching around and posed right at the media lenses, inside the bar, people were holding candles and were later putting those candles on top of the cake. Making this a mix of a candle light vigil and a birthday celebration. While this was happening, people were reciting their piece of spoken word over the mic, they scream and shout at whatever frustrations they have against the Marcoses. Their anger served the Marcos way down below his grave and the memories of the lost are still haunting the dictator’s heritage.
The second half of the show made way for the hip-hop segment. UPRISING rapper BLKD and Cavite based emcee Emar Industriya brought their A-game with them. The crowd was into their material so much (even I included), it never gets old seeing BLKD and Emar Industriya live over and over. Following the two were progressive nu-metal band, Gazera, fresh from their ten year anniversary together that was held in Social House, Makati. Gazera initiated a moshpit in their last song (Mananabas), everyone went in and formed a mini-wall of death. I had my time to join in while I wasn’t able to take pics of the mosh. After Gazera, was the Ghetto Priest himself, Calix of NOFACE RECORDS. By the time Calix went up front, everyone went inside Tomato Kick just to witness a blessing of curse words, political fuck you’s, and a bunch of shots directed at Ferdinand Marcos and Duterte. Not only he’s targeting people in politics but in the local music scene as well. This was, in my opinion, one of Calix’s best performances yet. Same with Beast Jesus, I’ve been following Calix ever since he debut in KLTRD’s event around August of last year. For over a year, he’s been invading the local scene ever since and it looks like he’s just getting started. The crowd inside made his performance extra special, people were all mushed up and getting their energy hyped up by the NOFACE crew backing Calix up.
The Ghetto Priest sometimes sneaks up on the crowd and was in the zone of getting the people of Tomas Morato listen to whatever bars he has in store. This was the most appropriate performance likewise his most special one yet, second to his SONA 2017 Mendiola protest alongside with fellow emcee BLKD. I finished the Blow Out by seeing Tukar Sinati play last. Their very own genre called ‘kundiman-funk’ enlightened everyone in attendance by their vocal duties to their hip-hop rooted vibes. The mix of MPCs, the scratching, the trombone, the acoustic guitar. Every element from every type of music you can imagine flow harmoniously. Tukar Sinati is one of those underrated bands ever.
In conclusion, Blow Out was a show that displayed rattling rage against the Marcoses. This event showed the fight for freedom and there’s still hope for those who has lost it. This was the day for us to remember the victims, the lives that are lost, the hopes that were wasted, and the prayers that were never answered. We in a way stay progressive and remind ourselves that a ‘good’ track record in the country’s economy will be smeared by countless human rights violations and ill-gotten wealth. Ferdi’s legacy will be forever tarnished, and how are we going to celebrate his tainted legacy? Well, a blow out is the best way to throw a party they say. For everyone who were asking me how this event went, well, I gotta say this, quoting my friend’s remark on this event: “Party Today, Revolution Tomorrow”
#MarcosAtrocities #NeverAgain special shoutouts to: Sus Petsa, Temperamental Bratz, Molotov Pilipinas, RESBAK
more pictures in the LUGAW FB PAGE