THE REST IS NOISE YEAR ENDER GIG 11.25.2017
Music blog turned event promoters Vandals on The Wall formed together a live music show called The Rest is Noise. Established in 2015, they’ve been searching the best music acts the local scene has to offer. It’s 2017; their circuit has no signs of getting short. Yearly, they aim big by inviting some of the most loved independent musicians and established commercial acts in the country. The venue was in an event space of a high-end mall in the Poblacion area of Makati City. This year’s Rest is Noise year-ender event is their biggest one yet, not in crowd size but an all-star lineup that showcases the new and the alternative to the prolific and the celebrated.
Three weeks before the event has been rough for the local music scene, a handful of performers got withdrawn from playing in the event due to allegations of sexual misconduct. The Rest is Noise crew themselves took action by making an official statement and told their audience that “we will not condone, tolerate, or enable any vile or reprehensible behavior that exploits and abuses women."
The Flying Lugaw believes that sexual assault is an abuse of power and that no one should ever get blamed for being abused. We condemn any act relating to abuse, may it be on social media or gigs, no one should ever defend this objectionable act. Prevention of violence against women is everyone's responsibility. Sexual violence will continue until the root causes of violence against women get addressed. We will continue to fight what is right and just. We will continue to support the healing of the victims of sexual assault.
Lastly, this is to raise awareness to respect everyone regardless of their gender. Music is a shared space where we enjoy creativity. Sexual assault has no place in this world.
Both the old and the new coalesce in the event last Saturday. The show lasted for 14-hours, a feat that only a few people can accomplish. Also, I’m personally not a fan of music shows that runs more than half a day because of the fatigue I get when I don’t have enough rest for the day (shame on me for not getting the right amount of sleep). Notwithstanding the little amount of rest I have the night before, I had to see a lot of new acts and bands that I love (and see them perform for the first time) one more time before the year ends.
I arrived the venue at around 1:30 and my blood is pumping with pure excitement as the line on the floor below the event space starts to grow longer as time goes near the opening. I passed at the back and went in right away as I identified myself as a media sponsor (I seriously did not expect myself to get involved in a show this massive to be completely honest). Without further ado, let’s get right to the acts who’ve played at The Rest is Noise. I’ll be keeping it in a bullet format so it won’t look like a drag to read:
• IV of Spades was the first (1st) band to play as the show started promptly around 2:30 p.m. This event was my first time seeing the guys live. After a few jokes and criticism regarding their sound, I was somewhat impressed after seeing these guys go at it with their funk n’ roll music. Their 70’s fashion get-up comes second, and the music always comes first, so here’s a quick rundown on what I thought about their live performance: their sets are consistent, the bassist never missed a single note in every song, that guitar solo show-off in “Mundo” was a moment to see.
Overall, their set sounded clean and consistent. Although, what I’m waiting for the most for these kids is their growth in the music. Let’s see if IV of Spades can entirely go across the genre and completely be funk and leave their older pop-rock material from now on.
• Second (2nd) to play was a Davao-based electronic singer-songwriter, skymarines. I thought this set was dragging from start to finish. I remember back in Fête De La Musique 2016 Indie Stage last year that she has a backing band with her. But this year, she was just on her own with only two synths on stage and herself singing over a few lines here and there. There is a particular mood where you can enjoy skymarines’ tracks, but as a second performer around 3 p.m. isn’t very advisable.
• Third (3rd) to come up on stage was indie-folk/folk rock darlings, Ourselves the Elves. Surprisingly, they played a brief 4-song set. Lead singer Aly Cabral addressed to the audience on stage that people shouldn’t be assholes, and rightly so. Their set wasn’t all aggressive and punchy, they decided to make the set mellow and friendly, and I have no complaints about it. Ourselves did a great job, but I wish it was longer.
• The fourth (4th) performer of the day was the electronic musician, Similarobjects. Being the first electronic musician of the night, Similarobjects brought down the footwork and gave everyone in the audience a flavor of that delicious juke music. I adore this guy’s music, especially when he goes all experimental and plays a bunch of field recordings from the outskirts of the Metro. But in this set, he introduced the music of footwork, glitch, and IDM to a new audience. A whole lot of the kids in the back as I strolled through were utterly ‘shookt’ in a good way. Some were even bopping their heads and also shuffling their feet to the music. Electronic music has found its harmony and the Rest is Noise hasn’t gone bleak.
• Fifth (5th) to play was former frontwoman of Imago and solo musician, Aia De Leon. Ever since her departure from the band, it always felt like Imago was never the same without their heart and soul. Later on, after a few decent songs in Aia’s set, I had to bring in the feels and a box of tissue (even though I literally had a sinus at this time) because I expected her to sing her heart out to “Akap” and “Sundo.” Everyone who was sitting in the front had to stand up and "sing with feelings." Seriously, I too got the feels, and I just wanted to hug my partner during Aia De Leon’s set.
• The sixth (6th) band to play in the dying sunlight was alternative rock superband, Cheats. I totally recommend these guys to play in music festivals, their energetic (and almost chaotic) live performances. Similar to Canadian rock giants Broken Social Scene, the band makes you want to jump and mosh around the field. I got myself in the moshpit in the middle of the crowd. Their energy was just infectious, and ever I would love to see these guys live again.
• The first half of the show was slow, but it picked up when Similarobjects turned up the show. The sun has dawned on the horizon; the night sky illuminates as the show lights start to brighten the stage. The second half started with the seventh performers of the night, which is Oh Flamingo! shutting the show down once again with their iconic guitar riffs and catchy rhythms. There is nothing much about this set. It was enjoyable at least. I’ll let this pass.
• The eight (8th) performers were the geek pop legends, Ciudad. This band was one of my anticipated acts for the night. Seeing this band live is a must. I can’t stop cracking a smile when they performed “My Emptiness.” They’ve been at it in the indie scene for two decades. I am so happy to see my favorite local bands to perform in front of a large crowd.
• Ninth (9th) to go was the rapper Ninno. The double-time multisyllabic rhyming was everywhere in his performance. Everyone felt his vibe while I sat down and just watch him rap whatever he wants to rap about. I am not a fan of fast multisyllabic rhyming and such. It’s just that I have a hard time to get all of the guy’s material. Maybe it’s not my type. Well, I’ll let it pass.
• The tenth (10th) act to get on stage was the folk artist Shirebound and Busking. A few days before the event, I actually saw Shirebound and Busking in an event that only had 3 to 4 people in attendance; it was intimate, it was sweet, and it was heartbreaking. But in The Rest is Noise, by the time he strummed his guitar, everyone just went quiet and listened to what he’s about to say. The way how he injects Yano’s Senti with The Waltz of Four Left Feet and combining R&B inspired vocals at one song was undeniably incredible. Shirebound and Busking may have won the hearts of those who were just broken at that night.
• The eleventh (11th) act that followed was the UPRISING rapper BLKD plus a special surprise set from fellow labelmate Apoc. The duo did their thing as they rapped on their classics in Gatilyo and Loob ng Kabaong. I have nothing much to say here.
• The twelfth (12th) performers were the special guests for the evening, the one and only leader of legendary rock band Yano, Dong Abay, and well-known folk artist Joey Ayala at Ang Bagong Lumad. Opening their set was Joey Ayala performing “Karaniwang Tao.” Dong Abay followed with “Hula,” making the crowd sing-a-long to the quirky lyrics. I might be talking about the entire set here, but nevermind the long write-up, this set is freaking amazing. In Joey Ayala’s second turn, he sang “Tabi Po, ” and it was entertaining as hell to see the both Dong and Joey mess around with farm animal sounds. This set is going somewhere, and I can’t stop smiling. They ended the set with an appropriate closer, and you guessed it, that is “Banal na Aso, ” and everyone’s spirits were lifted by the time Dong Abay sang the signature laugh in the song.
The crowd asked for more, and both Dong and Joey actually went back to their original plan, which is to play “Naroon,” also a Yano classic. Their encore was an impromptu performance and a way more exciting closer to the set. This performance brought the house down. Dong Abay and Joey Ayala at Ang Bagong Lumad proved that regardless of age group and class, their timeless music will still connect with you no matter where you’re coming from. Dong jokingly quips “Mabuhay ang foreign music” while the audience laughs aloud. But in the later part of their set, Dong was able to see a large crowd of young people love their music from start to finish, eventually putting his fist up the air and say “Mabuhay ang Musikang Pilipino.”
• The thirteenth (13th) band to play was rock band She’s Only Sixteen. I still do personally think that this band still sounded derivative from their usual influences (we all know who they sound like and I’m not referencing those bands ever again). Though, I must admit that the songs in their set, “Favoritism” and “Magic,” both songs I heard live for the first time. A guilty pleasure set, I’ll let this pass.
• Rusty Machines came in as the fourteenth (14th) act on the bill to play. I have not much to say about their set. I guess it was fun, a little bit tired from this point on. I had to sit down on the side, but I still had to sing-a-long to Forget You. Get on their music; it’s a must listen for casual fans for alternative rock.
• The fifteenth (15th) and sixteenth (16th) acts that played were CRWN and BP Valenzuela. Both of these sets weren’t really up to par to the performers that played before them. CRWN did his thing with his 15-minute beat set, and BP Valenzuela’s set was off key due to the jetlag. BP just came from London, and I understand that she was out of tune in the second half of her set and it’s good that her fans helped her out by singing the lyrics to her songs and cheer her up whenever she lost her tone.
• The seventeenth (17th band) were the pop-rock/twee pop legends, Orange & Lemons. Two months after their unannounced comeback in Mow’s, Orange & Lemons were back to serenade the young audience with songs from their classic releases like “A Beginning of Something Wonderful,” “Let Me”, “Heaven Knows,” and “Hanggang Kailan.” This was a set when I cherished the time with my partner, and I just couldn’t hold my feelings anymore, and I decided to just let it out for a while. The whole crowd sang song after song while it was heartwarming to see O&L frontman smile after hearing the reception of the crowd when they were getting introduced.
• I wasn’t able to see Flying Ipis set, so excuse me for the lack of thoughts about the band. Maybe I’ll see them next time.
• Ben&Ben was the last act I saw for the night. I honestly wouldn’t find their music to be essential today. I guess there was a sudden pollination of folk-rock bands that followed right after Bullet Dumas and The Ransom Collective burst through the indie scene. But looking at Ben&Ben’s live performance, they’re actually pretty good. The fanbase backed them up with so much power and there were two percussionists on the lower part of the stage that had the thumping aspect in their songs. The added violins and electric guitar adds more level of presence to Ben&Ben’s brother and brother harmonies. So overall, Ben&Ben are pretty good live. I’ll let these guys pass.
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I wasn’t able to see Moonwlk and Autotelic due to the fatigue I got right after seeing Ben&Ben. I went home eventually and dealt with other rough headaches the morning after. But the noise is still in my ears and I just had to write about how amazing this event was. After a few hours, I had to recollect all of my thoughts, I was scattering all over the event space. Trying to see different angles and different perspectives of the event goers; some were still standing to see more and some were just sitting on the corner to get some rest from all of the noise.
The Rest is Noise has organized an incredible show, and I can’t be more thankful enough to be a part of the media for the entire event. It felt incredibly empowering to see a bunch of musicians who also are speaking out on the recent scandals and allegations. I like how most of the artists addressed that abuse shouldn’t persist in the course of history and fight against the patriarchy.
We ended a year with a bang with your new favorite bands and the prominent ones giving their taste to the younglings. The Rest is Noise just kicked off a new year of new music and acts. Kudos to all of you who worked hard in a big event!