12/31/2015 3:00:36 PM
The post was supposed to be named Fridays and Saturday Nights to Remember only to realized a few things: first, gigs are happening every single weeknight; second, most of them aren’t even planned by yours truly to attend; and third, I have been to almost 70 gigs for 2015.
2015 has been a heck of a good year for me as I discovered Philippine music anew -- and it broods at the place where minority of people knows -- the independent scene. Over the course of time, I attended about 50 events starting from a random night out that happened 24 January 2015 at Route 196. I was then supposed to watch my college friend whose already a musician.
And since then, the Philippine independent music scene became another world conquered by yours truly. I became part of a production group; I was posting anything about gigs for most of the time; and indie music also served as a venue for me to grow as opportunities came from out of nowhere -- be it writing or anything else like photography and videography.
Fast-forward to the year-end, despite attending the last one or two music events of this year from small-time gigs to the big or concert-level ones, I can say I had a lot of memorable evenings.
 |
| Farewell Fair Weather: Beyond gig poster by Angelo Manalo. Photo credit: Docdef Productions |
Farewell Fair Weather: Beyond (18 June 2015 / Route 196 / Docdef Productions)
Just three years young in the industry, Farewell Fair Weather seemed they had a comeback gig like a veteran. Well, fresh from winning the Jack Daniel’s Chosen One and being part of Music Matters in Singapore, FFW was indeed back with emphasis!
 |
| The crowd inside during the set of The Ransom Collective |
Kaleidoscope (12 September 2015 / Mow’s Bar / Mika Ordonez)
Held a week before Art Beat, and just in time after having a great Saturday afternoon (I watched Heneral Luna before heading to Mow’s). Hearing the likes of Anj Florendo, Jensen and the Flips, The Ransom Collective and Cheats are somewhat good enough to make my evening. Plus I also heard Kombo Kombo for the first time right there; and I heard Kaleidoscope was the highest grossing gig set at the bar located just at the basement floor of Kowloon House. With its proceeds went to the operation of a certain kid named Jillian.
Damn nice!
 |
| Oh, Flamingo |
Oh, Flamingo! EP launch (14 October 2015 / Route 196 / Oh, Flamingo)
Barely joining the “Sa Tamang Panahon” bandwagon, Oh, Flamingo! first launched their event on Facebook page. And it appeared like almost half-a-thousand clicked GOING with barely a month left.
It may not reached the exact number, but certainly it topped the gate attendance at Route 196. Plus the stage was elevated, with a kiddie birthday theme as the peg. All that with Sandwich’s Raimund Marasigan doing a crowd surf doing their set.
Kinda impressive, considering this band was-then poised to win the Wanderband contest two weeks later!
 |
| Maya's Anklet |
Light Settling [Prev. Title: When The Light Settles] (18 August 2015 / Route 196 / Docdef Productions, UP Underground Music Society)
An evening where subtle music ruled Route 196 as Maya’s Anklet, TheSunManager, and Autotelic launched their music videos as part of a Ballet Philippines’ short film project.
Not just that, the last band who performed during that evening shed light as they turned their set into a wild, crazy moshpit session.
 |
| MilesExperience |
MilesExperience Thanksgiving Gig (19 August 2015 / Mow’s Bar / MilesExperience)
Fresh from a successful music video launch a month ago, the boys from MilesExperience gave thanks to everyone by setting up a thanksgiving gig, with more louder bands performing right beforehand; a bit of shying away from the slow and sexy drive.
 |
| Ebe Dancel |
Amplifiied (11 July 2015 / Route 196 / Amplify.PH)
Amplify.PH’s second anniversary as a start-up, with executives baring their new motives of going beyond; more than just a sound which tackles news, interviews and features about the local music scene. An evening where different genres of music converged. It was the first time I heard Cog, and A Problem Like Maria.
 |
| Anj Florendo |
You Are Here: Anj Florendo Album Launch (31 July 2015 / Route 196 / Anj Florendo)
Two months after encountering her and her music, Anj Florendo launched another record after three years -- this time, an album with more #hugot tracks. It was a Friday evening where it was all slow flow with the likes of Conscious and the Goodness, Matteo Escueta and MilesExperience sharing the stage.
 |
| Pastilan, Dong! |
Seismos: A Post-Rock and Math Rock Appreciation Night (2 May 2015 / SaGuijo / Seismos)
Very first event for Imee Malabonga’s crew who advocates post-rock and math-rock tracks. Also, a very successful crowd-funded gig as Glen Macadaeg reiterates; with spoken word artists from Words Anonymous taking the stage in-between setup and soundcheck spots.
:.
