So last night, I went to my first gig in a month. IN A MONTH. Considering that I've been going to gigs (and movies and events) on most nights of the week in the months of February to April, then a month without gigs (and with minimal events and movies... almost none at all, actually) is actually an achievement.

Anyway. This year, Sugarfree is celebrating its 10th year anniversary. As part of the celebration, there was a Sugarfree Night at Route 196, featuring Julianne, The Ronnies, and Itchyworms.

The night was...well...hilarious. Haha! Whereas Julianne was pretty prepared and as mellow as usual (which is not a bad thing, of course), The Ronnies and Itchyworms were their usual fun, joking, crazy selves. Chaos over chords, lyrics and punchlines was abundant, and I think there was a point in the night that my cheeks hurt from laughing.

Sugarfree played all the favorites to close the evening. Unfortunately, though, Jal wasn't there to play, so (fortunately) Bodgie the most awesome Sugarfree roadie was there to play bass. I've only seen Bodgie play guitars before, and to see him play bass and do back-up vocals was a happy sight. To be honest: I wish they'd put him as part of Sugarfree officially. Or at least make him the official guitarist/sessionist/whatever. Hehe. Go, Bodgie!

Sugarfree's set transported me back to college last night. Like most people, the catchy Mariposa and Burnout frequently played in my head, but it was with Telepono that I truly fell in love with. They played a couple of new songs, too. The new album is due to be out soon. AND they're having a concert on August; I hope I'll get to go! Yey~ Congratulations, Sugarfree! :)

Photos by Judd.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

New Sherlock Holmes posters

I don't think I've written about this before, but I AM SO VERY, VERY EXCITED ABOUT SHERLOCK HOLMES!!! I mean, the most awesome detective played by one Robert Downey Jr.? And Jude Law playing Watson?! I LOVE IT ALREADY!!! I've been quietly waiting — and yet inwardly jumping around impatiently — for months for this. And it's almost here! In the meantime, let us enjoy ourselves with these posters.

Movieland's latest Holmes/Watson double-act will sleuth their way onto their screens this Christmas in Sherlock Holmes and, judging by these rather elegant new character stills, they'll be cutting a dash while they do it.

Set against a fog-stained Westminster backdrop, the eye-catching posters show Robert Downey Jr.'s Holmes carrying on the debonair combination of style and six o'clock shadow familiar from the trailer (still no sign of a deerstalker), while Jude Law's Watson has gone seriously Saville Row in an awesomely Victorian three-piece. The cane - traditionally Holmes' weapon of choice - seems to fallen into the good doctor's possession.

Holmes has traditionally spent a lot of time musing on cases from the velvetine comfort of 221B Baker Street, but Ritchie's reboot gets him out and about in the dark alleyways of 19th century London, meeting people and generally beating the hell of them. The sleuth, as they say, is out there.

SHERLOCK HOLMES opens in theaters locally on January 8, 2010.

- Empireonline.com

Although... as excited as I am for this movie, I'm not sure I like the changes (which is most expected in reboots) quite yet. But of course, I'm sure Jude Law can pull it off. I guess I just have to let the changes slide. Hehe.

One thing, though: Holmes better play the violin.


Thanks to Warner Bros. for the news and high res photos! :)

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Music Recs - June 2009

So here I am writing about music again. Today it's about the good finds I got out of one of the Indie Rock Playlists for April, which provided some of my music for May and June. Before anything else, though, let me warn you that my musical mood recently is greatly affected by the rainy weather, so most of these songs are good background music to walking in--or just staring out into---the rain.


I Woke Up Today - Port O'Brien

Okay, remember what I just said about these songs being for the rain? Forget that for a second, because this song is for sunny, happy, energetic days. Haha! I've been listening to this song while preparing for work, mostly because it helps me wake up and puts a smile on my face. Port O'Brien, as I discovered sometime after learning about the band, generally has that sound that you can pop into your player on mornings to jumpstart your day. Like I said, sunny-happy.


Train Song - Feist and Ben Gibbard

Let me say this now: Ben Gibbard is love. But don't think that this is just like Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie. Train Song is a bit more on the folk side, I think. And the lyrics, ARGH the lyrics. And I love the sound of Feist's voice, combined Gibbard's simple singing (no belting and melody-curling) is just ear-candy.


Boats and Birds - Gregory and the Hawk

Metaphors. Selfless love. A beautiful song. Period.


As the Little Things Go - The Appleseed Cast

Okay. Many people know that even though I like rock, I'm not so much of a fan of "RAWKKKKKK!!!" type of rock. But it seems to me (and correct me if I'm wrong here) that The Appleseed Cast is that kind of band. Regardless of that, though, I love this number right here.

As the Little Things Go is an 8-minute instrumental piece that's perfect for—you guessed it—walking in the rain and thinking about things. It starts with a simple electric guitar riff fading into your ears before a drum beat joins it, along with soft yet soaring keyboards. I think they're just using a simple chord progression throughout the whole song, until it suddenly pauses in the middle, and then picks up to a climax. Love it, love it.


The Girl - City and Colour

There's something about songs or stories about separated people that appeal to me. I don't really know why. (If you know me well enough, you've probably noticed this, too.) The Girl is one of those songs. The singer is singing to a girl far away and promises her that he's still hers. Now, let's hear a collective "Awwww".

This song, though, is especially interesting to me because of its music. The song has three parts—and I don't really know why it has three parts; that's the most curious thing about it—and I think it's supposed to let you interpret the song in any way you want to. I think. Or something like that. I already made several possible back stories for the song. Heeeeeee.


Him Poe Poe - Efterklang

Another semi-instrumental song with very short, and almost inaudible lyrics. A wordplay on, "All the words they're singing out, tell the birds to bring it out of the world..." repeats for a few seconds before giving way to the string section. Love it. :)


Signed I Wish You Well - Helios

"Another lazy day, rainy day, stay home day." He had me at the first line of lyrics.


Little Bird - Scott Matthew

I like listening to this one when I'm in bed waiting to fall asleep. It has music box properties, and if you tilt your head and squint, it *is* a happy song as the singer says. Scott Matthew's somewhat hoarse voice, along with the choice of instruments (or lack thereof) makes great bedtime music.

So yey. Music recs for the month. Any recommendations you have for me? :)

[Except you, Paolo, hold the recommendations. Ang dami ko pang utang sa yo. Haha!]

Thursday, June 11, 2009

What's your life verse?

What is one Bible verse that made the biggest impact in your life? Share your verse and story with us! :)

So says the opening question in the latest discussion board topic, "What's your life verse", on Victory's Facebook account. It's encouraging to see other peoples' life verses! My personal life verse is Proverbs 3:5-6.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Came in really handy when I was a student and I could not, for the life of me, understand the stuff I was studying. Haha!

Check out the discussion board, and, by all means, join in the fun!

Monday, June 08, 2009

Hello, Monday Playlist

My workweek started with a SPLAT! BOOM! POW!!! Seeing as my Mondays are usually a slow reintroduction to the workweek, I had such a major shock today that I actually had no trouble creating a soundtrack as the events rolled in.


Up from the floor on the count of ten
Oh you get up, you get down and you try it again
First, at the MRT station, some old lady (who looked like a sweet little old lady) literally shoved me aside so she could go inside the car. Take note that I wasn't actually in her way. I was just standing beside her, and honestly I was going to let her go first. Oddly enough, everybody else sort of paused instead of selfishly shoving their way in, too—as was the culture in the ladies' car in the MRT—so I was able to regain my balance and squeeze myself in. It was a strange, strange experience to be shoved by an old lady. But, you know, I let it slide. Still, it sort of jolted me awake. Haha! Well, good morning to you, too.

Opening track: Try it Again - The Hives



Isn't it ironic, don't you think?
The mood in the office was the usual early Monday morning mood, but with a dash of excitement to taste. Victory is having it's 25th Anniversary on July 24th, and ticket sales was going to open today. I was sitting at my desk, and I had just started the 30-minute countdown on plurk and twitter when we received the announcement: the online ticket reservation was down.

All together now: WHAT?!

On top of that, the ticket stalls had apparently missed checking their inventory because most of the outlets didn't have ticket paper at hand. So how were they supposed to print tickets?

Remind me why we got a third-party ticket provider? Oh yes: to make things easier.

Track of the moment: Ironic - Alanis Morisette



Everybody wants to come to my party, that's right
Everybody wants to come to my party, uhuh
It was insane, I tell you. Everyone scrambled to fix whatever what was wrong, to talk to our ticket sales provider, to take back our exciting countdown, to formulate our response to the crowd... Phones, both landline and mobile, started ringing. IMs started popping up on my screen. Insane!!!

And if that wasn't enough, something else happened. Because the site where online registration was supposed to happen wasn't there, EVERYONE went and turned to our official website for guidance. Our web server couldn't take it. It crashed.

Oh, for the love of—!

When the malls opened at 10 o'clock, reports from people on site said that people RAN to the stalls. Oh, wow. As someone said later, it beat the rush to the Pussycat Dolls ticket sales hands down.

Track of the moment: My Party - Plastilina Mosh



Sticks and stones and animal bones
Can't stop me from having a good day on a bad day
You can NOT imagine what it was like. And all this before 9 o'clock. Good thing we got to work early. And good thing my partner, who was still at home, was also online waiting for tickets, so she helped me contact our web provider and get the server going again in minutes.

The morning was insane (I can't say it enough) but we realized that it was a good thing. It just shows how incredibly excited the people are for the event. And, if the text messages and mobile plurks and mobile tweets giving on-site reports were any indication, it showed us how much the people were willing to help the community in their own way.

Later comments on the Victory Facebook were awesome, too. There was one who said, on getting the faaaaaaaaaaar seat in General Admission, "that's okay, we'll bring binoculars! As long as we're there!"

I love my church.

Track of the moment: Good Days and Bad Days - Kaiser Chiefs



I hope I get by today...
I hope that I fall into place
The good thing about my job and my office is this: we all know that everything's going to fall into place. As chaotic as the day had been — and as chaotic as the tomorrow will probably be — we all know it's going to work out because our God is bigger than our problems.

This day went by in a second. Needless to say, my day still ended with a smile on my face. It's all good. Life is good. God is good.

Track of the moment: Fall Into Place - Apartment



Alright, don't worry, we'll all float on
And we'll all float on alright
Today was certainly an educational day. And a highly exciting day, for everyone involved! Haha! True, there were frustrating moments, but we just gotta move on from there. So now I'm going to head out of the office, earphones on, and my soundtrack playing.

What. A. DAY.

Ending track: Float On - Modest Mouse