my week of gigging

This was a temporary return to my old Manila lifestyle of attending an average of 3 gigs a week. It felt good. I miss music.

I enjoy gigging in Sydney more. Nobody smokes indoors, and they bring in great international acts, like Miss Jean Grae here. 

She had an intimate little solo show at the Good God Small Club. So glad I was able to catch her before she took the big stage 4 days later the Metro Theatre, this time with one of my favorite emcees, Pharoahe Monch. 

I was ecstatic. He performed all my favorite songs off of the “Desire” album. Except for the sexy one, but I didn’t think he’d perform that. Wow, what a great performance. I just love Pharoahe Monch! The photo above and below was taken by the talented Tristan Edouard, who has taken lots of awesome photos of hip-hop acts who have reached Sydney’s shores.  

Thursday night was for catching Blood Orange aka Dev Hynes over at Good God. I had never heard of him until they advertised the gig, but once I checked out his myspace, he seemed like someone who would be really fun live. And I wasn’t wrong. I love the obvious Prince influence on his music. 

And he sure made the most of that cordless guitar, stepping right out into the dance floor. If he’s ever in your hood, I recommend you catch him. 

Next gigs in line are Whitest Boy Alive, Feist, and Erykah Badu! Woohoo!

my favorite song

“What is your favorite classic pop song?”, was what an almost total stranger asked me.

I gaped at him. That’s a pretty big question to ask someone within 30 minutes of knowing them. I mean, that’s personal shit, man. Who knows what sort of picture of me he’d piece together based on my answer? I’d be subjected to some amateur psychoanalysis for sure.

Plus, it’s the kind of question that jolts your brain, kickstarts it and gets it rolling like an unused machine. How dare he ask me such a confronting question?

“I don’t know, I’ll have to think about it”, I answered.

“Fair enough”, he said.

3 days later, while riding the train, I had the answer. It was sunset, and the world was bathed in a golden glow, and time was standing still as it always does on train rides. Then it began to play. Little electrical circuits ran from my iPod through dirty white headphone wires, and emerged on the other end transformed into the most beautiful song in the world. As it played, bliss descended on me like a fog that lingers only for a little while.

I love this song so much that I cannot possibly dissect it as a piece of music though I’ve tried many times. I cannot break it down as a collection of parts, a beat, a bass-line, a rift, because I get swept away in its infinite beauty every single time, and soon I am lost in that perfect blend of everything that it is.

It was my favorite song. It was such a moment of euphoria that I wanted to grab my phone and text him the answer to a question which he probably didn’t remember asking me.

But I didn’t. Maybe if he ever asks me again. Maybe.