Bamboo
Rock Invasion Series
February
28, 2007
BSC
Gym, Malaybalay City
First,
some bits of background and trivia about the band:
-The
band was founded in 2002. Though only
three-album old, Bamboo is a band rich in history. Vocalist Bamboo Mañalac is ex-Rivermaya,
bassist Nathan Azarcon is ex-Rivermaya and ex-Kapatid, drummer Vic Mercado is
ex-Passage and guitarist Ira Cruz is ex-Introvoys, ex-Passage, ex-Kapatid and
ex-boyfriend of Mylene Dizon. Presently,
he is romantically linked to Phoemela Baranda.bwahaha! showbiz na man ni!
- The
band’s first name was Audio Barangay.
-Since
the release of their first album in 2004, the band has bagged numerous awards
including MTV Pilipinas 2004 Music Awards’ Favorite New Artist/Group, Favorite
Song (Noypi) and Favorite Group. During
the NU Rock Awards 2005, the band won the Album of the Year (Light, Peace,Love)
and the Listener’s Choice while Bamboo Mañalac was the Vocalist of the Year.
-Their
current single Tatsulok is an old
song originally done by the folk group Buklod. If I’ m not mistaken this song was included in the Karapatang Pantao
compilation album, one of the first tapes I bought in my high school years. Regulars of Centro Folk Haus are very much familiar
with this song as it is often performed live by Tatay Loloy Callao.
-Their
new album We Stand Alone Together also contains a remake of Pearl Jam’s Alive.
Now,
for the concert’s highlights:
The concert was attended by a good-size crowd though
lesser compared to the Parokya ni Edgar show last December. I was with my wife, Malou, and my kumpare,
Calvin Balmocena.
The show started really late at around 9 pm. The first front act was from Central Mindanao
University (CMU). I didn’t catch the
band name but I was totally blown away by their very impressive set of hard
rockin’ original compositions. It’s rare
to see local bands that are brave enough to perform their own songs, and the
fact that these guys have really great heavy originals made their set a
pleasure to watch and listen. The second
band to perform though was more of a “rock showband” type, dishing out a
variety of mainstream rock hits from Matchbox 20 to Spongecola and Slapshock. 
After the two front acts, the audience spent another
eternity of waiting for the main performer of the night. Some commercials and music videos were shown
on the two giant screens to keep us from getting bored but some people are
already jeering while others are starting to yawn. At about 10 pm Bamboo finally hopped on the
stage. The members, wearing plain shirts
and jeans, expectedly generated high pitch shrieks from the female part of the
audience. Bamboo opened their show with
the hard rockin’ Mr. Clay then
followed it up with F. U., songs that
keep the crowd jumping, swaying and singing along. Next, they slowed down with the jazzy Much Has Been Said then surprised the
audience by performing Rivermaya’s Elesi
and Hinahanap-Hanap Kita. I was not surprised though as I’ve already
known before that the band often includes old 
Rivermaya hits in their live
performances. I guess they have all the
rights to do this since Bamboo and Nathan’s contributions to the early years of
Rivermaya can not be simply overlooked. What’s ironic though is that Rivermaya’s songs are more well-received
than most of Bamboo’s originals during the show. Aside from Elesi and Hinahap-Hanap Kita,
Bamboo also covered Ulan and Kisapmata that night. In between and after those covers Bamboo
performed their other originals—Truth,
Probinsyana and Masaya, in which Ira Curz played a really wonderful guitar solo,
making his guitar gently weep. Their
last three songs was the night’s clincher though, starting with the familiar
bass-and-drum intro of Noypi. The
song was followed by Tatsulok which
is fast becoming another hit as most of the audience already knew it word for
word. The lights then went out, Bamboo
hollered the well-known oh wooh wooh wooh chant and it was riot all
over as the band launched into Hallelujah. The crowd’s energy was just amazing and some
people from the general admission broke through the barricade and entered the
sponsor section to get a little closer to the band.
Lasting for only about an hour, the show was kinda
short and bitin. I wish Bamboo performed more songs like
what Parokya ni Edgar did last December. Bamboo Mañalac is a very impressive and energetic front man but his
accent makes it hard to decipher what he is saying to the audience in between
songs. Another big disappointment is that there are no beers available for sale inside the venue. It would have made the crowd wilder and more appreciatve. Overall, the show was great
though it paled in comparison to Parokya’s yes yes show.
