Monday, April 25, 2011

Jack Daniel's Set Reveal Night

This particular night was the Jack Daniel's Set Reveal Night at White Space in Makati last April 15, 2011. The night was really a 2-for-1 for me because I got to watch 2 of my favorite local bands out in the scene; Jack Versus the Crab and Urbandub!

I was eagerly anticipating this night the entire work week leading up to it. Every time issues would crop up at work, I just kept telling myself "You're gonna get drunk and enjoy great music this Friday.". I kept repeating that sentence in the back of my head over and over. And for some reason that actually got me through the week fine. LOL!

Jack Versus The Crab


None of the people I invited could go in time for Jack Versus the Crab's set. So I headed to White Space alone to meet up with Windi (Fritz's wife). When I got there the band was already midway through their set. This was because I had to actually find the place since I've never been there before. I also had to figure out how I was supposed to get in without having tickets beforehand. Apparently, you had to buy at least a glass of Jack Coke to get in. I knew some of my friends were going to follow. So I bought a whole bottle of Jack and a liter of Coke. I must've looked like such a drunkard walking into the place with both bottles in my hands. Luckily my good friend Windi saw me and invited me over to their cocktail table. Otherwise, I would've stuck myself in some corner chugging on Jack Coke's by myself. At least I looked like I came bearing gifts for Windi and her friends. LOL!

Jack Versus the Crab is a relative newcomer to the scene. But boasts some of the best musicians around (i.e. Fritz "Dr. Sticks" on drums, Padz on guitars, Empi on bass, etc.). The songwriting itself is not fantastic but definitely adequate. The way the whole band comes together so nicely is a feat on its own. They have about 9 members in the band because they have a harmonica player and a horn section. Their sound is so thick because of the sheer number of instruments playing that to have dead air during any of their songs would have to be largely intentional.

The video below is really just audio. I brought my Belkin Tune-Talk and my iPod with me and was able to record the last song of their set. It also happens to be my favorite song of theirs. The song weaves the main melody in between each band member having the opportunity to strut their stuff with a solo. Obviously the song would last a long time given that each band member took turns solo-ing.



Each band member's solo was great. But worthy of note is both Empi's and Fritz's solos. Empi apparently had his bass connected to his amp wirelessly. So when it came his turn to solo, he got off the stage and started heading in front of the crowd. The bouncers blocked him for a while because they were perplexed as to what he was doing. But once they let Empi go, the dude went at it with a lot of confidence.

Fritz's solo was equally as good. But I think his drumming genuis was only noticed by people who were really paying attention. The highlight was when Fritz just stopped mid-solo and picked up his glass of Jack Daniel's to take a sip. Everybody raised their glasses and screamed. That was a very nice touch in playing up both the crowd and of course Jack Daniel's.


The next few bands started playing and the friends that I invited started trickling in; from Joseph and his wife Sarah, to Charlene, to Roland and Millet. I was surprised to even see one of my cousins, errr, one of my aunts there, Sol. Sol is actually around my age but her Dad is one of my Mom's uncles. Hence why she's technically my aunt. She was apparently friends with Windi and her friends. So with all these good people around me, it really paved the way for a fantastic night. With my issues of other people ignoring me, it was such a nice feeling to be well received by people around me.

Urbandub


I don't really need to describe this band. Their music really speaks for themselves. I've been meaning to watch these guys again given I sadly couldn't make it (even alone) to their gig at Music Museum. I made sure I bought their Teedee T-Shirt/CD pack at the stall right near the entrance of White Space. And here I thought they were only going to sell it at their Music Museum gig. But they sold it that night as well. Yey!

As soon as the band was setting up, we started heading towards the stage as close as we could get. I set up my Belkin Tune-Talk and iPod to start recording and left it at the cocktail table we were staying at.


Urbandub's set was tight as usual. They started their set off with "Alert the Armory" and soon followed it up with "Soul Searching". The video below was taken by my friend Sarah using her cellphone. She hilariously couldn't hold her phone steady because she was enjoying the music so much. I don't blame her really, I would've done the same thing. So I did my best to fix the audio a bit and even flip the video when she turned her phone sideways.



My only disappointments is that the band didn't play "Gravity" from their latest album. I really loved when they played that song when I last watched them at 19 East. But sadly they didn't play it at White Space. /sniff sniff

My other disappointment is realizing that my Belkin Tune-Talk came loose and therefore only recorded about a minute in Urbandub's set. /double sniff sniff

I was obviously pining over the female bassist. She's not overly pretty based sheerly off of cosmetic looks. But the fact that she rocks out with a bass added a gazillion pogi points to her appeal. I took a number of pictures of her using my Blackberry. But none of them came out clear enough to post here.

Millet was apparently not feeling well and slept in her car. Roland went to look in on her and later on decided to bring her home. So he didn't stay on for the post-event activities. I was happy enough that they both showed up in the first place despite coming from a tiring party/event earlier. The remainder headed to Whistlestop to drink some more. We then later ended up in Salcedo Market the next morning. A few came over my place after to wind down the night.

That was definitely a night to remember. And once again, yet another weekend filled with booze, awesome music, and genuine people. This is the life. I'm addicted. I want more of this.


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5 comments:

windi said...

Yeah, you know it's a great night when you end up getting kicked out of a videoke bar at 4AM! :D Thanks for coming and glad you had a blast too...

sundowndos said...

wahaha!!!... getting kicked out of a place is such a buzzkill... sorry we didn't follow to do videoke with you and the rest... yes yes, thanks for having me at white space... when's fritz's next gig?

windi said...

May 28 - B side! :) You jamming? :D

sundowndos said...

may 28? that's next week... sige i will definitely try to go... heehee...

as for jamming, i'm game if the band is okay with me jamming congas with them... it would be a privilege to jam with fritz... just let me know... :)

Joachim said...

This particular night was the Jack Daniel's Set Reveal Night at White Space in Makati last April 15, 2011. The night was really a 2-for-1 for me ... ijackdaniels.blogspot.de