Music To My Ears...

.:Sugarfree: A Musical Upwelling:.

Last Saturday was a Saturday well-spent as I took the time out to watch the 10th anniversary concert of Sugarfree, “Dekada”, featuring the Manila Symphony Orchestra. I was awed at the wonderful playing from the orchestra that simply made Sugarfree’s songs that much better to listen to live.

While they didn’t play “Hintay” or “Kung Ayaw Mo Na Sa Akin”, two of their songs, “Burnout” and “Unang Araw” still slew me, not to mention “Mariposa”, which is one of my all-time favorite songs, period.

I have been a fan of Sugarfree since “Mariposa”, and with each new album, they just keep on finding more and more ways to tug at your heartstrings. Gone were the days where all they could do was sing sad, mopey songs, and call it a day. With new songs like “Feels Like” and “Hay Buhay”, I can safely say that Sugarfree’s music is maturing and definitely appealing to a broader market than just the pseudo-emo kids.

It was even better for me after the concert, as I ran into Joy and her friend Ceej, as we shared dinner and interesting conversations in Gerry’s Grill. It was awesome talking about Sugarfree with fellow fans who similarly appreciated the band and their music the way I did, considering how few of my friends are really fans of the band, or of OPM in general.

Having said that, Sugarfree really outdid themselves that night. They were performing from the heart, and they really gave the audience their money’s worth when they went onstage and just gave their all. You could tell they were all rather emotional, and they were sincerely grateful to all the fans in attendance who gave Sugarfree all the reasons in the world to survive in the local music industry for ten long years.

Congratulations, you guys! I’m sure I’ll still see you next time you drop in on Route 196, though!

.:The Itchyworms: Loving Every Minute Of It:.

Last week, Jugs told me that Itchyworms will be performing in Route 196, and since I told him that if they have a gig in Route or Mag:Net and I’m not doing standup I’ll most definitely watch, I dropped in that night, and I was thrilled to find out one of the other bands I happened to like, Soapdish, was also there.

Anyways, after their set, I hung out with them outside, and we started talking about interesting possibilities for a collaboration with music and magic, among other things. Given how much I love their music, I was more than happy to hear what they had to say, and the possibilities right now are simply endless.

This situation definitely bears watching.