Bamboo and Parokya Ni Edgar Aftermath

Ruckus Productions presented the two biggest Filipino bands in the Park West Theatre in Chicago, IL.

Chicago was the third stop to the Rock...Shock... and Awe U.S. tour headlined by Bamboo and Parokya Ni Edgar. The tour was dubbed to be the "ultimate pinoy rock experience" and they didn’t fail to fulfill that statement.

Local Filipino American band ACI9 warmed the audience up for a rocking evening. They hyped up the crowd with songs like "Takbo Pedro Takbo "(Run Peter Run) and "Owned". This band composed of Bing Labog (Vocals, Guitar), Chris Mallo (Bass), and Chito Trinidad (Drums) has a local following that helped pack the venue.

After a brief intermission, Bamboo heated up the stage with their opening song "Mr. Clay". Bamboo Manalac (vocals) was bursting with energy, even joining the crowd and moshed with them. Nathan Azarcon (bass guitar) was feeling the music through his bass, and was pumping his fist during songs like "Hallelujah" and "Tatsulok". Ira Cruz (guitar) was letting the music take over his fingers as he plucked away the strings of his guitar, occasionally lending his voice as back up vocals. Finally, Vic Mercado (drums) exuded energy, entranced, as he pounded on his drum kit. True to a line in one of the songs from their first album, "As the Music Plays," there was a point in Bamboo’s performance where one can say that indeed, "the music play[ed] the band." The crowd went wild as Bamboo performed the song "Noypi," a song pregnant with Filipino pride, reminding the mostly- Filipino audience to be proud of who they are, wherever they may be.

Completing the rock experience was Parokya Ni Edgar. They got on stage, and opened their set with "Buloy". Everybody went crazy, as the band’s lead vocalist Chito Miranda heavily interacted with his audience, fueling more energy for the whole venue. Beer was flowing, although according to Kerwin Rosete (Parokya ni Edgar, stage manager), "the experience was so positive, they did not give us alcohol before the event," speaking to the fact that the show was all-ages. The people who were present felt like they were at a house party that a friend threw. From Buwi Meneses’ (on bass) crazy hair, pacing the stage as much as he could, to Darius Semaña and Gabriel CheeKee on guitars providing the rhythm and melody, as well as back up vocals, to Dindin Moreno on drums who rocked out, Parokya Ni Edgar provided the foil for bamboo. Whereas the former band sang lyrics that were philosophical and arguably socially conscious, the guys who form Parokya Ni Edgar easily become the audience’s kabarkada, drinking with them, song after song, rocking all of their cares away.

Ruckus Productions got a chance to inquire about the artists’ experience of the show.

"In this year’s tour, Chicago did put a mark on us!!! We were evaluating the gigs as we ended the tour, and yes, we all agreed that the Chi-town gig was the best. We had enough audience to fill the venue without a riot, harassment, or ticket holders left outside the cold street," says Buwi Meneses (Parokya ni Edgar, bass). On the other hand, when asked about the Chicago audience, Bamboo’s Nathan Azarcon chose to plead the fifth, on the grounds that he might incriminate himself. Further, Azarcon jests, "The whole show was noisy. I couldn’t sleep," his testament to the spirited Chicago response to their performances.

It is both bands’ second time to perform for the Chicago audience under the Ruckus banner. Making a name for itself by providing mainstream venues for Filipino acts, Ruckus Productions treated the Chicago audience with Bamboo at the Double door and Parokya Ni Edgar at the Martyr’s Bar in 2005. This year’s tour was history in the making. On one level, it was the first time that both bands toured the US together. It was also the first time that the Park West Theater has seen an all-Filipino line-up. "It was perfect!!! Amazingly, there weren’t any bad vibes amongst the production crew, the audience, the venue, and the artists. There were no fist fights. We were in awe as we entered the Park West Theater, that’s for sure." Buhawi continues, "[it was] perfection at its best, from our lodging to the backstage filled with beer and white castle burgers, to the enormous space we had on-stage, balconies where people can roam around, tables with sofas to accommodate tired audiences and just the right space for a mosh pit." Kerwin Rosete adds, "I felt that the Chicago crowd was not fond of Filipino bands. In our past Chicago performances, only ¼ of the venue was filled, but the show at the Park West proved me wrong. Chicago does know how to rock. [this was the] best Chicago gig ever." Operating from the mantra, "positive disturbance and rock action," Je Cacnio, founder of Ruckus Productions deems that the following statement from Azarcon echoes this dictum the best,

"Ipahiwatig sa salinlahi... (proclaim to the lineage of every person)

The composition of words to convey images…however abstract, through verbal or written expression, forms the basis of our history…the guide to life. Knowledge passed down from one generation to the next has allowed mankind to leapfrog thru time…advancing our evolution.

Three generations before me fought under the banner of liberty and equality.

Two generations before me turned fear into courage, amidst the chaos of occupation and independence.

Ipaalala sa salinlahi... (let it live in ever person’s memory)

You are the lifeblood of a generation who believes in the idea of universal brotherhood through cooperation not competition.

Conceived by naked love and passion…by the unity of two souls, thus you were born… PURE."

Further, Azarcon quotes Tracy Chapman, "If we have faith in human kind and respect for what is Earthly and an unfaltering belief in peace, love…understanding.

Heaven is on earth."

He wraps up with this statement, "Salamat sa pakikibaka at walang humpas na paalala sa ating kabataan.baliktarin ang tatsulok! (thank you for persisting with the struggle, never abandoning the responsibility to remind our youth.)"