48 hours in Manila with Cut/Copy

MANILA, Philippines - Australian electronic band Cut/Copy is no stranger to touring. Having been on the music scene for years, they didn’t exactly feel fresh off the boat when they first visited Manila. In fact, they were only too happy to toss back bottles of San Mig Lite onstage at the Samsung Concert Hall — not to mention wear their very own barongs during their encore.

“Touring almost feels like you’re on a research assignment. You’re surrounded by so much other music and other art forms, and they all factor into the creative process,” says vocalist Dan Whitford, talking about being exposed to different cultures. “Experiences like this (trip) are really cool.”

Cut/Copy’s Manila audience was quite unique for the band, though. Unlike their usual gigs in richly populated music festivals, the crowd last Sept. 13 was intimate but engaged. It didn’t matter if you were in a group of supermodels or you were on your own, everyone danced/sang along to favorites such as Take Me Over and Lights and Music. Their newest album “Free Your Mind” took center stage as the words flashed on the LED screen. The words stood out in relief against the band’s occasional shenanigans: climbing up the drum set and hopping over speakers in between songs.

Soon after they gave Manila another reason to dance, the boys headed off to Hawaii for another performance, but not before having a bit of in-town entertainment. As tour veterans, Cut/Copy demonstrates that two days in a city is enough time to figure out the best of what it has to offer. Some of their thoughts on their quick jaunt out of and around Manila:

1. On finding great coffee

“Our usual benchmark (in liking a city) is finding good coffee. We succeeded in that little task — had some amazing coffee, really surprised. The place is called The Curator, and it’s really nice there. And that puts us in a good mood… We actually just looked it up. It was on a list of the best coffee places in town.” — Mitchell Scott, drums

2. On their pre-gig beach trip

“When we flew in, we went straight to the beach (in Batangas)! It was amazing. So beautiful. We went swimming and had massages. Such a beautiful landscape.” —Dan Whitford, guitar/vocals

3. On their post-gig night out:

“Who told you we’re partying? Nope! (Laughs) We’re going straight to bed. Okay, maybe we’re going somewhere.” —Tom Hoey, guitar/sampler— Margarita Buenaventura