Pinoy rock icons draw thousands of millennials at Full Blast Pinoy Superbands concert

MANILA, Philippines — Thousands of people from different walks of life and across generations gathered at the Cuneta Astrodome last Friday to witness a one-of-a-kind concert that featured Pinoy rock bands from various eras.

As an appetizer, some of the hottest bands today such as Hilera, The Chongkeys, SG Band and Banda Ni Kleggy set the tone and opened the stage for a long night of Pinoy rock at the Full Blast Pinoy Superbands concert.

After an extreme blackout in the astrodome, a familiar voice singing "Ako'y nag-iisa, at walang kasama..." was heard in the complex, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Then the lights slowly lit and the monitor that barred the stage began to lift up. When Wally Gonzales, Mike Hanopol and Pepe Smith showed in the stage, it signaled that the biggest rock fest in the country was finally happening.

The "great grandfathers" of Original Pinoy Music (OPM) rock began their set with the iconic "Beep Beep Beep," dedicated to jeepney drivers across the country.  This was followed by "No Touch," "Kahit Na Anong Mangyari," and other Juan dela Cruz hits that made Filipinos from the ‘70s and ‘80s groove.

Kevin Roy of Razorback jammed with Juan dela Cruz. He then performed with his band and rendered their hits, including "Giyang," which brought back the ‘90s again.

Pinoy punk-rock pioneers The Wuds electrified the crowd with their songs including, "Nakalimutan Ang Diyos" ang "Inosente Lang Ang Nagtataka." To complete the first set, heavy metal band Queso gave the millennial crowd what they wanted: a performance like no other as the crowd jumped on their feet and banged their bodies against each other.

Opening the last set of artists was no other than the pioneer of OPM folk rock, Lolita Carbon. The crowd then began singing her band's Asin hits including, "Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran," "Himig ng Pag-ibig," Gising Na," and "Usok." Lolita’s performance in the concert was truly remarkable.

Then Maria Cafra entered the stage, rockin’ and rollin’ with their hits including, "Kamusta Nga Kaibigan." The front man's guitar literally fired up, to the delight of the crowd.

The Youth also blasted off its hits onstage, and these include "Mukhang Pera" and "Multong Bakla," followed by Wolfgang’s Basti Artadi singing his own version of The Beatles’ "Come Together" and closing his set with "Halik ni Hudas."

Wrapping up the OPM concert of the year was a performance by Dong Abay, who gave concertgoers a chill of the past with his songs such as "Banal na Aso," Esem," "Senti" and "Tsinelas."

Truly, the Full Blast Pinoy Superbands has been an unforgettable concert for Filipinos from all walks of life and across generations.