"I Melt With You"
A New Wave Concert/Dance Party featuring The Dawn (with guests: Dead Pop Stars)
June 7, 2002

"A Weekend To Remember"

On a weekend that promised a barrage of international mega-sporting  events, it is quite refreshing to find myself relishing another side of my passion, that is new wave music, on a rainy Friday night in a place called Culture Club in Libis.  Approaching the magnificence of England's victory against pundit-friendly Argentina in the World Cup; equalling the intensity of Lewis' right-hander that downed and probably ended Tyson's career; and
surpassing the excitement of another flawless victory for Michael Schumacher in Canada; the little-known newwave egroups simply called newwave101 yet again pulled a stunning event for the greater glory of the local newwave scene by bringing in the quintessential local 80's band, The Dawn & Dead Pop Stars, in a newwave concert dance party titled, 
"I Melt With You"...

Following the relative success of two other major events in a span of one year, whose titles were similarly culled from chart-busting hits of newwave fame (Dreams Never End & A Night Like This), the cult group completed a hat-trick of sorts and came up with arguably the most glamorous and stellar engagement up their sleeves.  Led by the venerable duo of Bot & Fied, plus other nw101 listers' Bato, Cris & Resty,  this outfit - which is an internet-based potpourri of pinoy new wave fanatics from all corners of the world - has managed to secure the performance of the most successful local 80's band, The Dawn, with relatively scarce resources and a little help from the most unlikely sponsor, government-owned PCSO & Smart Communications, Pinoycentral, 97.1 WLS FM & 99.5 RT.  Only in the Philippines can you find a government organization calling the propagation of rock and roll as a sort of charitable endeavour.  But that's an oddity the group can only be grateful for.

The event was heralded by an equally obscure but downright talented group called Dead Pop Stars, led by the Morrissey voice-a-like Rudolf "Pogz" Paz. Stirring the crowds with trademark hits from the 80's icon, The Smiths, Echo & The Bunnymen & Morrissey... the band provided the matching wizardry in club performance in the run up to the main event.  Most notable of the band's flair, aside from the patented voice of front man Pogz, was the sheer mastery of the strings by lead guitarist Alan.  His chord progressions matched the highly demanding riffs of The Smiths' repertoire with ease. Equally noteworthy are the antics of bassist Raymond Pioquinto, incidentally another newwave101 lister.

In between performances, Master DJ and Betrayed drummerman, Manny "Jimmy Jam" of 97.1 WLS-FM provided the entertainment by giving away memorabilia CD compilations with tracks skillfully collected and produced by newwave101 members, which will be had by the most courageous and new-wave-trivia-proficient blokes and yokels in the crowd.  Surprisingly, some turned out to be more knowledged in the field than the average 
80's yuppie.

Now for the main event.  But before that, I'd have to say that the first and last time I ever saw a Dawn gig was in circa '88 when they came to our sleepy town in Southern Luzon and conquered the hearts of the Bicolanos.  It was amazing in some sense that after more than a decade of performances; after the loss of their firebrand; and after bruised egos from a lengthy hiatus brought by the bands' temporary demise in the 90s; the band can still exude that energy which brought them to their prime.  Front-man Jett Pangan did not give any doubts to these thoughts by opening the act with the song "Dreams", one of their first hits.  The crowd instantly recalled the mystique of the group and sang on to the succeeding numbers.

Popular hits followed like the melodic "Alam Ko, Alam Niyo", the chart-topping "Love Will Set Us Free", the historical milestone-themed "Talaga Naman", and the anthem of unity "Iisang Bangka".  Interspersed with these gems are the new creations from their resurgent Prodigal Son album; "Lift Me Up", "I Saw You Coming In", "Standing By Your Heart", and "Kalayaan".  But the number that really did me in that night was their rendering of two hits from my all-time favorite band U2, to which The Dawn traces its roots.  Although lead guitarist Francis Reyes struggled to match The Edge's solo riff in "New Year's Day", he did justice to the Irish band with a creative opening combination for the song "Beautiful Day".  They also did a classic song from punk symbols, The Clash with "Should I stay or should I go" during the encore.  The night was capped by the band's trademark parting songs, "Enveloped Ideas" and of course, the essential "Salamat".

Overall, despite the mediocre gathering which is primarily limited by the capacity of the club, the band did a superb show that equals the intensity of their relatively larger shows in larger venues.  Jett Pangan has somehow kept his belching voice of olden days and the humor to keep at pace with the times.  He did a side number with Francis doing an inpromptu rap metal line ala-Rage Against the Machine.  I didn't have much penchant for lead guitarist Francis Reyes before this gig but I was a transformed fan after that.  You can't help but get a grip of yourself back to the floor while he combines mastery of the strings and technical gadgetry to create flowing riffs so intoxicating you wish they wouldn't stop.  On the rhythm side, Sushi Matsuura struggled with his amp set-up but managed to give us a glimpse of his talent for his yoke.  I can understand his frustration, it's like performing on a noon-time variety show mimicking the music feed. On the drums, JB Leonor kept the rhythm and the accents of the numbers with powerful strokes.  I would have loved to see Carlos Balcells do the bass, his style has a tinge of U2's Adam Clayton you just can't miss.  But on this occasion, they were augmented by CIR bassist Bopip Paraguya.  Despite groping for Caloy's trademark moves laid out on the music sheets before him, his efforts were heroic in keeping tabs with the rest of the gang's tempo.

As for the crowd, I was surprised to be welcomed by a measly gathering of curiously-clad young people well into the night.  Compared to the last outing, "A Night Like This", the venue was already jampacked as early as nine.  But as the night progressed, they eventually came.  Indeed, the title of the gig, "I Melt With You" couldn't put more meaning on the way the dance floor became a melting pot of kids and adults from different musical disciplines.  But new wave, at least for this night, was staple for everybody, especially when it comes to the mobile hits, provided by Fied, Mario & Bot.  And to add to the glitter of the night, the staff of the ABS-CBN's tv show F! covered the event and danced the night away with the rest of the crowd.  It's amazing how a loose net-based group like 
newwave101 could pull a class act like this one with so little in the way of resources and time.  How much more if they can muster enough numbers and support? Next time out, they might as we'll bring in U2!

Driving back to the suburbs after the show, I can't help reckoning how eventful the weekend will be.  And it was only Friday night.

by Palace
Posted by Edwin Escanillas on June 16, 2002

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