Last night (thats Dec.27,2011), I had no plans to go out...except for a night with 'Special Ops', when I suddenly got a call from Autonomy Bar owner, Goody Saises. He and another friend from a former J-rock band dragged me into meeting up at his bar, and its a good thing I let them.
I was surprised to see an intimate J-rock/J-pop session away from their known bastions in Katipunan and away from the uncomfortable, crowded Anime/Comic/Cosplay Expos. You really get to enjoy the music, singing and dancing along, in a bar/restaurant setup, partying along with other musicians with the same love for J-music. Its like having your very own J-music 'Rock Band' event with a group of friends.
The night was filled with, not only Anime themes, but also leading contemporary pop and rock acts in Japan. Later in the evening, it got more 'trippier' with the addition of samplers and synths which really gave the sound thickness and volume.
And at the end of the evening, there was a free jam which I was able to join. Ikuso Iwa's groove rock based rendition of Super Junior's 'Sorry' got me tappin' and head bangin' . Liquor enraged covers always sound sweeter than the original :-)
Bands were lined up by 'Gift of Music', a production group that holds benefit gigs and donates the proceeds of their band events to charitable institutions. The production is the brain child of the siblings Jin and Jovelle (who, interestingly, runs 'The BooBoo Shop' ). That night, the benefit was for the 'Pangarap Shelter for Boys' in Taft Ave., Manila.
Although the production group is already 3 yrs going, their recent venture into J-music was after they took part in some Anime/Cosplay Expo Event.
I was looking for these kinds of events years before, and I do hope that this series flourish and succeed, as J-music and K-music becomes more accessible, along with a good cause to boot.
