All Ups, No Downs with Up Dharma Down

(Note: On occasion of Up Dharma Down's 10th year, I am uploading this blog that I wrote of their Capacities Album launch on November 28, 2012. I've forgotten about this un-uploaded blog until I cleaned my files today. And what timing.)    

In case you’ve been living in a music-less bubble, you probably don't know that UDD is certifiably one of the most creative and commercially successful Pinoy bands in current times. Can’t describe their music – it’s a happy fusion of indie, alternative and techno -- a sound that is decidedly original. Online, they are described as 'post-rock', 'experimental', indie-pop, and electronic rock, among others.  My advice is, don’t overthink their music – just listen and savor it.

There are a few things I would do for Up Dharma Down (UDD), which I probably wouldn’t do for any other local band.

One, patronize a concert venue that’s built on property owned by Henry Sy. And that‘s cause many of us were/are still in uproar over SM Baguio getting rid of 200 sweet-smelling pine trees to make space for a parking lot.

Two, wait for two hours to get in to the venue of a much-awaited album launch. Okay, that’s cause we did not manage to pre-order the tickets online.

Three, wait an additional hour and a half (standing, ha – there were no seats) for the concert to commence. And it’s just for the front act.

That was the case when UDD launched their third album, Capacities, at One Esplanade last Nov 28, 2012.

The night of the concert, the moon was pregnant-full and my friend, JP, and I were in high spirits. This was an aspirational moment. We didn’t have to endure watching them in concert, as we’ve done so in the past, with a long line-up of bands where they end up performing last (sometimes at 3am).  This concert was fully theirs and theirs alone  – well, except for Mauve, the front act. I think those guys were great, too. But then, I wasn’t paying too much attention. Maybe I should have, but honestly, who really does pay attention to front acts? Unless you’re UDD, which was the case when they fronted for Bamboo (the band) in a concert a few years back. That was one awesome concert too, and the last one of the band's that I was lucky to watch before their frontman left. I guess it must suck to front act for a group that’s so highly anticipated by an audience that if they have the power to shoo you away from the stage with their thoughts, they would. But then again, UDD also fronted for lesbian-twin duo,Tegan and Sara, when they had a concert in Manila, which was a music event that my young lezzie friends had multiple orgasms over.

JP and I were very close to the stage, just two rows away – and that’s the reward one gets for being prompt. As Ms. International Melanie Marquez once said, ‘the early bird, eat (sic) early breakfast.’

When the lights went out and the band came out on stage, Armi was a vision in her impeccably immaculate white suit. The first thing that came to my mind: Dapper chic. Like Bond. James Bond.  

They sang all the songs from the new album and as expected, the earlier released ‘Turn It Well’, ‘Indak’ and ‘Tadhana’ (which was the theme song of a TV fantasy show) gained instant recognition. That’s where I first heard Luna, which has become my track favorite in that album (and still is). I was ready to soak and revel in their new songs, but they also treated the audience of about 2,500 people with their classic hits from the two previous albums, Fragmented and Bipolar. And what a treat to hear a live version of Feelings with remote vocals from Paul Buchanan of The Blue Nile, one of their self-admitted musical influences. From ‘Oo’ (which predictably was the night’s crowd favorite – we Pinoys are such a loyal and nostalgic lot) to ‘Taya’, to ‘Every First Second’, to ‘Sana’ – the entranced audience swayed in motion alongside the band.

The song had to be, Oo.

When they played the opening notes of Hiwaga, JP and I waved at Armi and she waved back and smiled – and that, my friends, was the ultimate, ‘I-almost-died-fan-girl’ moment. Hiwaga is a song that makes one jump up and down. So we did and I promptly stepped on the foot of the guy behind me. I said ‘sorry’, kept on jumping, and stepped on his foot again.

Sheepish, fidgety, but endearingly funny 

And then there were the ‘amusing’ moments. Armi, delivering her spiels, somewhat embarrassed with all the attention she and the band were getting, slightly fidgety, looking sheepish, feeling awkward and seemingly just wanting to get over the required chitchat between band and audience. But she was funny as hell – in a nonchalant, non-descript way. As far as overt expressions of admiration from the audience went, there were more girls who screamed ‘I love you, Armi!' 

That finger-wagging thing again!

‘Turn it Well’ may well be remembered as the moment Armi playfully wagged her finger to the already roused crowd. Yes, it was nice to see some action beyond just the usual head-flipping and feet-stomping that vocalists are wont to do. Mind you, she was on keyboards the whole time. The boys in the band were in their element – each zoned in on their respective instruments and sound.  And that made for a one cohesive show, each one fitting snugly as a piece in a superb musical concert puzzle.

I like going to concerts -- it brings the experience of music to a different level. Well, I’ve been to ones that really sucked, too – so this experience is only in reference to those that I really enjoyed. It’s a solitary, yet paradoxically a collective experience of awe, and of sheer, pure, and wanton abandon (which I guess other mob or mass activities such as political rallies also elicit – although rage and indignation are more likely what fuel those). So whether it’s rock, classical, jazz, or the UDD-kind of music, the mind gets fed, the soul is soothed, and the physical senses are heightened.

Indeed, it was one of the concerts I truly enjoyed and on top of it, I went home with their brand new CD. What more did I want for the holidays last year? Well, nothing. Almost.

 

 

Being Princess: Or Being Prim and Proper with Political Passion and Purpose

Ana Maria Ronquillo Nemenzo or Princess, as we all call her, may not know it (or she probably will not remember), but she was instrumental in my entry and evolution into feminist politics.

Back in the late 80s, I attempted to do an undergraduate thesis on women in politics. That’s how I met most of the KALAYAAN (full name: Katipunan ng Kababaihan Para sa Kalayaan or League of Women for Liberation – now doesn’t that sound, guerilla-ish) women for the first time and got exposed to their awe-inspiring and ahem ‘G&D’ feminist activism. That’s also before I attended and experienced their ‘wild’ parties. I had not considered myself a feminist then, having only an elementary grasp of gender issues. One of the first women I met was Princess, whose refined demeanor seemed unnerving -- initially. By ‘refined’, I mean, boarding school-refined. Yet, she was feisty too – and fierce -- in her feminist articulation and political stance. 

The early KALAYAAN days..

I interviewed Princess for about an hour and tried to milk as much information from her on the state of women in politics, i.e., did having a woman president at that time meant better conditions for women involved in politics and did it translate into concrete political gains for Filipino women? Of course, I had forgotten her specific responses to my thesis-related questions, but I remember asking her towards the end of the interview how one becomes a member of KALAYAAN.  She said, “Just come to our orientation and join our activities”. What?? No screening test? No initiation rites? It’s that ‘easy’ to join this ‘select’ feminist collective? It took me a year later to make that happen. By then, I had also met Irene, who had joined KALAYAAN much earlier and who was, thankfully, the same age as I was. I mean, it’s no joke being a twenty-year old in the midst of fearsome and formidable forty-something feminists (well, there were a few thirty-somethings, too). Our joke then was that if Princess had a daughter at 15 and if her daughter also had one at 15, then that ‘one’ would be me. Though in honesty, I never did feel that 30-year gap between us.

Anti-US Bases Rally, 1991. Photo by Flor Caagusan

I remember those GAs and parties at Princess’s house in UP in the early 90s, the rallies that KALAYAAN joined with her at the frontlines, and the endless meetings, workshops and trainings that I had been lucky to be a part of. In particular, I remember assisting Princess in documenting a Womanhealth project: a series of consultations, which brought me to Zamboanga and Dumaguete. I distinctly recall how once she drove me into a state of stressful panic -- we needed to catch a flight in an hour, but she was still happily engrossed in scrutinizing the local fabric at the flea market.

Twenty-five pounds ago, I was in a lunch meeting in a restaurant called Canopy in West Avenue. It was an obvious rip-off of Trellis, with its open-air interiors, verdant foliage and wide wooden chairs. Princess arrived, sat beside me, said hello, and lowered her gaze on the seat I was occupying. “Oh my god, you’re only occupying one half of the chair!” she remarked with earnest shock that I would never forget till this very day (yes, especially now – at twenty-five pounds later).

Which brings me to my next subject: food. If there is one way to typify or personify the fine art of eating, that would be none other than Princess. Her reverence to food radiates in the dining table. There is no other delight for a food lover and cook like me than to have someone indulge in gustatory pleasure over my ‘creations’. Princess always manages to get totally absorbed in her food. Even in the midst of the madness and noise around her, she will meticulously spoon those tiny morsels of red velvet cupcake into her mouth.

Magkagulo na ang lahat.. Imma have this red velvet cupcake and eat it too.

And I must mention remembering her warnings (or should I say, slight exasperation – complete with head-shaking and tongue-clicking) at one point in my life when I embarked on something that was rather reckless and foolhardy. Okay, let’s stop there. :-) 

In the last few years, I got know Princess, the groupie. Who would have thought I’d end up hanging out with her to watch concerts and musical shows? It’s almost like being taken back to the early years of KALAYAAN, when we worked hard and partied harder. 

If there's one thing that should be celebrated about Princess, it's her dedication and commitment in advancing women's sexual and reproductive health and rights, not just nationally, but globally. Through the years, she has remained present in my life. Even though there were many years when we rarely saw each other, every time we reunited, the warmth was always there, as if we never parted. Princess was and will always be a constant reminder and inspiration to me of how it is to be a feminist activist, through and true.