how was the reggae fest?

in a word, steady. :)

i haven't been to a concert in years. the last one was when incubus was in town. so i'm not really an authority on these outdoor music fests, but i would have to say the whole thing went well.

i got to sofitel philippine plaza pretty early, as i was hitching a ride with one of the event's photographers (hi, susie!).

i was third in line for the P600 ticket holders, which gave me first dibs on picking my spot near the bay area. i decided to go for a maroon table which was close to the shawarma and hamburger stands. it also had a good view of the stage, and is pretty accessible to the bar.

i shouldn't have worried about the accessibility to the food stands and the bar. i was floored when the staff told me the prices of their drinks and food: P100 gets you one drink--whether it be water, softdrinks, or beer. your P300 will go as far as one hamburger, or one shawarma, or one hotdog. it was screamingly expensive.

none of my concertmates and i could bring ourselves to fork over P300 for the measly portions they were selling. so we staved off our hunger with a couple of cans of beer. when the rumbling in our tummy wouldn't go away, we got ourselves a tray of nachos, which was going for P120 with cheese and salsa dip.

but other than the dismal pricing, the actual concert went well. it's not often that reggae acts get together for just one show, so it was pretty exciting for me to see all of them in one night. ziggy marley just served as the icing on top of this reggae treat.

each band was given time for three songs. every band made it count, in my opinion. reggae mistress, as usual, was all high energy. it was my first time to see peace pipe (even after jeck's constant text messages to me re: their gigs. *sheepish grin*), and i was delighted with what i heard. coffeebreak island was fun as usual, and so was milagros dancehall collective (which i almost missed, due to the long line in the restroom). sammy asuncion of spy was also a delight to watch.

everybody was looking out for indio i, as it's been a while since they played with vic facultad. thankfully, the band didn't disappoint. everybody was singing along to di mo lang alam while swaying to the music. pepe smith made a surprise appearance during tropical depression's set. seeing him wiggle around set the crowds on fire. jr. kilat added more fuel to that fire with their performance.

rachel lobangco and planetzips spun fire as ziggy marley and his band set up onstage. the fire spinners danced to the bangin' of brigada.

and then there was nothing else left to do but wait for ziggy himself. he seemed like a playful character, from what i saw of his eyes. his dreadlocks looked so well-groomed, and from susie's photos, the locks were equal in width. he played about 8 songs in total, with three remakes of his dad's famous songs. i was really hoping he'd sing beautiful day and in love with you, but i was pretty happy with be free and tomorrow people. :)

and just like that, the show was over. i was pretty amazed that the show ended on time at 11:30. that doesn't happen here often. there was an after-party celebration at philippine plaza's spiral, but after starving ourselves, it just didn't seem right to eat all that food. it might shock our stomachs.

so we trudged on home, tired but happy from all that bouncin' around. the place didn't get too packed, which was great, and the grass was always there for us to sit on. it was a pretty steady night. nothing too spectacular, but one that will still give us good vibes for quite a few days.