Fronting Bamboo
December 3rd, 2006
Say what you will about Bamboo and his band mates - suplado, mayabang and whatnot - but he gives a mean performance, and you can’t really criticize his music. Even in a free gig over at the Elbow Room in Metrowalk last November 29, he is all energy and spunk, and the music is crispier than freshly cooked chicharon.
Being the excited, unabashed and unashamed fan that I am, I was at the venue at around 7:30 PM, waiting for my cousin GB who was visiting from Capiz. Our call time was set at around 8, and the rest of the band was early for a change 
And wonder of wonders, the gig actually kicked off at around 8:30, which is pretty surprising after all the late gigs I’ve been in.
We started pretty well, all things considered - we were breaking in our new guitarist Onyok, and he had this really crappy distortion pedal, a Beringer or something - and an even crappier guitar. We finally talked him into borrowing a better gadget the next gig, but for this one, we were stuck. I had to adjust up my tone a bit, making it more aggressive to cover Onyok, which isn’t really my thing for the kind of music we were doing. For FMD’s line of alternative-rock, reggae and blues influenced music, I tend to prefer a more bassy tone, with just a little treble, a subdued mid and a low gain. Especially for lead work, as it cuts the shrill a bit. Of course, there’s a trade off with this kind of setup, as I lose the crunch and high pitched artificial harmonics this way, and it’s a bit harder to do legattos with. But arpeggios sound like a dream in this setup, as well as my signature stacatto runs. So I had to forego that a bit and go for a more trashy feel, which was fine overall but awkward at times, as I had to really concentrate on my hammer-ons and pull-offs.
There was one other band before Bamboo, indie-emo-adult alternative band the Pinup Girls. They’re supposed to have a website, pinupgirls.net, but it seems to be down. And I find it surprising they were able to get an even remotely porn-sounding domain, as those get gobbled up really fast. I guess.
So I got to meet Sheng, the bassist slash other vocalist, and she was pretty cool. And cute, because I have a thing for girl musicians, but that’s hardly relevant 
Seems they have albums out in most major music stores, so if you’re into that kind of music, do give them a listen.
Then of course, the main event. After much fanfare, Bamboo came on stage, and as is his wont, began making the girls giggle uncontrollably. And as much as that can really piss a guy off with bouts of uncontrollable envy, when these guys start playing, it’s a really good show. Of course, the professional sound engineers and light men help a lot, too. I did kind of notice that every amp was turned up all the way to eleven - thank you Nigel Tufnel - when they were playing, but that’s the kind of treatment you get when you’re an A-List band and you can afford to bring your own sound crew and demand your own equipment configuration, I suppose. Then again maybe I’m just jealous! And it certainly helps if the sound is tight, too, and let me tell you, these guys are tight. They hardly ever miss a cue, and everything is done seamlessly, with nary a missed note. I can only hope for the kind of practice time needed to develop such chemistry and trust - you know, the kind where you don’t need a day job anymore 
It was a fun gig - hell, for me, every gig is always fun. It’s what I live for
2 Responses to “Fronting Bamboo”
December 3rd, 2006 at 1:02 pm
Whoah, fronting Bamboo! That’s just like one of the best Christmas a guy could ask for. Hat’s off to you! Did you say a Beringer pedal? Trash it, my cousin was screwed up by that pedal, a real piece of crap of you’ve seen and heard him.
That’s the perk of being an A-list band, once you’re going on stage, you’re almost God and all the PAs, engineers, crew and all are just your creations. I remember when Joey Ayala performed here in DLSU-D, he gave our sound engineer quite a challenge when he gave out instructions, live in front of the audience, on how he would like the sound system mixed up and set-up according to his tastes. But it was all worth it, great music!
December 3rd, 2006 at 2:37 pm
I know! That’s why I love playing at venues like Purple Haze in Tomas Morato, where at least they take care of your sound and allow you to set your tone to your specs. It was a blast, fronting Bamboo; pity they never mingled with us, I wasn’t able to grab a picture