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WE arrived at the venue at around 3:30 PM last Sunday, March 25, for the 2nd show of Bamboo and Parokya ni Edgar here in the New York/New Jersey area.
The call time for opening acts was actually 2:00 PM, but the famous Lincoln Tunnel traffic kept us to from making it anywhere near that time. Luckily, upon entering the Banquet Hall, the stage was still empty of any familiar musical instruments that would be used for the night’s show.
Unlike the previous show the day before in Asbury Park, where the general mood was festive, there was an undeniable tension hanging over the lavish oriental decors of the Banquet Hall. No, it was more than tension. It was more of a negative vibe.
While the band techs of the two Pinoy superbands set up the equipment, they came up to us with a bit of a problem: There was no bass amplifier loud enough for Parokya and Bamboo to use. What was there was a measly 70 Watt amp that would have worked well as a practice amp than an amp that would feed bass to a crowd that was expected to be 600.
The producers had to scram for a quick solution to the bass amp crisis. After all, the managers of the Pinoy bands made it clear that if they won’t come up with a loud enough bass amp, there would be no show at all.
The fastest and usual way was to borrow from any of the opening acts, who were all local bands. Almost all the opening acts provided gear for the two shows. It just so happened that the bass amp that was used the night before(Saturday) cannot be used that Sunday night because the owner was in South Jersey attending to some personal matters.
So the organizers had to tap the generosity of the front acts playing that Sunday. From among the five opening acts, only one band was known to have an amp powerful enough to keep the show going. But after repeated requests by the other bands and organizers, that band, who has an amp, refused to lend it. According to one of them, they would only lend the amplifier with one condition: ONLY Bamboo, Parokya Ni Edgar, and their own band are authorized to use it.
But what about the other four local opening acts? Apparently, they would have to find a bass amp for themselves, or not use a bass amp, or worse, not play at all.
This got the irk if the other opening acts who were scheduled to play. Thus the drama started.
One lead singer of a Jersey band confronted the guitarist of the band that owns the much needed amp and lambasted him for being selfish.
After the brief fracas, the producers decided to rent an amp from nearby Queens to avoid any more delays and fights. But the damage had been done.
The manager of Bamboo got so angry at the band that has the bass amp, that he recommended the removal of that band from the list of performers. Apparently, the word of their removal got into the bassist who actually owns the amp so, reluctantly, he went into his car and pulled out his 300 Watt amp and offered it to all the bands that night.
But it was too late. The rented amp arrived just in time for the show.
The show went on as planned with all the bands rocking out, except for that band who refused to lend their 300 Watt amp to their fellow opening acts. * The lead singer of the band that refused to lend their amp apologized to us moments after the mayhem. For the record: His apology was accepted.
Tags: Parokya ni Edgar Bamboo Poptimes Magazine Editorial Fil Am Music Fil-Am Filipino American Queens New York New Jersey Happy Analogues The Kuwagos Trickbag Warholsoup Tambayan Productions OPM Filipino Music |
