last night, i went to see franco play at 70s bistro. i was prepared for the worst: the place being packed tighter than edsa at rush hour. i would have settled on buying the album and heading home, but lady luck was on my side. i bought two EPs and paid the entrance. i parked myself by the banisters at the back, clutching a bottle of beer. bad weather started their set and the folks at the table behind me offered me a seat so my lanky frame wouldnt ruin their view of the stage. even the people at the next table were persistently shooing away the people standing in their view. eventually, when the chongkeys took the stage, people rushed to the banisters and the poor folks at the tables resorted to standing. i resumed my place by the post. its been awhile since i attended a gig. this was was definitely something i couldnt let pass. the chongkeys are always a joy to watch--thumpingly driven by groovy vibes, bolstered by their bouncing percussionists and tireless frontmen. they sailed through with their playful lyrics and lively thrashing. the audience caught their vibe and bobbed along. while we were waiting for franco, a concert of metallica was being projected. later (the following mornings ride to work, while listening to the EP) i would associate metallica as an early influence on francos early days, evident with the heavy guitars and darker lyrics. franco took to the stage with some shiny new guitars and did their soundcheck. leading from poldos static-y grinding and vics precise hammering, they kicked off with moonset. will the next generation unite?/this is our time lines that would do good for the new generation, with all the ... challenges ... that they face. heavy riffs ushered to survive next. honestly one of my favorites for its harshness and hopefullness all at the same time. the videos a real tear-jerker. when it came out, i was really hoping to see it top the charts. for everything that it stands for, it deserved to be. wishful thoughts, though. the soul-less mechanisms of commercialism and marketing ruthlessly grinded on. speaks heaps about most viewers and their sense of culture, eh? have you seen that absurd report about how dumb people gravitate towards rap and pop music, while the more intellectual ones favor rock music? not all true, i hope. because there are some rare rappers and artists (for the lack of a better term) who come up with meaningful tracks. the report stipulates the notion that people with low intelligence favor rap and pop music because the content appeals to the lowest common denominator--stuff thats easy to identify with and does not require much comprehension. it states that rock music, on the other hand, where each note is laboriously written line by line, necessitates much more comprehension to appreciate. there are salient points, but its not something i completely agree with. generalizing the entire audience of a genre based on the stupidity and lack of talent of those they revere is quite indefensible. plus, i know of some rock acts that make as much sense as justin beiber. seeing franco play is something that gives me hope. hope for the music industry, hope for creativitys sake, and hope for the human spirit. and the people there that night share the same thoughts too, i hope. were sick of talentless big-name artists, foreign or otherwise, that gain popularity (and consequently, a blind following) with songs of meaningless egotism, feces-like lyrics, shameful gimmicks, generic, commercially-made mass-produced beats and samples, relying purely on brutal marketing and sensationalism. absolutely sickening. ok, too much off-topic. back to the gig. the opening chords of seasons threw everyone into a frenzy. sweet. succinct. deliberate. utterly awesome. yes, a song can definitely be a thing of beauty. the guitars growled with their ragged riffs, and francos voice gave every word in that song a near-transcendental feel. lets go around the world/and forever stay in love plain words, yet overwhelmingly sincere. castaway, with the dreamy reverberations and immensely forceful chords was nothing short of awesome. in a trance, we sang every line along with francos mournful, lamenting voice. its one of those songs where you just close your eyes and let yourself be taken away. truly a venerable gem in a time when all it takes to sell a record is fame and a false sense of prestige by advertising. with an extended intro, they launched into memorykill. the melody of which sounds like something infinitely endearing. and i love that song even more for its thoughtful lyrics. it takes a certain kind of mind to write something as poetic as heres a letter to your pride/hearts and souls divide/how can this be? franco played four songs out of the six that are on the EP through the course of their set, and everyone met it with sincere approval. they whipped the crowd into a dizzying uproar when franco strummed the somber intro to better days, which was followed by touch the sky, then a beautiful diversion. the subsequent auditory crashes shook bistro like a train-wreck. definitely beautiful songs that appeal to the optimist in everyone. the best part was when every single soul shouted along to hope for better days to coooooommmee!!!! for the last song, they played song for the suspect. rhythmic, jarring voilent expositions of freedom. a great cry of rebellion. a no flung at mainstream thoughts. a denial of mass production. each word sung by a voice so raw and unassuming, both harsh and soothing at the same time. anger. rage. righteous anger. after a great demand for an encore, they came back with next train out, to great applause and gratitude. may Jah bless you all. thank you for making music that embodies our emotions. these are songs with meaning. not the unending lines of garbage and stupidities flooding the world. this is what music is supposed to be. long live.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 02:52:30 +0000
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