Summer 2006 Escapades (Part 3 of 5)

Rainy days have come. What better time to let the summer sun shine once again, at least in our minds.

-oOo-

A live band would be playing in the resort restaurant later that night, so we three single men went to check it out. At the very least we'll get to enjoy a few bottles of beer. We ordered Red Horse while one had Coke as chaser, for faster alcohol absorption, he claims. The band opened up its act with Evanescence covers, which suits them nicely since they had three vocalists, one guy and two girls. For instruments, they had a lead guitar, keyboards, base guitar and drums. One thing I found strange was that while they were playing rock the band wore hip-hop get-up. (The two singing ladies were the exception since they sported a cowgirl look with their sleeved top, denim short shorts and knee-high boots.) The fashion anomaly was explained during the second set, when they chilled out with hip-hop, perhaps to showcase their versatility not just in singing but also in terms of genres.

Our guy with the Coke chaser was smitten by one of the vocalists. He'd been gulping down a few more bottles while raving about the mestiza beauty he imagined to be actually singing to him (memories of his ex who was also a band vocalist back in their province). She looked older than me, though. I preferred the other girl vocalist whose mestiza features were gentler (maamo ang mukha). She looked younger too, perhaps still in college. Actually, I wasn't too keen on enjoying beauty at that time; I was diggin’ their music, so sometimes I tapped to the beat or sang along.

Perhaps it was that appreciation they were looking for, aside from the fact that I must have been the youngest in the audience, that when they played upbeat music, and Coke chaser guy's favorite singer was searching for someone to dance to their groove, she approached our table, not for him, but for me. I decided to oblige her for a few seconds only, since I wasn't in the mood to dance. It was enough, though, to start the ball rolling for the rest of the audience. By the end of the set, the stage was filled with moving bodies. I kidded our smitten drinking companion for not joining the people on stage and dance with her, asking him how many more bottles of beer he would need. (He'd been pouring beer to my glass. It was a futile attempt to make me drunk since I just returned it to his glass whenever he leaves to take a leak.)

The third and last set started off with the band finally playing requests for the latest OPM hits. Audience participation was impressive as some volunteered to sing or even play the drums. After another prodding from the lady vocalist (this time I directed her to her big fan in our group), all three of us, along with almost all of the audience, were dancing away at the stage. I was amazed at how my tipsiness could make me simply flow with the music. I was just the back-up dancer, though; the guy with the chaser-induced tipsiness was the one dancing with his star. Too bad for him, as I noticed within the few seconds I danced during the previous set, the girls, although they could engage an audience, didn't engage on a personal level (no eye contact, not even the appearance of connecting). I guess it was their way of being professional. Our fan was not unfazed. When the show ended after a little while, he engaged his star for some small talk. He learned that she was actually just a freshie in a Laguna college. Well, whaddya know!

Earlier that evening, our fellow trip mates booked for the next day an early-morning boat ride to an island(?) nearby. This would have allowed us the opportunity to bask in un-crowded white sand glory and swim in clear waters. Unfortunately, the three of us clambered back to our rooms at around three in the morning, a mere couple of hours before the boatmen came to fetch us. They did come, but we were all deep in our sleep. We had alcohol as an excuse, I don't know about the others. When we woke up, a few hours were left before we head back to Manila, concluding the most jologs -- worse, the tackiest excursion I ever had.


Other parts of the series:
1 2 3 4 5