Pink, orange in the Red Light district: The Shoegazer/Dream Pop Stage at Fete dela Musique

Pink, orange in the Red Light district: The Shoegazer/Dream Pop Stage at Fete dela Musique

by rick olivares

You know how a picture is said to convey a thousand words?

Then how about shoegaze music with its sparse words and where the vocals are used like another layer of highly-textured music that takes the listener to all these new sonic landscapes?

When Monochrome took the stage around 4:30pm, the small area at Wok by 4900 (along Durban Street in in Barangay Poblacion, Makati, site of the 2018 Fete dela Musique) was packed with over 30 folks with more outside.

Monochrome’s music straddles the lines of metal, hardcore, and shoegaze in a brilliant concoction that is at once dangerous, ominous, and breathtaking. And on Saturday night at the Shoegazer/Dream Pop Stage, it was equal parts headbangers ball, a recital, and a neo-religious experience (as one lady swayed to the music with her eyes closed).

Cut to a few hours earlier.

It’s past 2:30 in the afternoon and Romel Chua Amoncio, the guiding force behind Furiosa, the organizer of shows around the metropolis showcasing the shoegaze genre, was a little nervous. He stood outside like an anxious maître ‘d welcoming a steady stream of folks in brightly colored garb and the occasional ones swathed in black. Wok by 4900 was slowly getting packed and yet there was no music emanating from the stage.

The first band to perform, Space Onigiri, arrived on time and was done. The second act, the psychedelic post-rock quartet, the Insekftlife Cycle, was running late. There were more than 15 people waiting inside and literally shoegazing as there was nothing much to do with no band on the stage.

“We’re having someone on stage soon. Just a little patience, please,” cooed Amoncio. About 30 minutes after they were scheduled to take the stage, Insektlife Cycle launched into “Schizodelia” with all its odd time signatures. And the Saturday afternoon crowd, placated, nodded in satisfaction and their minds wandering into the ether.

“I love the genre,” bared the organizer who also has his own shoegaze outfit, the Rave Tapes. “I know it’s a niche genre, but we still want to grow this. We need to expose the music, the bands, and well, the scene to more people.”

Furiosa has been organizing shows for a while now. There are usually anywhere from 50-80 people attending the shows. Amoncio would like more. And he is working hard to not only promote the music but to also organize shows and to pay the bands who give their time to perform. “I usually don’t make money, but the things you do for what you love.”

And in the same breath, he added, “That is why I have a day job. The music though, keeps me sane.”

Not to mention excited. At first Amoncio conceded that he thought the scene was small. But as Furiosa’ shows grew by word of mouth so did the band start coming out of the woodwork. Thus, the distant cousins of the Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Swervedriver, Lush, and Slowdive – 18 bands all in all including close relatives who weren’t strictly in the genre -- all braved the inclement weather for the shoegaze/dream pop stage. And Wok by 4900, the small Mongolian resto in the bar area of Makati’s Red Light district rocked like a hurricane with the rains pouring outside.

Inside, Monochrome was battering the starry-eyed with a wall of sound.

And when the quintet with their early Smashing Pumpkins leanings were done, it was the Strange Creatures’ turn; this time providing a saccharine chaser to Monochrome’s intense set.

“Our love for the dreamy, atmospheric wall of sound and its infectious melodies inspired us to form the Strange Creatures,” said the band’s Jon Tamayo. “And performing at the Shoegazer/DP Stage was an eclectic experience. We enjoyed our set, discovered new favorite bands, and had a great time hanging out with our friends from the Furiosa community.”

And it was a sentiment echoed by many. Including the promoter.

“Wait until we get the other bands like Megumi Acorda and Narcloudia on stage,” murmured Amoncio as a group of foreigners entered and swayed to the music.

“Now we need to grow this,” added Amoncio.

And the night continued to burst out into brilliant hues.

The bands at the Shoegaze/Dream Pop Stage at Wok by 4900:

Space Onigiri, Insektlife Cycle, GYHT, July XIV, Monochrome, Sanchez, the Strange Creatures, the Last Great Auks, the Rave Tapes, Soft Pillow Kisses, Unmute, PNZR, Narcloudia, Megumi Acorda, Pastilan Dong, We Are Imaginary, Yurei, and Identikit.