Home from Earth Decay.

Milton of Empty shredding! (Pic by Mel of Towards The End)

My neck still hurts from the severe beating given by the bus ride from Manila to San Pablo City and vice versa last night but I'll try and sum up yesterday's events. The show started late because most of the bands came later than expected because of the f'n traffic. Even the local San Pablo bands came late because they have some members who came from Manila.

The show started around 6 PM with a band from San Pablo called FORFEIT. These are young kids who know their Hatebreed riffs. They remind me of Chainblock from the late 90s. Another San Pablo act named HOLD played after them and I just couldn't point out their sound but their vox has this squeaky Shutdown/Brother's Keeper thing going. There was also a film showing done by the guys from GREENPEACE about saving the environment. There would have been a nice question and answer portion but it did not materialize.

We (BYSTORM) played next and we did songs from the upcoming full-length. Cameras were blinding at the time so I couldn't really comment on any reaction made. After us came WALK ME HOME. They play melodic stuff if you haven't heard them yet. One of their songs reminded Danj of Title Fight. Not a bad comparison.

We went out to get some grub (chami time!) and when we came back it was some band that I think sounded like Typecast (I think my band chronology is a little messed already) and another band from Batangas City who also sounded like them. We also caught the start of the set of IDENTIKIT and the guy who did a Billy Bragg cover. Also caught the set of LEGARDA minus Ebong and with Sharen playing guitar.

Too bad we missed the sets of STANDOUT, TOWARDS THE END and the EMPTY reunion because we have to go already. ISVARAH was also not able to play and I just talked to Mot that his wife just delivered a healthy baby boy! Congrats brother!

All in all it was a good show despite the lack of participation (i.e. interest) on the part of the crowd. Managed to get a couple of zines which i'll try and review here.

Bad stuff: stiff neck, Giants losing to Texas in Game 3 of the World Series.

Currently listening to: Pulling Teeth 'Paranoid Delusions...', Integrity 'Sytems...'

R.D.A.

Got a bunch of shirts via trade from Mr. Fishbone who's currently in Indonesia right now touring with Bad Omen (great job!) which will be sent to the US for another trade and I decided to post the shirts here before they ship out. First shirt is the classic RDA 's/t' cover art on white shirt. Who doesn't like RDA? They're a great band with a lot of interesting stuff to say. Check out their album under TRC if you don't believe me. Too bad they didn't bother releasing anything after more than twenty (20) years even if they do play the occasional reunion shows.

Damages.

Recently discovered this "new" series and I have to say it's really intriguing with Tarantino-styled 'chapters' which go back and forth, it makes you not to want to miss a beat. Lawyers. Manipulation. Murder. What's not to love?

Giants are up 2-0 against the Rangers. That's a severe beating they gave Cliff Lee on Game 1 and an excellent pitching performance put forth by M. Cain and the bullpen on Game 2 to shut Texas out.

Heading out to 'Earth Decay' later and I'll be bringing some merch for you. I got the new colorway of the Bystorm 'Kingdom' shirts and a couple of blue Feud 'Reunion' shirts. See you all later!

Currently listening to: Snapcase 'Steps' (they have an awesome video of Snapcase paying 'Incarnation/Steps' at TTD right now. Check it out.)

The Pints @ Ten02.

Finally, we have the flyer for The Pints at Ten02. Brought to you by those guys from Non-Compliant Issue. Istukas Over Disneyland from Pampanga and Nevertheless from Paranaque will also be playing at this show. Should be a lot of fun!

Good stuff: Celtics beating the much OVERRATED Heat in the NBA opener. Those guys would suck for years to come. Bosh and Wade's production will definitely dwindle as James will be the ballhog that he is. Wade creates his own shots and is not a "kick and shoot" kind of guy and he cannot do it if the ball is in "Choke" James' hands. Go Green!

Tomorrow will be the first game of the World Series between the Giants and the Rangers. Cliff Lee has been my favorite pitcher this postseason but I do hope the Giants win the series. It's been a long time coming.

Three (3) shows on November 5.

A potential problem faces a punk rock kid on the 5th of November. Got some money, got some time, got some energy but will definitely have to make a choice on what show he will go to. There's 'For the Sake of the Sic 4' happening somewhere in Cavite (a carwash!) featuring some of the most brutal bands from in and out of Cavite. Next he has one of the best bands (QUEEN CITY CREW) from Cebu visiting for their "Hatebreed pre-show" happening at Center for the Arts in Quezon City. They got the Mainland Crew and some more "hard" bands playing that night. Bystorm will also be playing that show. The other show is just the next corner from Center for the Arts. Yes, its happening at Ten02 with our visitors from Australia - THE PINTS, headlining. Got a couple of punk rock bands playing that night as well as some fast ones (Rush IxDx, IxOxDx). So to the punk rocker - what do you do? Where do you go?

Currently listening to: Chain of Strength "The One Thing..."

Giants win!

Awesome win by the Giants today. J. Sanchez struggled but the Giants bullpen did the job. Wilson, who is my next favorite closer next to Papelbon, was lights out as he got the last fie outs to shut the door on the Phillies. Giants should finally be able to win it all against the Rangers.

Good stuff: BS/RID practice today. Made a new song, polished the other ones. Should be ready to record next month.

Currently listening to: Catharsis 'Samsara'

Mozzarella and Basil on a Bun.

Awesome stuff from the oft-hated corporate coffee shop. In any case, this is good stuff right here with mozzarella, tomato and basil on a thick sesame seed laden bun. Add brewed coffee and you're set.

Currently watching. Yanks at Texas for their last game of the year (!).

Good stuff: Bystorm/RxIxDx practice tomorrow. Haven't done so for almost a month. Should be a good time!

Playlist during these rainy days: Have Heart discography, Sons Of Anarchy and Chuck.

Kick-off show at Commonwealth tonight.

Just found out about this show today. Punk rawk show happening somewhere in Commonwealth Avenue. I think this will serve as the "Kick-off" for the Bad Omen Indonesian tour happening later this month. Congratulations guys! Have fun!

Currently watching: Game 4 between the Giants and Phillies.

Bigoli Goodness.

Baked ziti from Bigoli. Just discovered they serve free garlic bread. Awesome. Last Italian restaurant I know serving that was Fazoli's. Unfortunately the last surviving branch (that I know of) is located at Eastwood City in Libis. Too far.

Currently watching: Giants - Phillies rerun. Its fckd up that ESPN doesn't show the NLCS on time. By the way, those Yanks are down to their last game. Go Rangers.

Royal Town Hardcore.

Got this shirt via trade with one of the guys from Kids On The Move (I think...) when Bystorm went on tour there. You'd be surprised at how very few large shirts they have. Everyone wants to wear a size or two smaller than one would usually wear. This also goes for the big guys. Weird huh? Well, they think we're weird because we wear a size or two larger than what one would normally wear. Ha!

Currently listening to: Shelter 'Mantra'

The Pints.

Australian punk rockers from Australia 'The Pints' will be hitting the Philippine shores this November and they'll be playing two shows. The flyer for the first show is up now. Punk rock line-up!

Good stuff: Cliff Lee throwing another postseason gem against the Yanks. That guy can do no wrong (except go to NY).

Bad stuff: This f'n typhoon.

Currently watching: The Sopranos Season 3 rerun.

Earth Decay @ San Pablo City!

Here is the flyer for the upcoming Earth Decay show to be held at San Pablo City. This is starting to become an annual thing so don't miss out. Good, varied line-up too. Don't miss your chance to watch TIGER PUSSY at this show. From Agee:

"two weeks to go til earth decay fest 2010!!!

gates will open at 2pm for the greenpeace exhibit, a.g. sano's collaborative mural - all you art enthusiasts are invited to join in for the fun, film showing, and forum on eco-awareness. there is also a signature campaign calling on P-Noy to step up the government's initiatives for the environment. rann tenorio will also be launching her zine "believe", featuring no less than the mighty tiger pussy on cover!!!

music will kick off at 4pm.
look out for tiger pussy, identikit, the stigmatics, ginseng luzon, empty, guerra mundial, outcry, isvarah, the shocking details, piledriver, shirley steinberg, towards the end, iya, shoulderstate, legarda, standout, goo, aunt audrey, walk me home, bystorm, nowherebound, settled down, chilidogs, death to puberty, surora, forfeit, hold, under the influence, edgeparkk

come early. listen and discuss. enjoy the music. meet up with friends. roadtrip!!!"

There you go. See you at San Pablo!

Good Matinee Show!

Tame The Tikbalang does what they do best.

Finally getting my bearings back after a terrible two weeks. Aside from personal sht, our drummer in Bystorm had a terrible freak accident which sidelined him for a couple of weeks. That is the reason why we were not able to play at yesterday's show at Ten02. He'll be undergoing MRI but hopefully we'll be ok. We're going to play at the Earth Decay Fest in lieu of Rush IxDx so it looks to be promising.

Also got some Bystorm 'Kingdom' shirts for you in a different colorway. Brown ink on light brown shirt, yellow ink on dark blue shirts and black ink on dark grey shirts. I still have a couple of Feud shirts which I'll also be bringing at the San Pablo show.

The show last night was awesome. Saw a couple of new bands (the highlight being The Crimson Cartel's cover of 'Enforcer') as well as classics (Tame The Tiks), hanged out with some friends, sold some stuff. If not for the typhoon threat, we would have stayed longer. Congrats to Johner for putting up a great show! I'm really looking forward to more of these shows.

Currently listening to: Warzone 'Don't Forget The Struggle...'

Good stuff: Cliff Lee going to NY tomorrow to destroy them, Giants/Phillies NLCS

Blanks...

I'm currently in a bind right now on some deep sht and I've completely overlooked on posting here. There's some shows happening around this weekend and I hope we can really play to let off some steam most probably. Got some materials to post but been really too preoccupied. I'll post some when things clear up.

Good stuff: Chuck Season 4 Episode 1, Giants going to the NLCS.

How good is Good Burger?

See that? It just begs the question how good is Good Burger? Very thick pattie, mozarella cheese, Baco-s (vegie bacon), some vegies and sht. Really awesome stuff here. Just try it. They got branches in Pasig City and one in Quezon City.

Some news: The Bulldozed release party won't happen until November. We're still waiting on the tapes, the covers need to be printed but for sure it will be a blast when it's finally available. I'll try and post a teaser for the cover later.

Saturday evening and I'm stuck at home. There are shows happening in Paranaque and Cavite. Not cool. Giants lost today to Atlanta in the 11th evening.

Currently listening to: VA Never Forget The Cause

For the Sake of the Sic 3 @ Dasma, Cavite.

Can't believe that this is already the third installment of the 'For the Sake of the Sic' shows. The line-up is pretty sic(k) with some of the most brutal bands presently playing. The Cavite scene is kicking into high gear! Don't miss out.

Currently listening to: The Smiths 's/t'

Doc Halladay.

Holy sht. It really is THE year of the pitcher. Roy 'Doc' Halladay destroyed the Big Red Machine with only the second no-hitter in MLB history. That's more than a century's worth of baseball. If he throws like these the entire playoffs, better to just hand the Phillies the trophy. Still betting on the Giants though.

Currently listening to: United Youth 'Demo', Coke Bust 'Degradation'

Playoffs!

MLB playoffs start today and Cliff Lee has already decimated that other team from the AL East aka TB Rays. Though the Red Sox is absent in this year's playoffs, it should be fun to watch aces like Lee, Doc Halladay (Phillies) and "The Freak" Tim Lincecum go deep in the playoffs. Unlike that fat guy from NY who's about to choke anyway. My money goes to the Giants to win it all this year.

Currently watching: Reds at Phillies. Doc Halladay is just mowing down Reds hitters.

Vegetarian Curry in an instant!

Another goodie I found before leaving Lion City. With about 2 SGD left in my pocket before boarding the plane back to Manila, I happened to roam around the 7-11 inside the airport and found this gem. Eating this at 11:30 PM before boarding the plane is just right. Hell yes.

Bystorm and Rush IxDx will be hitting the studios from early November to late December for the 'Sumalangitnawa' full-length and as of this moment, the untitled collection tape from RxIxDx. Maybe a shirt from RxIxDx is also on its way. Plus a reprint of the Bystorm 'Kingdom' shirt. Will keep you posted as sht develops.

Flattbush 'Smash The Octopus'

Thanks to Mr. Randy Rayos of Outcry for this awesome shirt. Pinoy thrashcore based in the US - No, not Eskapo, FLATTBUSH! I was really hoping they could at least make it in the Philippines during our lifetime but I guess that's not going to happen anytime soon.

Been pretty much busy the past couple of days (including the weekend). Also missed playing at the 'October Pest' show last Sunday because of a last minute cancellation. Sorry to the Mainland Crew. We'll make it up to you.

Sorry for the current slacking here at LCN. Still have a ton of stuff to review, shirts and food to talk about so just keep checkin!

Currently listening to: 108 'Songs of Separation', Abhinanda 'Senseless'

Palawan.

Just came back from a recent Palawan trip. Underground River y'all. Great stuff. Bat sht. Show tonight at Obsidian in Pasig City brought to us by the Mainland Crew. Will be bringing some stuff for sale too. Check out the table.

Currently watching: Star Wars Episode One : The Phantom Menace