An Unparalleled Concert Experience

* After we watched the Paramore concert, I made a blog entry entitled "I Doesn't Get Any Punkier than This." Well it did get punkier, but during that time I didn't expect Dashboard would come that soon this year. We had a false alarm 2 years ago when we thought Dashboard would play at the Oktoberfest. 

* The first Dashboard song I heard was Rapid Hope Loss, way back in 2003 when I was 16  or 17 years old. I heard Hands Down during the same semester, and it instantly became my favorite song. It's still on the top of my list. Hearing your favorite song being played live by your favorite band in the VIP section is something that is very hard to match. That was a moment that I longed for and waited for for a very long time.

* Dashboard Confessional has been a very special part of my life. When I'm in my room or the living room with my acoustic guitar I would play The Best Deceptions, Screaming Infidelities, Hands Down, Stolen, and Vindicated. That was my setlist, be it in San Pablo or Los Banos, or wherever there are instruments (the first thing I would look for in a living room is a piano). I would play it again and again. My favorite song to play is The Best Deceptions, because I can play it with the guitar and the piano, and I memorized the lyrics just by listening to it. I was waiting for the song to be played during the concert, I was a bit sad they didn't play those two significant favorites of mine Rapid Hope Loss and The Best Deceptions. But even without those two songs, the concert and the experience was still amazing. I think I may have passed out if they ended the night with The Best Deceptions.

* My friends and I really prepared for the concert, we memorized lyrics, especially on the more recent albums. We really weren't fans of The Shade of Poison Trees, but we love the new album, Alter the Ending (especially the acoustic versions). As for the older songs, we knew it by heart already even if we just mumbled through some lines. I even practiced Don't Wait on drums (because I'm also a fan of Mike Marsh) and Belle of the Boulevard on piano. And what's also great about this experience is that I was able to watch it with 3 of my best music buddies, Joyce, Jeg, and Eric. We exchange and share stuff and I learn a lot from them.

* I hope the band would come back to the Philippines. Everybody had a great and meaningful time and I know Chris and the guys had a lot of fun too!

Trail Mixes for My iPod

Before, I had playlists called 7SS or Seven Song Swing--seven songs of the same genre that sound alike and feel like one song and after the 7th song you're already longing to hear the 1st song again. Right now I have what I call Trail Mixes. Ten to twenty five songs from different genres in one playlist that's filling, "nutritious", and  "healthy" for my musical soul. Here are three playlists you can try:

Trail Mix 1: Fruit & Nut

01 Crazy in Love - Snow Patrol

02 Radio Song - Superbus

03 Rise - Gabrielle

04 Honey, Let Me Sing You a Song - Matt Hires

05 Starstrukk - 3Oh!3 ft. Katy Perry

06 Hit Me with Your Best Shot - Pat Benetar

07 Dance Floor Anthem - Good Charlotte

08 Chances - Five for Fighting

09 Stand Up - Melee

10 Sooner or Late - N*E*R*D

11 Songs in My Pockets - Bethany Joy Lenz

12 All Hands on Deck Part 2: Open Water - Funeral for a Friend

13 Maybe - Ingrid Michaelson

14 Don't Stop Believin' - Glee Cast

Trail Mix 2: Fortified

01 Mr. Jones - Counting Crows

02 Be My Yoko Ono - Barenaked Ladies

03 If I Am - Nine Days

04 If I Could Ever Love - Keith Urban

05 Walk Away - Funeral for a Friend

06 Soldier - Ingrid Michaelson

07 Brick by Brick - Train

08 How I Could Just Kill a Man - Charlotte Sometimes

09 Same Blood - The Academy Is...

10 Subscription - Alesana

11 Rite of Spring - Angels and Airwaves

12 Where were You? - Every Avenue

13 Bada Bing! Wit' a Pipe - Four Year Strong

14 Jamie All Over - Mayday Parade

15 Recovery - Our Last Night

16 The Antidote - Story of the Year

17 Pages - There for Tomorrow

18 Airplanes - B.o.B ft. Hayley Williams

Trail Mix 3: Less Sodium (personal 5-star rated songs)

01 Kalayaan - Bamboo

02 Don't Stop Believin' - Glee Cast

03 Defying Gravity - Glee Cast

04 Endless Love - Glee Cast

05 My Life Would Suck without You - Glee Cast

06 Maybe - Ingrid Michaelson

07 Didn't Hear that from Me - Josh Kelley

08 Travellin' - Josh Kelley

09 Don't Stop Believin' - Journey

10 Wait - Mat Kearney

11 Sometimes - Nine Days

12 Always Midnight - Pat Monahan

13 Long Distance Call - Phoenix

14 Too Young - Phoenix

15 Prayer of the Refugee - Rise Against

16 Shine - Sara Haze

17 Can't Be Saved - Senses Fail

18 Best I'll Ever Be - Sister Hazel

19 Champagne High - Sister Hazel

20 Don't Hold Back - The Sleeping

21 The Fight is Over - Urbandub

Jollibee Menu Mash-Ups

* We eat at Jollibee almost everyday. And although "langhap sarap" sa Jollibee, you'll also get kinda bored with the food. Here's a few ideas I came up with to diversify the food choices:

TWO-MEAL BREAKFAST SHEBANG!

1) Can't decide whether you'll order pancakes or a rice meal? Buy a PANCAKE SANDWICH and EXTRA RICE, ask for some CATSUP and MAPLE SYRUP. Remove the sausage patty from the Pancake Sandwich and eat it with rice and catsup. Set aside the two pancakes and save it for round 2 with syrup. Although di na lagi available and Pancake Sandwich.

INSANELY CHEAP ROAST BEEF SANDWICH

2) Roast Beef Sandwich. Buy a REGULAR SOLO JOLLY HOTDOG (the one without the dressing and cheese, only 25 bucks), and either a 39ers BEEF AND MUSHROOM or TAPSILOG. Order GRAVY for 5 pesos. Ask for CATSUP. Remove the hotdog from the Jolly hotdog. Put the BEEF from the tapsi or 39ers in the hotdug BUN then smother with gravy. There you have a ROAST BEEF SANDWICH. Then eat the hotdog with catsup and the rice from the tapsi.

JOLLY YUM DOG

3) Buy a REGULAR SOLO JOLLY HOTDOG and a REGULAR YUM. Tear apart the patty and the hotdog. Put the burger patty in the hotdug bun and the hotdog in the burger bun. It's a more enjoyable experience, I promise.

MEAT PIE ALA BEE

4) Buy a PEACH MANGO PIE or a TUNA PIE, and a REGULAR SOLO JOLLY HOTDOG and a REGULAR YUM. Buy GRAVY too. Bring a small knife and a chopping board. Dice the hotdog and the burger patty and mix with gravy in a Jollibee rice meal plate, then set aside. Cut open the flap of the pie and drain or scoop out the Peach Mango or the Tuna filling. Use a spoon to jam the hotdog-burger patty-gravy mix in the pie crust.

CHICKEN JOYOUS OH SANDWICH

5) Buy a 1-PIECE CHICKEN JOY and a REGULAR SOLO JOLLY HOTDOG. Remove the skin from the Chicken Joy and choose the juiciest chicken meat. Remove the hotdog from the bun and replace it with the choicest chicken meat and skin. Smother with gravy. You can also buy a BURGER YUM WITH TLC and replace the burger patty with Chicken Joy.

That's it, hope you try it. HINDI TAYO NAKAKAHON NG MENU! Remember that! Happy eating!

Good Finds

It Doesn't Get Any Punkier Than This

(photo courtesy of Maya Miranda, thanks!)

It's been almost a week and I still haven't recovered from the Paramore concert last Tuesday. Of all the concerts I've watched so far, this has to be the best. Hayley Williams is a punk rock princess and I'm a complete sucker for punk rock princesses. 

We went inside the concert grounds late. We didn't want to watch Callalily, but unfortunately, we were just in time to hear their suckiest songs. Badtrip. It's a good thing the crowd was very unappreciative of the band. I salute all the youth who were there, galeng natin!

I was very nervous before Paramore's set. My heart was pounding, it's like the feeling I get when I take Math exams. I knew the concert was going to be a blast but I wasn't prepared for THE actual experience. "Ignorance", "CrushCrushCrush", "That's What You Get", those were the first three songs! We were already exhausted from jumping and singing by the time they played the fourth song!

I'm already a Paramore fan, but the concert upgraded my love for Hayley and the band. I remember a few years back, I was asking my friends why Paramore hasn't come to the Philippines yet. Their visit was waaaaaaay overdue! But the important thing was they came. Period.

Seeing Hayley sing and head bang from the Bronze section with my binoculars was the best feeling ever! Pasensya na friends. I'm even listening to Paramore right now.

On the way home we got ticketed for a defective tail light at the Calamba toll gate. That was a huge hassle. We had to go to Lipa the following morning to get my license back. 

The concert was punk rock. The violation ticket even made it more punk rock.

Shout out to Zadl, Arnel, and Ate Marisse!

Drawings and Moviemaker

I was looking for something in my video links on my Facebook page. Yeah, eto yun, check it out, gusto ko din gumawa ng mga ganyan: (baka lumaki din sa Sesame Street yang mga yan. Yung mga ginawa ko kasing videos para sa cafe inspired ng show na yun)


link: http://youtube.com/serenerhapsody





eto pa...


link: http://youtube.com/musicandmuffins

Gadgets for Sale!!! Season 2!

SKULLCANDY (T.I.) - Only Php 2500, sulet! Barely used pare.

iPod Shuffle (pink) - Php 3000. Brand new! 

Wala ng tatalo dun!

Lomo Camera - Php 3500!

Samsung Digicam with free 2 GB SD card - Php 4500! Sulet!

For reservations and negotiations please text or call me. Call nalang kasi wala akong load pag Friday to Sunday dahil umaasa lang ako sa aking 5 days UNLITXT80. Thanks!

Bagong Music, Sirang iPod Nano, Kalkal sa YouTube

Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg
- may cover nito sila Eric, yep, sila ang Soundhole.

* Napakinggan ko yung cover nila tska yung mga songs na tutugtugin nila sa wedding ni Butch. By the way Eric, na-download ko na yung mga mp3s nyo. galeng mo talaga! haha!

* Doy, salamat sa bagong music. Nakita ko may "Wake Up" ng Arcade Fire na kasama. Cool. Meron na ko nun, isa yun sa mga unang Arcade Fire songs na narining ko, gusto ko din yung video. Trip mo pala yun, great.

* Nasira yung iPod ko. See Facebook page for related story. Medyo malungkot ako. Best friend ko kasi yun. Ayan, wala tuloy ako papakinggan bago matulog. Sayang naman yung bigay nila Doy at Eric na music.

Pulling a Piano from a Pond*

*walang kinalaman ang title sa blog na to

Two years ago, naghahanap ako ng magandang libro sa Powerbooks. Nakita ko tong Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield. Sobrang ganda nya, as in. Sa sobrang ganda nya hindi ko parin sya tapos basahin kasi highlight ako ng highlight ng mga "power lines" na sa panahon ngayon ay matatawag na, "Status Update Worthy".

Ganda ng concept ng book. Naka-relate ako, mahilig kasi ako gumawa ng "maaangas" na playlists. Tama yung author in saying na ang mga mix tapes or playlists ay nagprepreserve ng isang moment ng mga buhay natin. And tindi. Memoir kasi to ni Rob Sheffield.

Kung may oras kayo, bili kayo ng copy. Wag nyo hiramin sakin, madamot ako. Naaalala ko lahat ng mga gamit na hiniram sakin at hindi binalik.

Hoy Miguel, alam kong di mo na ko kilala kasi grade 2 ka pa nun, may hiniram ka sakin na dinosaur, yun ang pinaka malaki kong dinosaur, di mo parin binabalik. FOOOOOOM!!!!

After Days of Pondering Ginawa Ko Na Rin To! Yehey!!!!!!

Hello, this is Baz Floralde, I write for the Canton Sa Elbi blog (http://cafeantonioelbi.blogspot.com). I only get to write on that blog only once a week. And the topics are limited to cafe stuff only (and cafe-related personal senti stuff). To satisfy my craving to write more about random things (without pressure), I created this blog.

Sa madaling salita: Gusto ko lang mag-share ng mga kalokohan ko na hindi madadamay ang trabaho ko sa cafe. 

hehe