Art, rock, technology, existentialism

These are schizophrenic days, indeed. Good times. Bad times. We’ve all had our share.

Howlin’ Dave, the most philosophical disc jockey I know, passed away. That guy could talk about the sun, the moon and the Sex Pistols. During the tribute to the DJ at My Bro’s Mustache even guys like Gary Perez and Walter Wirth crawled out of the woodwork to play stirring renditions of classic rock tunes. Ah, that howler. Spoke like a Beat poet and swaggered like a punk. No one like him. He shall be missed.

Props should go to bars such as ’70s Bistro, Mayric’s and Penguin Café, which still soldier on despite the voodoo economics of sustaining a rock ‘n’ roll bar. We all know which establishments make the moolah: the ones where the beautiful people, the expensive getups, and the loopy house music are. But a place like Penguin still packs the people in when bands like Radioactive Sago, Elemento and Wahijuara perform (with that genius of an alto saxophonist Anthony “Bem” Morris. (Lourd De Veyra, Ricky Torre and I might watch the Air Supply concert in the Big Dome. Three less lonely people in the world. Now that’s wasak.) 

While Filipino bands — from the young ones like Taken By Cars (these kids have the goods) to the more mature ones like Sandwich (they’re as fresh as when they started 10 years ago) — keep on trucking with well-crafted original tunes, pop and bossa nova singers purvey more or less the same shit.   

I watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and it was a letdown — what a disappointment considering the technology at Spielberg and Lucas’ disposal (with today’s CGI alchemy in mind, Raiders of the Lost Ark was practically created using strings and pulleys). Cool scenes at the beginning (Indy finding himself in an atomic bomb test site, diners, rock ‘n’ roll on the radio and all), but not even a crystal skull, Cold War operatives, or aliens bolting in could salvage the rest of the film. Soup made a montage of the trailers of Indiana Jones and Sex in the City. A work of genius: as if Indy were on the hunt for cracked artifacts in obscenely-priced dresses and shoes.

The Celtics face the Lakers today for Game One of the NBA Finals. This is the showdown everyone is looking forward to. Just like in the Eighties, it’s Showtime versus the Big Three all over again. If only Ray Allen could keep shooting the way he did in the last two victories against the Pistons, and Rajon Rondo stops making those telegraphic lob passes, the Celtics could give the Lakers more than they bargained for. But the basketball fan in me expects to see the best: Jack Nicholson frantic on the sidelines, the blur of green and yellow jerseys, Kevin Garnet with his spidery arms at the low post against bearded Spaniard Pau Gasol, acrobatic shots by Kobe (who’s been known to jump over cars and pools of snakes), and surprise endings.

Here are other events that took up our schizoid week.

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Camsur as you are

Smart recently brought Bamboo, Sugarfree, Rocksteddy and Kamikazee to the CamSur Watersports Complex (CWC) for Year three of “Smart Buddy Hot Summer Samahan,” with Governor Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte igniting the fireworks display to signal the start of the show hosted by MTV VJ Kat Alano and Epy Quizon

“Music is one of the most powerful means of self-expression for today’s youth,” says Smart Buddy activations manager Lloyd Manaloto. “As Smart Buddy continues to provide cutting-edge wireless services, we also continue to innovate and come up with features that consider exactly what they need, and the kind of activities that they enjoy and prefer.”

The guys from Sugarfree opened their set with Kung Ayaw Mo Na Sa Akin, followed by covers of the Eraserheads and Apo Hiking Society.  They also performed their originals such as Kuya, Prom, Tulog Na, and Makita Kang Muli, before ending their set with one of their most popular tunes. If Sting is the king of pain, Ebe styles himself as Hari ng Sablay.  

Teddy Corpuz and the rest of Rocksteddy also paid tribute to Apo with Blue Jeans. Then came their hits Break Na Tayo, Superhero, and the band’s rendition of Juan dela Cruz’s No Touch. Lagi Mo Na Lang Akong Dinedeadma was highlighted by Teddy’s rapid-fire delivery of the “spoken word” segment of their signature hit.

The rowdy boys of Kamikazee came next, doing a run-through of theirs songs Chicksilog, Narda, and Ambisyoso. With Bamboo wrapping the gig up by performing Masaya, Tatsulok, Hallelujah, Probinsyana and Noypi.   

Got You Under My Skin

And now a dose of Oz fest. (Text courtesy of the Australian Embassy.)

“Under my Skin” celebrates the artistic journeys of five contemporary Australian artists and former Asialink visual arts residents: Emil Goh, David Griggs, Pat Hoffie, Megan Keating and Louise Paramor.

Presented by the Australian Embassy in Manila, Ateneo Art Gallery, and Asialink at the University of Melbourne, the exhibition brings together for the first time a group of successful artists who have devoted a significant part of their lives to a particular place in the region through the prestigious Asialink Arts Residency program. 

During Asialink’s 17-year history, its arts residency program has seen almost 500 artists embark on residencies with over 300 host organizations in 20 countries across Asia. Each artist in this exhibition reveals a depth of understanding of the cultures in which they were immersed, worlds unknowable to the passing tourist or the casual observer.

The show is especially unique as it includes two artists (Pat Hoffie and David Griggs) who chose to come to the Philippines under the program and whose residency experiences continue to resonate in their work long after their return to Australia.

In 1993, Brisbane-based artist and academic Pat Hoffie undertook an Asialink residency in the Philippines. It bore a 10-year artistic collaboration with Filipino artist Santiago Bose, an expanded visual and thematic vocabulary and a string of international residencies that included a second Asialink residency in Hanoi in 1998 to 99.

David Griggs likewise considers the Philippines his second home. During his 2005 residency, Griggs created and exhibited photographic works (“Buko Police,” 2006) documenting the colourful characters of Manila’s street gangs. These encounters then became the source material for a number of subsequent exhibitions in Australia including the “Bleeding Hearts Club” (2006) and a later work, “Blood on the Streets” (2007). He returns to Manila at least twice a year to make new works, as well as curate the work of Filipino artists in Australia. 

“Under my Skin” is on view until June 27 at the Ateneo Art Gallery and will later tour Singapore and Vietnam.