The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Live in Manila! (02-29-12)

Was originally planning to let this band go, as I wasn’t really a big fan to begin with, but on the morning of their concert, Nicole and Steph decided to treat me to The Pains for my birthday (and who am I to say no to a chance of seeing Alex Naidus live!).

Was there early to get me my ticket, and we saw that the band was already there practicing. A week ago, there were news that Connor Hanwick of The Drums will be going with The Pains to Manila, but because The Drums themselves were on tour, we didn’t bet on it. But there he was – Connor Hanwick in the flesh, on stage, doing a sound check. Steph was in tears! She suddenly didn’t care about the Pains and was focused entirely on getting a photo op with Connor.

We peeked and lingered ‘til we creeped the hell out of the guys at Hard Rock. Haha! We left and returned a little later, but still early enough to ensure us a spot nearest to the stage.

Bee Eyes, a garage-pop band from Manila opened for the Pains. I’ve heard of Bee Eyes earlier last year but didn’t hear them play until that night. I enjoy their sound and am planning to download their songs (free on their website!) in time for summer!

Julius Valledor (vocals/guitar) doing a “not bad” face – exactly my thoughts when he started playing.

The Camera Walls played next. I’m a big fan of The Camera Walls’ front man Clementine Castro who was the vocalist/guitarist/songwriter for the now-defunct Orange and Lemons. Good to know he still writes and plays good music. But I find his performance a bit distracting, and it’s not because he’s quite a dead ringer for Yoko Ono, but because of his antics on stage – he headbanged the mic, lied down on the platform and gyrated off beat throughout the entire stint.

Clem is so adorable. When I lined up to have my shirt signed by The Pains, I talked to him and told him how much I liked the songs from Moonlane Gardens. After thanking me, he gushed, "papapirma ka rin ba kay Peggy? Ako rin Eh!" Such a fan boy! 

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart began with “This Love is Fucking Right” – not one of my favorites but one that I love to dance to. From here onwards, all I did was smile, scream, sing and dance like a true fan girl (although prior to this, I would never admit it). Halfway through the setlist though, I started skipping the lyrics and humming through the songs in pain. Alex Naidus is too damn beautiful, it hurts.

One thing I love about The Pains is how levelheaded they were. We learned that the night before, they hung out at Cubao X with Bee Eyes, had a few drinks and made friends. When the concert ended, Kip even invited everyone to hang out with them. He was also all-smiles throughout the entire concert, and promised to take a picture with everyone after. I love him! Peggy's so adorable and nice too. Kurt, who was sitting behind us watching videos while we waited for the concert to start was also really friendly. I love it that they're all so nice and approachable. I remember that I stopped listening to Kings of Convenience for a while when they visited Manila and Erlend Oye turned out to be a snob. Kindness to fans matters. And now, I’m a bigger fan than I were before I watched The Pains live.

Been three days since, and I still can’t stop blushing. Although, I have to turn this off by tomorrow so I can turn the tears on for Death Cab for Cutie! But before that, check out my wallpaper:

After Death Cab for Cutie: Dashboard Confessional/The Used, Taking Back Sunday and The Cranberries.

The 3Ds after PFW S/S DF/V&T (writing in codes makes me feel smart)

Disclaimer: (1) This is going to be an overload of visual story-telling and endless proofs of vanity. Puke til you can't anymore. (2) Don't mind my gaping, gawking, stupid faces - I am either pa-cute or really really hungry. (3) This be one of the rare moments that I will let the pictures speak for themselves (Oh wait, I did that last time, didn't I?). Well, there's really  nothing to say except that the night was a night of infinite chismis, food and laughter. Short of epic, but fun nonetheless.

Below are what happened after the Design Fusion, Vision & Trends fashion show. Let's begin!

DINNER at UNCLE CHEFFY'S

Dinner was wonderful. Well, I'm rarely disappointed. Especially when steak, potatoes, pizza and pasta are what's for dinner. Those are my staple favorites. The boiled potatoes were amazing. After dinner, I had the leftovers packed and had potatoes the next day, and they're still amazing. POTATO APPRECIATION, PEOPLE.

The Food: Ken ordered the pasta, and I couldn't remember the names. One reminded me of Yellow Cab's Charlie Chan. We also had Cheese pizza and a platter of medium rare steak. <3 <3 <3

The Lovers. Straight out of a scene from Lady and the Tramp (minus the sharing of spaghetti tsk tsk). 

Troii and Gel: The Teaser and The Victim - on truce while waiting for the food. 

The Sophisticated and the Patay-gutom. (Don't let Steph's pictures fool you. The woman is far form poised haha) Now, I don't know why I keep making pa-cute faces that are really more stupid than they are cute. Haha

DESSERT at BAR DOLCI
AKA gelato panciteria cafe. #insidejoke 

Chocolate duo: I had Ferrero, Troii had dark chocolate.

First two pictures: Gel, Troii and I exchanging our cups of gelato. I spy (with my not-so-little-eye) a spoon of pistachio!
Last two pictures: With Steph, Ken, Gel and Troii. I don't know whether we're trying to do a whacky shot or we're simply being our whacky selves. 

Bar Dolci was the visual equivalent of the word adorbs. Of course compared to other cafes wherein you're likely to see macarons and/or gelato, this is a far second (my goodness - the cuteness of Cafe Ti-Amo), but in it's own way - it's kinda cute. Well, come to think of it, it's not really that cute. But the wide variety of flavors of both gelato and macarons were overwhelming. It isn't your typical pink and frilly cafes, it's sort of a neon orange, with bright markers written on the glass and walls. It's a hip kinda cute, if cute has categories.

Gel and I bought ferrero, salted caramel, chocolate chip and blueberry cheesecake macarons for breakfast. Which we had with tea and leftover potatoes. Ah, the life. :/

DRINKS at RUE BOURBON 

After dessert, Gel, Vince, Ica, Elaine, Tiny and I went straight to Rue for a few drinks. By a few drinks, I really only mean one round. I had my usual - frozen margarita and a pinch more than the necessary salt. Again, I cannot remember what everyone else drank, although I'm pretty sure Gel had mojito. It was a chill hour and a half. I had a great employment conversation with Elaine and Ica. Pretending to be adults is pretty fun, eh?

I stole the following photos from Ica's FB. My cam died and went to Lumix heaven come drinking time, so I've no pictures of Rue.

(1) With Vince (Clariza's bestfriend). (2) Gel, me, Ica and Elaine. (3) Elaine, with her sister, Tiny. 

Wednesdays are for random, worthless thoughts.

• I wonder if I’d look good in Litas. (Remind me to learn how to walk in heels first before buying anything that’s more than 2 inches tall.)
• I’m starting to forget Janica’s face. It’s the sleep. Some thoughts get lost in dreams. Sad.
• Thinking about money really makes me cringe. I should get an accountant. But if I do, then thinking of money may make me cringe even more.
• I have to find another passion. Something other than writing and LB. Can one find passion tossed in the middle of the street or spit on the ground by one who has gotten tired of it?
• I call myself a writer, and yet everywhere I look, people write better than me. Even Blake Jacobsen, whose LB Interview I really loved! Although it makes me feel like he worked hard for it (like it’s not something spontaneous or real).
• I realized that my only achievement is bagging the Best Thesis credit which I don’t even think I deserve. How pathetic can I possibly be?
• Where to go from here (tralalala…)?
• Can't wait to get out of Binan and Alabang tomorrow!

P.S. Tonight was fun! Gel, Steph, Nicole, Ken, Jear, Ehm, Chase and I went out for coffee and chismis. We'll all see each other again tomorrow. Can't wait.