When I look at the kind of day Sunday, May 5th, 2013 was, I must admit it was no ordinary day. Waking up in a borrowed bed in a new friend's house in a tiny town in a tropical country, having breakfast with an extraordinary family, shopping in a village market, drinking fresh coconut juice from an enthusiastic street vendor (stylin' in a pink lace widow drapery and t-shirt), jamming with talented musicians, riding a crowded jeepney, getting caught in a political parade on one street and a religious parade on another, and finally getting to shower at a friend’s house all on a hot muggy day.
We couldn’t dawdle - we had to be at the hotel by 5pm, 5:30 at the latest. And Alfie and I are not exactly renowned as the world’s most prompt individuals.
What does one wear to dinner with aging rockers? Nothing too revealing: male musicians are notorious for being classified in the subspecies of ‘dirty old men’ as they age. I pulled out my least-wrinkled silk dress and a silk crocheted sweater top.
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| Manila City Hall just over yonder. |
We were the first to arrive. By a good hour. The restaurant was on the roof of the hotel. At first we thought we were in the wrong place but the host confirmed that yes, this was the place with the reservation. We were directed to two long tables reserved for our party and were offered drinks - Coke for Alfie, of course, and coffee for me. The evening was warm and the sky was clear, with stars emerging as the sun set. We enjoyed a lovely view from the rooftop and could see the Manila City Hall clearly. Fireworks went off over Manila Bay.
Finally some other members of our party arrived: some lovely ladies who were regulars and friends of the owner of Nomix Resto Bar and Grill, one of the co-producers of the Modern English concert. Many of them had attended the Half Life Half Death reunion concert last year and recognized me, though I hadn’t met them - it was a really pleasure to meet and talk to them. The ladies encouraged us to come out on a Wednesday night to Nomix but we ran out of time with our jam-packed too-short stay. I have a growing to-do list for my next visit to Manila.
The guests of honour still hadn’t shown up by the time we decided to eat. As we lined up for the buffet, we had the pleasure of watching a drunk European sexually harassing an embarrassed member of the hotel’s serving staff. It was so jarring, I was certain I had suddenly travelled back in time and was experiencing a 1940s wartime era film. Only this was real-time colour, not crackly black and white. Spasmodically my big mouth remarked loudly on the inappropriate treatment of women. The 'gentleman' was incredibly quiet as he fell into the buffet line behind me.
Finally the band members and their crew arrived just as we were finishing our meal and starting to think about getting dessert. I had begun to wonder if the whole exercise was simply to have a nice dinner, no band-meeting included.
They all sat at the far end of the table and barely looked our way while eating. After they’d all had dessert and we were on our third or fourth cups of coffee or beverage, the concert producer stood and said, come on over everyone, come say hello, feel free to take pictures and get some autographs.
Ever-prepared, Alfie had some LPs to be signed. Clueless me happily played photographer. I agreed to join a friend for one photo with the lead singer. As we took our places on each side of the tall gentleman he said something that sounded a lot like, 'Alright, a chocolate sandwich!' My smile froze and I struggled not to say something in reply, something like: 'How clever, sir! Aren’t you a brilliant old boy! Pip pip cheerio! I didn’t find that comment the tiniest bit off colour! At all.' I don't know much about the fellow but wondered, based on that remark, if his experience with women had been limited for a long time to air-headed groupies flinging themselves at him. How often had he been surrounded by intelligent female writers who were competent musicians themselves?
Despite that strange little moment, the highlight of the evening for me was when the keyboardist, Stephen, struck up a conversation with me. I understood that he had been acquainted with Alfie for some time since Alfie had at one time written a definitive article about the music of Modern English. He and Alfie had struck up a friendly correspondence and Alfie had actually met the band members earlier that previous week before the concert at a press conference. Stephen was aware that I was Alfie’s bandmate from Canada and started asking how we’d met. I confessed I was not that familiar with their music but that we covered their song I Melt With You. Further to that, I said, I don’t mean to toot our horn but we were told that a particular music magazine editor in Manila was of the opinion that our cover of that song was the best cover he’d ever heard. Stephen was impressed and said he’d like to hear a recording of that performance (the one from the previous night at IDB). “Look, I’m serious,” he said, looking most sincere, “I’d really like to hear it.” Alas, last I heard, the only video file of our cover was stuck on someone's broken computer.
As for my role in our band, I explained that all I do is stand there and do my classical thing, improvising harmonies as needed, fleshing out the song to make it sound nice. Stephen advised that he is always looking for good classically-trained sessional musicians and for new ways to interpret their songs. He said he’d look for me online and encouraged me to look for him through Alfie’s online contacts. Alas, since my return to Canada I’ve been in a whirlwind. Thinking about it now I am putting it on my to-do list. Stephen, don’t give up on me - I shall indeed find you, kind Sir!
Not wanting to overstay our welcome, Alfie, Joan and I bid our new friends goodbye and shared a cab to our respective destinations. Now this took some coordinating - I retrieved my things from Facundo Street, and Alfie accompanied me to Makati where I was to stay with the Oyong family where an empty room awaited me. Charina’s uncle and aunt were so kind and I am forever thankful for their hospitality. Because of them I enjoyed a very good sleep in a comfortable bed in a nice cool room.
Next: Monday, May 6 - exploring Makati, and retail therapy in Divisoria with Carol.
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