The bazooka rocked

MANILA, Philippines — An indoor rock music festival? Where is the fun in that? Mind you boys and girls, unless you’ve been to one, you’ll never understand that fun is everywhere in an indoor rock music festival – especially in Bazooka Rocks.

Bazooka Rocks is actually the Philippines’ first indoor rock music festival. For three years now, the fitting two-day slam for the rainy month of August has been bringing some of the world’s most promising bands as well as the most celebrated, veteran rock artists to the Philippine shores.

Line up

For this year, fans that flocked at the festival were treated to a line up worth its price tag. Seventeen artists in total, eight of which were local while nine were international, kept heads banging and spirits jumping last August 30 and 31 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Day 1 of Bazooka Rocks saw local acts like Brickcity, Runway Crimes, Tiger Pussy, and Ria Bautista, while the dash of international music was provided by American post hardcore band Senses Fail, alternative rock band Saves the Day, and rock bands Taking Back Sunday and The Used.

While waiting for their favorite band’s turn, some of the “Bazooka Rockers” enjoyed the venue by riding toys, camping out with friends, or by eating the night away by the food stalls set up inside the convention center. Some also took pictures with the “Alice in Wonderland” characters adorning one part of the concert hall.

But even though preoccupied, there always came a point when the audience put their hands up in the air and banged their heads in unison while feeling the heavy percussion and strings delivered by the music artists.

During Day 2, Paranoid City opened the fest, followed by Nyctinasty, Gracenote, and Chicosci. The international line up kicked off with the Japanese rock band Coldrain, then Echosmith (composed of the Sierota siblings), The Summer Set followed (the band is playing for the second time in the country), then We Are The In Crowd, and last to rock the stage was the lads of the British band You Me At Six.

Experience

Whether you attended the festival with your friends or as a lone ranger, Bazooka Rocks is an experience that will never shove “awkward” or “out of place” in your face while you enjoy your jam.

Though it always happens that you find it uncomfortable getting carried away with the music being played, It was both surprising and pleasing how banging one’s head to Senses Fail’s “You’re Cute When You Scream” or swaying thy hands to Saves the Day’s “1984” seemed like the most natural thing to do during the festival.

Even lip-bites were sighted among the audience when Taking Back Sunday hit the stage, good thing The Used had a bit of slow during “On My Own.”

This Day 1 experience made everyone anticipate Day 2 even more, and Bazooka Rocks is never one to let down.

Coldrain made fists clench out of conviction with its setlist which included “Aware and Awake” and “No Escape.”

And when Echosmith played “Cool Kids” during Day 2, the crowd which all bands pertained to as “Manila”, knew that setting everything aside for this show was the best decision they ever made, at least for that weekend.

Then again they proved themselves right when The Summer Set went up on stage. The band, whose drummer (Jess Bowen) is half-Filipina, made the crowd sing along real good with “Boomerang”, “Maybe Tonight”, and many others!

We Are The In Crowd on the other hand opened their set strong with “The Best Thing (That Never Happened)”, they also played well on stage when they handed light sticks to the audience. And when the set reached “Kiss Me Again”, the crowd then became the group’s backup vocals.

Day 2’s headliner, You Me At Six, surely knew how to keep the crowd’s energy burning. During “Reckless”, the band’s frontman Josh Franceschi asked everyone to hold a piece of cloth and swing it as wild as they could while jumping to the song. This part was the liveliest scene from Day 2.

When the band’s performance finally came to an end, the bazooka rocked…

And then everyone went home not with a fret because the fun is over but with a lingering giddy feeling from the transcending experience that was Bazooka Rocks 3.

Bazooka Rocks 3 was brought to the Philippine audience by PULP Live World.