Blistering blues, nostalgic pop and a 24/7 club

THE BLEU Rascals deliver a spellbinding show at Casa Nami in Makati.

Blistering blues, nostalgic pop, euphoric DJ music and stunning classic rock were some of the sounds we encountered at the following clubs:

Casa Nami

28 Jupiter St. Bel Air Village, Makati City. Call 659-3485.

This used to be the RJ Bar (which has relocated to the basement of Dusit Thani hotel). Casa Nami is run by Tessa Santos, daughter of blues fan Eddieboy Santos, which explains why the Bleu Rascals played on the night we visited.

The band’s first three numbers—Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Pride and Joy,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Merry Go Round”—were spellbinding.

DJ PAR mans the sound booth at Borough, a 24/7 resto-club at the Podium mall.

Guitarist Paul Marney Leobrera’s tone was rich, bursting with pent-up emotion. His riffs stuck on the nerves and made our heart beat faster.

Bassist Spencer Rymonte and drummer Darwin Quinto held the rhythm tightly and quite simply with no flashy runs, though Rymonte pumped notes like he had gained confidence following the band’s recent stint at the 28th International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee.

The trio still looked like nerdy teeners, which they actually are, but closing our eyes made it sound like a powerhouse band from Chicago was cranking out the blues that night.

Guitarist Kettle Mata was a revelation himself when he jammed with the band on John Mayer’s “Gravity”—his solos flying like luminous fireworks.

More guests joined in the fun. Dr. Ted Nicholoff, a surgeon at Makati Med, and Walter Wirth of Petrified Anthem cult fame, engaged the Bleu Rascals in a spirited take on “Crossroads.”

ASTOUNDING: The band K.O. Jones, with new vocalist Lia Petoral, covers Nirvana at Charlie’s Speakeasy in Makati.

When the band’s biggest supporter, Tom Colvin, climbed up the stage with his harmonica to add color to Leobrera’s original composition, “A Better Man,” it was impossible not to be blown away and order more beer.

Chef & Brewer

Emerald Avenue corner Sapphire Street, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Call 638-7023

The place was bursting at the seams with an SRO crowd on the night the retro band Rockin’ 60s performed. The group’s members are all veterans in the local music scene: Titus Santiago (vocals) used to be known as the Ricky Nelson of the Philippines; songwriter-producer Dero (formerly Nonong) Pedero had a hit single, “Bawat Sandali,” in the ’70s; Cash Manalang (bass) was the Paul McCartney of the Philippines; Boyet Pigao (drums) was a longtime member of Apo Hiking Society’s backup band; Steve de Jesus (lead guitar) and Nato Canlas (keyboards) were part of Spirit of 67’s original lineup; and Dr. Bols Eraña (rhythm guitar) had played with Ramon Jacinto.

The only new faces were Nancy Reyes-Lumen (the foodie and self-styled Adobo Queen) and Weng Eraña, who were the female vocalists. “We’re doing this to have fun and introduce the young to our type of music before nobody plays them anymore,” Lumen told us.

She sang lead on “I Say a Little Prayer,” “I Know (You Don’t Love Me No More),” “There’s a Kind of Hush.” She has good taste, and not only in the kitchen.

But Weng Eraña stood out with her supple vocals on “Crazy,” “Mamma Mia,” “Staying Alive” and “You Should Be Dancing.”

Pedero sounded ageless on “That’s the Way of a Clown” and “Diana,” though it was disconcerting to hear him say, “I don’t even remember the lyrics of that song” when somebody requested for “Bawa’t Sandali”—opting instead to sing his jingle of SM (“SM Shoemart, we got it all”). He also looked funny fanning himself furiously while onstage.

In any case, a little pop nostalgia is not bad—as the smiling faces among the older folks in the crowd showed.

Borough

Ground Floor, The Podium Mall (beside Gloria Maris), Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Call 570-8906.

This is the first 24/7 club in the city—actually a New York-inspired restaurant that offers big servings of American-Italian food all day, but which transforms into a hip venue for sound-tripping on DJ music while drinking and chatting with friends from dusk till the wee hours.

Borough’s biggest music asset is DJ Par (Edgar Sallan, younger brother of Jingle Chordbook Magazine alum writer Edwin Sallan), because his knowledge of the whole spectrum of rock, both past and present, is amazing.

The night we visited, DJ Par surprised us by playing a remixed version of Neil Young’s “Lotta Love,” still with Nicolette Larson on vocals but with the beats more defined. He also obliged with Nick Lowe’s “Cruel To Be Kind,” rarely heard nowadays.

But of course he couldn’t avoid spinning his all-time fave, “the only band that mattered,” The Clash.

It was heartening to see young and old folks converging at Borough with nary a trace of the so-called generation gap.

Charlie’s Speakeasy

Ground Floor, Makati Golf Club, 7232 Malugay Street, Makati City. Call 840-5745.

THE ROCKIN’ 60s band performs before an SRO crowd at Chef & Brewer in Ortigas Center.

This used to be the club 7th Note (where jazz singer Arthur Manuntag was the main attraction), until a group of La Salle buddies took over and expanded the live music fare. Charlie’s has not really abandoned jazz (US ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. was spotted enjoying a gig sometime ago), but what the club currently offers is a variety of music genres from Mondays to Saturdays.

On a Wednesday night, the band K.O. Jones was playing and we were astounded by its new female vocalist, Lia Petoral. How else to describe someone who could shift from The Eagles (“Hotel California”) to Dusty Springfield (“Son of a Preacher Man”) to Commodores (“Easy”) to Nirvana (“Smells Like Teen Spirit”) to Tracy Chapman (“Give Me One Reason”) as naturally as scanning tunes on one’s iPod.