Bazooka Rocks 4: The Royal Rumble, The Pop-Punk Fiesta!

It was a pop-punk fiesta at Samsung Hall, SM Aura, The Fort, Taguig as BAZOOKA ROCKS 4: THE ROYAL RUMBLE powered by PULP LIVE WORLD and 28 BLACK was held last November 28, 2015. LEE PIPES and TOURISM PROMOTIONS BOARD PHILIPPINES were proud co-presentors of the event that featured international acts NEVER SHOUT NEVER, THIS CENTURY (their last hurrah for their Pinoy fans) and CHUNK! NO, CAPTAIN CHUNK! side by side with Filipino acts URBANDUB, FASPITCH, FAINTLIGHT, SIRENS and ABSOLUTE PLAY. Young rock fans lined up as early as SM Aura opened to be part of the festivities as they not only got to enjoy the great performances that occurred from afternoon to almost midnight but also got to enjoy PULP Royalty treatment. Not only were all performers available for meet & greet for all ticket buyers, but there were also some lucky ones who got to enjoy activities and friendly competitions such as playing Guitar Hero and a Pizza Eating Contest with some of the international and local performers. There were even some lucky fans who got to enjoy a dinner with This Century’s dreamboat frontman Joel Kanitz.

As always, PULP Live World went all out in creating that party atmosphere. The Nacho Libre-
inspired concept was all over the place, with the banderitas, the pipe-in fiesta music in between bands and activities down to the luchador mask-bearing bouncers. Kid punk sibling band ABSOLUTE PLAY opened the show to get the crowd’s energy going. Josh Alipe and the rest of SIRENS played their brand of anthemic pop and alternative rock music. They surely captured the attention of the crowd, particularly with their song “Great I Am,” where Josh sang the line “We are the hope/ we are, we are.” FAINTLIGHT definitely felt extra-inspired by meeting their heroes Chunk! No, Captain Chunk backstage and got the nod of PULP Live World head honcho Vernon Go. Cebuano band FASPITCH proudly carried the flag of Pinoy heavy rock with their set consisting of cult favorites from their breakthrough independent debut The Future of Ear Repair as well as songs from their recently released eponymous album.

Paris, France-based CHUNK! NO, CAPTAIN CHUNK! took the stage to deliver their good old-
fashioned core-flavored pop-punk to the BRF 4 crowd. The group jumpstarted their set with “Haters Gonna Hate” from the album Pardon My French. They also did fan favorites such as their own take of the Smash Mouth classic “All Star,” “Taking Chances,” “Restart,” and “I Am Nothing Like You” before closing with Something from Nothing’s “In Friends We Trust.”

NICK SANTINO and BEACH WEATHER abruptly canceled at the last minute, but they did leave an exclusive video performance and shout-out to their heartbroken fans. THIS CENTURY has a well-
documented special place in their heart for their Filipino fans, so there was no way they were going to disband without dropping by Manila. The heartthrobs started with the title track of their relatively darker, more mature farewell album Soul Sucker before playing a good combination of new songs and fan favorites such as “Hopeful Romantic,” “To Love and Back,” “Everywhere Everything,” “Skeletons,” “Beach Blonde” “Slow Dance Night” and “Sound of Fire.”

Filipino headliners URBANDUB made their last PULP Live World concert performance before formally disbanding count. They played hits such as “Soul Searching,” “Endless, A Silent Whisper,” and “First of Summer” before ending with “Guillotine.”

NEVER SHOUT NEVER capped the night with their laidback pop-folk influenced music. Chris Drew and the rest of the band definitely made the most out of their second time in Manila by mixing fan favorites with songs from their impressive new release Black Cat. For good measure they also threw a tear-inducing cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine” in the mix.

With the success of Bazooka Rocks 4, the fans are already beginning to think of next year’s fiesta. With the passion and support they gave, there is no question that all the effort that went into making BRF 4 the fun party it became was all worth it.

BAZOOKA ROCKS 4: THE ROYAL RUMBLE was co-presented by LEE PIPES and TOURISM PROMOTIONS BOARD PHILIPPINES and powered by PULP LIVE WORLD and 28 BLACK.