The Siakol Experience

There was this gig at school that I attended. It was mostly attended by young kids who were there to get acquainted or whatever.

Anyway, the sole purpose of my attendance to that blasted gig was to witness Siakol. as far as I could remember, I've never witnessed ''em live. And I had fun growin' up in the 90's listening to "Peksman", "Bakit Ba", "Lakas Tama", and other "Squatter Rock" songs as I call it. It was all good back in the day!

So there I was, thinkin' that I was late to witness Siakol. It was a rainy 8:30 evenin'. Good thing it was just the front acts(not my band) playin' so I felt relief sweep all over me.

The band that I watched were from UST named Publiko or somethin'. I was amazed at their perseverance because they were just a 3-piece band. We all know how hard it is holding the musical fort when there are only 3 of you doin' it. But there they were playin' still. Though I wasn't in love with their sound or whatever. They just looked good to me because they were a power trio, and that's about it.

The next band was named Orange Cartel, and they sucked IMO. They were virtually the same band, except that the guitarist/vocalist of Publiko switched to bass and another guitarist joined on board while another vocalist joined the fray, doin' annoying antics.

While all that was happenin', I went out first to eat. I decided not to return when I heard this band onstage doin' covers of COld Play and The Killers. That just sapped my energy right there. I was thinkin', "When the fuck are Siakol gonna play?!?"

Then the next band was announced. It was the Urbandub peeps. They kinda entertained me because I knew most of the songs that they played. And they were humble. Well they should be, because they're gettin' paid. We're paying to see 'em. But I guess that's just the way they are. good for 'em.

Then the gay emcees fucked up. They told the audience that Siakol was up next, when in fact it was Mayonnaise who was about to get onstage. Fuck those faggots! Honestly, "Jopay" and "Sinungaling" were the only songs that I kinda' knew the lyrics to. Thanks to the masa radio stations where these songs are heavily played.

Then the finale came. It was really very fitting, because they were like the main event or something. Too bad for the losers who went home after Dub and Mayonnaise played. They didn't get to witness one of the pillars of 90's Pinoy rock.

The problem was that it's these youngsters who were in attendance. They were probably still suckin' on their mother's tits when Siakol's old-school songs were bein' played in the airwaves. They can't sing to the lyrics of the song while the Siakol classics were bein' played. Only a handful of us old school thugs were joining the Siakol fray. I could see the disappointed face of Siakol's vocalist light up a little everytime he hears us sing-along to their songs.

Long live Siakol! That's all I could say.