WOMEN'S NITE OF ROCK & POETRY

WOMEN ROCK

A total of nine rocking bands, female-led all, performed for free at the recent jam-packed gig at Mayric's dubbed "Feminine Force (Women's Night of Music and Poetry)." Most of the bands rendered four heart-felt songs.

Signed bands Barbie's Cradle and Fatal Posporos dished out songs culled from their debut albums. Former recording artists Tribal Fish and Gypsy Grind did their originals on stage with loyal followers cheering. Tribal Fish did their own rendition of two cover songs -- "At Seventeen" and "We've Got The Beat".

Underground Favorites Brown Beat All Stars, Moonstar 88, and Imago left the audience breathless with their unique kind of performance.

The bands really showed the audience that night that female power prevailed.

The first "Feminine Force" concert coincided with the celebration of the International Women's Day. All proceeds of the concert went to The Haven National Center for Women in Alabang.

POETRY AND MUSIC

Poetry, life-giving itself, was made even more lively with the fusion of alternative music. It's even more appealing because it was mostly women who were expressing their sentiments on stage. A couple of gus from the audience couldn't help it, they participated, too!

The artist who read their original compositions on stage were Barbie Almabis (Barbie's Cradle), Haya Santiago (Nancy Drool), Tina Ehrhard (Gypsy Grind), and Lani Toquero (Tribal Fish), who sang her manuscript on stage. The all-female trio Fatal Posporos had incorporated their poetry in between their set.

Myra Ruaro, the "Skarlet" of Brown Beat All Stars, didn't recite a poem but she managed to express all her sentiments in the little time given, just as well. She said, almost teary-eyed, about missing her father who died two years ago. Their song "Hunger" is for him. She also expressed her disappointment about how they were rejected in a music competition. Ironically, on that same event, someone saw their potentioal and they were asked to record a song (or an album) in the US.

Other readers were journalists, students, and young professionals. Aside from poetry, the "Feminine Force Principles" were also shared to the audience.

--March 9th, 2000

NIGHT VISIONS: IMPRESSIONS ON THE FEMININE FORCE

In anything that we choose to listen to, let us not forget the Filipino soul."

There goes Myra Ruaro again with one of her witty spiels in between songs. Actually, the line is not hers but she, nevertheless, proceeds to share it with the sweat-drenched crowd. Somewhere in the dimly-lit room, a faceless voice connects with the wisdom and shouts 'Amen!' as the motely congregation seconds with hearty applause and rowdy hoots.

Blare trumpets, beer bottles clink. The place is Mayric's, a run-down bar (and proud of it!) in-front of U.S.T. (University of Santo Tomas) that's considered one of the cradle of local alternative music. As in other nights, rock's Egypt is holding another one of those "No Budget" shows entitled "Feminine Force (Women's Night of Music and Poetry)" where performing artists goes home (at least in this case) with a whooping white rose for all their efforts. Ah, but what sweet roses they were...

Expectedly, too, night crawlers of different sizes and outfits (mostly in black, aunaturelle) paid a pilgrim to this haven to mingle with "rock-ed" stars and "will-rock" stars both inside the "gas chamber" and outside the "dirty" streets. Rock n' roll.

"We decided to put up this show... to give woman rockers a chance to prove that they're still here," was the curt but sufficient explanation of its organizer when asked days earlier why 'Feminine Force'. This supposedly justifies the list of names in the musical menu written in black pentel on white board just outside the mangled door: Moonstar '88, Fatal Posporos, Barbie's Cradle, Gypsy Grind, Imago, Mother Bjorn, Nancy Drool, and Tribal Fish.

As cigarette smoke chokes, the ventilator and as the poor airconditioning suffers from asphyxiation, the music intensifies. Nay, it swells to the point when thoughts inside the head are drowned by the primal beat and mild earbuz courtesy of the trumpets. Myra shimmies, jumps and does everything she can to maintain her hold of the crowd who have been alternately hypnotized by the alcohol and the gypsy woman of rock. She succeeds. "Ngayon na nga ang gabi ng gabi / Ito na nga ang ginintuang sandali... Oh my, oh my, I WANT YOU TONIGHT!" Myra growls in her raspy but strong voice that represents the plight of local women rockers: Tired of the crap, almost drowning in it, but still struggling to be heard above the noise and the gender-biases. --Zap!-- And there goes the guitar. Those kind of things happen to the best of them, mind you. And with the bludgeoned sound system and the exhausted stage, more espcially yet so. Yet, Myra proves that a lot of prescence of mind and simple stalling usually does the trick. She proceeds to scat and just about sing anything while the guitarist decides whether he hould just set his guitar on fire and troubleshoot. He troubleshoots. The music continues. Bravo, Myra! Love the light blue attire. (Applause. Applause.)

"We women also experience what you guys experience," Myra proceeds. And that's when it hit me. It could've been Myra's or Tribal Fish's lead singer of Fatal Posporos' saying those lines. And they would've meant the same. Whoever and whatever gender, everyone has a voice that deserves to be heard. Everyone has stories that deserve to be told. Everyone has poems (whether privately of in front of an underground audience. Everyone

"You give love and respect, one day at a time...," Myra said. As the music of women rockers played all night long.

--March 14th, 2000 - Article by Jojo Panaligan (from Manila Bulletin)

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