02/14/09 - Valentine's Day

Pasto's
The Fort Strip

mag:net cafe

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	International
Location:	Bonifacio High Street, Taguig

IT has been a decade since I stepped into a bar that had live musicians playing, so when I visited mag:net cafe at Bonifacio High Street in Taguig with my old psych blockmates last January 3, it was, in many ways, a new experience for me.

(A brief digression: This review is under "restaurants" but I think I'll talk more about music.)

First of all, I think I will have to reevaluate my belief that creativity and talent in the Philippine music scene was all but extinguished after the 1970s. What I witnessed in mag:net cafe that evening was an overwhelming barrage of such creativity, originality, passion and devotion to music that I was stunned silent. There were around three bands that performed that night during the time we were there. Although I wasn't able to take down their names, and although they played very different types of music, I dare say they were all very talented artists.

Second, mag:net cafe is a place where one gets a lesson on the distinction between the terms "artist" and "entertainer". "Entertainer" applies mostly to those singers you see snagging record deals by big name record labels but with almost no songwriting ability. They are singers of varying degrees of talents whose main claim to fame is that they were at the right place at the right time in terms of the public preference. "Entertainer" applies to Sarah Geronimo, Sam Milby, Heart Evangelista, Piolo Pascual, MYMP, Willie Revillame, Sitti, Sex Bomb Girls, Charice, etc.

mag:net cafe is, however, prime "Artist" territory. This is where you will find musicians who believe self-respect and genuine artistic expression are more important than making money off the fickle public. Occasionally, you will see big-name band members walking around mingling with the guests. But make no mistake, it is the small-name / independent artists who are the real stars in this bar.

The artists/bands who performed also had a very high degree of individuality. I honestly could not classify the music they played that evening. What each of them produced defied the concept of "genre". Although there were incorporated elements of jazz, soul, rock, R&B, etc. in their music, they could not quite apply to the artist/band as a whole. I could understand why this personally appeals to me. Ever since I got exposed to Steely Dan, I began to view music not in terms of genres and sub-genres, but in terms of what actually sounds good. And as far as sounding good goes, there were no lousy bands/artists when I was there that evening.

So really, it's not the food, it's not the booze, it's not the paintings and it's not the crowd. mag:net cafe is all about the music. It is music made by artists, who, while not "entertainers", do end up entertaining audiences with discriminating tastes.

Greenpeace = Jerks

TWO weeks ago I was at Robinsons-Pioneer to meet up with my girlfriend, Tine.  I was early so I walked around the mall.  In the process, I passed by a booth occupied by Greenpeace a number of times.  They were apparently soliciting funds from passersby to fund their activities.  Funny thing is that the two guys who were doing the soliciting only seemed to approach women.  I must have passed them by around three times, but I never got the slightest notice from them.

Eventually, Tine arrived and as we were about to meet, this English-speaking Greenpeace ass-wipe went between us when we were just 2 meters away from each other, and began to pester Tine with his solicitations.  This guy didn't even look at me as he tried to prevent me and Tine from holding hands ("Please ma'am, it only takes a few minutes.")

Feeling slighted, I shoved him aside and told him, "You're an asshole."  When his friend overheard this, he began to concernedly approach us and I told him, "And you too."  I gave both guys a staredown (which is a funny term to use because they were bigger than me) before Tine managed to pull me away.

Those Greenpeace jerks are irritating in a manner that makes Family First salesmen look patient and non-intrusive.

I wonder if those guys from the WWF are equally obnoxious.

 

 

 

 

 

Proof of the worsening US recession (This will not make sense if you were born after 1980.)

WITH Devon retiring, the FLAG* having been abolished and KITT** being sold for scrap, the Knight Rider had to relocate to the Philippines and open his own start-up BPO company.  Here's the proof:

David Hasselhoff was seen posting this notice somewhere near the MRT Boni station.

* FLAG - Foundation for Law and Government
** KITT - Knight Industries Two Thousand