Fete De La Musique

A night of music and rain...

This is my account of the things that happened in the Fete De La Musique at Eastwood City last June 19, 2004.

The Fete De La Musique is an annual music event wherein various venues are opened for simultaneous performances from various genres of music. The result is a mixed crowd, of all ages and all walks of life. Its a gimmick day for the majority, a family night out for some.

Wanting to clear my head and relax after a week of work, I decided to go to the Fete De La Musique. I was supposed to meet with some friends later on at the venue, so I went solo for the first few hours that I got there. I decided to roam around and checkout the various musical venues available. I checked out the rock venue first, since it was the noisest and has the largest crowd. Then i passed by the World Music venue, with Cynthia Alexander currently onstage. Then I got a text message from a friend saying that they are at the Jazz venue. Ok I gotta check that out.

After spending some time at the indoor jazz venue, I then went back to the World Music Venue. I saw some friends and acquaintances at the venue. I got to enjoy the music of The Makiling Ensemble, and the Radioactive Sago Project. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

It began to rain. Most of the crowd dispersed upon the first few drops of slight rain. Some stayed, the band played on. Sige sayaw! We were dancing and laughing and cheering despite of the rain, but it poured harder by the second, and eventually everybody went to find shelter. Takbo na!!! The band still played on for the matiyaga crowd who where by this time far away at the arcades and the tents for the outdoor dining areas of various restaurants.

Then the canopy of the stage gave way, and that was the end of the music for the World Music venue.

The rock venue, which is similarly an open air venue, was also in chaos. The stage was located at the far end of Eastwood City, with a single access point only from the main entrance of the whole complex, at the Citibank building. What resulted is a bottleneck at the main entrance point.

The arcades and canopies of restaurants and business establishments where full of people. Vehicles tried to get out of the whole complex. Gangs of teenagers where everywhere, reminiscent of the chaos that erupted in the recent UP fair. Good thing was that no violence erupted but everything was in disorder.

We were all wet and cold. I eventually met up with my friends, listened to some ethnic music and we ended the night with a nice bottle of beer at the nearby Whistlestop.

Music and rain at the Eastwood City. Bad combination. Let's try to analyze later. This might be a nice topic for my paper.