Uhaw Pa Sa Camel

Last Saturday Charles, Emerson and I were in My Bro's Mustache bar in Q.C. at the gig of no other than, Wally Gonzales---Pinoy rock pioneer and blues rock guitarist. Notable among his guests is Gary Perez of Nosi Balasi and Pagbabalik ng Kuwago fame. After seeing Gary come on stage I quickly had the feeling that this night's going to be special. And indeed it was! Sampaguita's former lead guitarist blazed on stage with his Jeff Beck meets Eddie Van Halen antics and guitar skills.

Among the band's repertoire, what quickly stuck in my mind was Wally's rendition of Europa (Santana) lending his powerful embellishments to a very emotional song. Up next was Little Wing (Jimi Hendrix) with Wally exchanging soulful licks with Gary. They also played a down-keyed version of Bonggahan (Sampaguita) with Gary on vocals. The second set opened with tadaaa, Wally's Blues! That was such a treat for me since that was the first time I heard Wally play his signature piece. At some point Gary came on stage with 'Cause we've ended up as lovers (Jeff Beck). As always the other songs were masterfully performed and the other band members were equally great. There was Dondi Ledesma showing off his bass guitar virtuosity and Bea Lao putting on her semi-bored mask while the rest of the world is drop-jawed watching her wreaking punishment to the drum set. There's this guy whose name I didn't catch on guitars. I think he's better than the other rhythm guitarists I've seen with Wally so far.

All in all the night turned out great though there was that feeling of being "bitin" in the air as Wally called it quits after 12.30am. As a bonus Wally tossed bottles with us and I also got to shake Gary's hand. Hah! If only I had those Rogue (X-men) powers. To my former band mates Julius, G-boy and Jun dela V: this is the real deal---eat your hearts out! Hahahaha!

5 Comments:

 hephaestus said...

I was actually tuned in to RJUR the day after and they guested Gary Perez. He talked at length about that gig and how he was soooo "in-lab" with Bea Lao. Hehe... Couldn't blame him. She's quite a stunner, and with drumming skills to boot. "The ideal woman: beautiful, sexy, likes classic rock", as Charles said that first time we watched Wally at MyBro's.

I was awestruck when Wally Gonzalez greeted us. I only managed a faint "Good evening po". Should've said something wittier.

Anyway, nice gig! Sakto ka bai, duha pa ta ka buwan dapat bag-o mag-wally'g usab. Maala-an unya ta nga groupies. Hehehehe...

6:14 PM  

 d'Doc said...

hahaha mangita ta'g junior kilat!

2:30 PM  

 hephaestus said...

Hoy dudung blog na'g usab!

5:29 PM  

 Anonymous said...

Konting correction lang bro, hindi na si Gary Perez ang nag-gitara/composer sa Nosi Balasi. Iba na ang mga band members ni Sampaguita sa panahong iyon. If I can remember, the orig Sampaguita band's(Gary, Edmond F., Sonny Tolentino, Rey Nunez, etc.) last album outing was the one with "Laguna". Pero buti ka pa, napanood mo ang mga idols ko, kanina ko lang nakita sa youtube na Gary Perez is/was? in town. Balita ko may planong Gary vs. Jun Lupito concert si Wally. Why not G3 Pinoy version nalang.
Cheers,
Jeggs

1:16 AM  

 d'Doc said...

Hi po, salamat po sa inyong errata, dapat pala maglagay ako ng sources para di ako madale pag may mali hehehe! dapat magkaroon nga tayo ng ganyang gig--- ala G3! saan kaya ang suggestion box? :D

10:43 AM  

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