ADMIT ONE Akustik @ Conspiracy Bar, 10/14/2004

Pamilya palang, ubos na upuan, but it was mighty fine that this gig was open to the public, because it was really a special event for several reasons.

First up, it was the birthday celebration of Mrs. Elynn Gorra, mom of Cambio's frontwoman Kris Gorra-Dancel. May I just mention that she is one cool mom, so very much supportive of the indie scene and its struggling players. She, Kris, and Twisted Halo's Vin Dancel (Kris's husband) are the ones responsible for the indie label Guilty Pleasure Records, which brought us Twisted Halo's EP and Bolo Brigade album, Cambio's Excerpt EP, and soon Imago's Take Two album.

Secondly, it was a fundraiser event for the upcoming celebration of ADMIT ONE's 3rd Anniversary. Yes, ADMIT ONE is turning 3! Now THAT would be one helluva gig for sure!

Thirdly, it was the venue for that one-night-only reunion gig of our favorite grrrl rockers: FATAL POSPOROS!



Twisted Halo opened the show at around 6:30 to a packed and dining Conspiracy Bar. Drummer Monmon Lopez wasn't able to make it, so Raimund Marasigan (sandwich/Cambio)took over the percs for that night. They churned out great acoustic pieces such as "Miron" and "Breakable", but I believe the highlights of their set would be the beautiful "Asan Na?", which they rarely do live, and their cover of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" (apparently Mrs. Gorra was a Beatles fan, so all the bands that night had their own Beatles song to cover).



Cambio featuring Veda Z. and Atari M.

Cambio did a fun set, with a laid back acoustic "DV" and the remarkable "Patlang". I forgot what Beatles song they covered, though (I think it was "Birthday"?). Here you see them with their special back-up vocalists, Veda Zabala and Atari Marasigan, who joined their proud daddies onstage.


A moving sight: Kris, Mrs. Gorra, and Kaio, with Buddy playing guitar for the family

One particular moment I liked during the gig was seeing Kris, her mom, and her son all onstage - a portrait of a happy family, bonding over a beautiful thing called music. It was particularly hard to get the mic back from Kaio, who obviously has inherited some musician genes from his vocalist/guitarist/songwriter parents. Mrs. Gorra and Kris also shared a number, although I wasn't familiar with the song; nevertheless it moved me to see mom and daughter singing wonderfully together.



Sugarfree also played that night, with Ebe describing their lineup as "one-half Sugarfree, one-half..." wherein someone from the audience conveniently finished Ebe's sentence with an enthusiastic "Eraserheads!". With Mitch absent, Ebe and Jal played guitar while Buddy and Raimund helped out with bass and percs, respectively. Another highlight of the night: Sugarfree plays that uber-beautiful song called "Kandila". That song really gets me all senti inside, especially around the part where Ebe soulfully sings "Sorry di kita hinabol, sorry tayo'y malabo..." When the song gets to that part, all I could do is sigh.



The second-to-the-last band to go onstage was Imago, who opened their set with "Taning", currently #1 on the Midnight Countdown (and I'm not surprised with that). They played a couple of other new songs that I could no longer remember. Although I do recall that they played a pretty nice impromptu version of the Beatles' "Two of Us".


And then there were three: Aia, Kris, and Donna of Fatal Posporos

Finally, the most awaited portion of the night - Fatal Posporos takes the stage, together with Fatal sessionist Jason Caballa of Twisted Halo, plus Zach Lucero of Imago helping out with percs. It was really really great to see the Fatal girls together again, dishing out their unforgettably sweet and rockin' hits. I was especially glad when they played one of my favorite tracks from Paper View - "Pudgy", which had Donna doing vocals. I wasn't able to have any of them sign my CD inlay, but I was satisfied anyway just seeing them play again, and I bet so was every other eager fan in Conspiracy that night.

With all the kids running around, the bands performing great acoustic sets, and the familial atmosphere that just set the bar in the mood, it was definitely a gig to remember.

More pics at here.