Dadalhin kita sa aming bahay,
di tayo magaaway,
aalis tayo sa tunay na mundo.
JOPAY
Mayonnaise

i just had to get down here at the computer shop and blog! putcha, it's actually over! after months of painstaking preparation, BANDISTA is finally over! and man, am i pooped or what.

last night was the finals night of BANDISTA: Ikal'wang Yugto 2005. how was it? imagine a 3000+ crowd jampacked in a school gym, queues running from the main gate to the main gym entrance, ten rockin' bands performing BROKEN SONNET by Hale and a song of their choice, thirty radio personnel busy doing their technical chores for the night, another ten production assistants helping out with registration and backstage work, seven school guards and six policemen with M16s all stirred into a band frenzy.

this was BANDISTA last night.

our supreme bandista is MAMENCHUZ, a band from BSU that sang Jopay and the contest piece. they were the second band to perform. they were the band that picked up the audience. in the immortal words of my kids, "hala, nag-concert na! hehehe"

masaya po kagabi. masaya na nakakapagod, na nakakainis. the production wasn't that perfect, i know - there were several gaps, a few spill-ups in technicals, sobrang daming pasaway sa gate, and a lot of other stuff, but it was da bomb!

i guess it helped that i love band music. i hadn't eaten anything since lunchtime till around midnight last night, hadn't slept well because i was worrying, but we pulled it off.

BANDISTA Ikal'wang Yugto 2005: THE CHRONOLOGY

April 2005: the initial bid for a party concert in June was shelved by the management committee

May 2005: the bandista concept was drafted in lieu of the party concert theme. apprehension rose since it seemed too early for a battle of bands. a letter was drafted and was delivered to the CAS dean, the VPAA and the School President.

June 2005: middle of the month, the letter was still under scrutiny. the special projects officer and the sudit department were questioning the financial statement of the first bandista. a feasibility study was requested by the audit department on the validity of staging such an event. all papers were settled. last week of june, after much anticipation, the special projects officer announces that the battle of bands had been approved, alongside the selling of the P5 ticket. djs react to the ticket price - too outrageously cheap.

first week, july 2005: thirty five bands get audition forms. marketing strategies for bandista were conceptualized. schools are informed of the battle. the eliminations are set july 16. lsc offers sponsorship.

second week, july 2005: eliminations preparation. only 15 of the 30 confirmed applications arrive on time for the eliminations. this is aired live over the station, after much ado about technicals.

third week, july 2005: sponsorships were sought and tickets were cut. almost 4000+ tickets were indiviually cut by hand (darn it). tickets were distributed by bundles of twenty pieces to the djs. lsc backs out of sponsorship. the radio is left with only 1500+ money at hand. tickets are sold during the trinity photo exhibit.

29 july 2005:

8am, tickets were sold to students at the JPL canopy. several students asked if many were going to watch. i was starting to become anxious. putcha, bakit parang sobrang dami ng manonood?!

1pm, stage was set up. sound system arrives.

3.30pm, technical check. sounds and lights were finally tested. video cam and lcd projector are set up. crowd control lines put up.

4.20pm, bands started to arrive. sound check per band was made.

6.15pm, audiences were let in. gymnasium barely occupied.

6.30pm, all bands are completed. opening act unavailable.

6.45pm, opening act arrives, and rushes to the stage. bandista starts.

9.45pm, some dolt causes a commotion in the gym. he punches some other guy in the face 'cause of a fight over a girl. school guards arrive.

10pm, policemen from camp malvar arrive with m16s at hand (wow).

12.45am, bandista ends. mamenchuz reigns supreme.

i'm having second thoughts about having a third BANDISTA.
we'll see. i'll try to post pictures here soon.
hey.