RACCOON!!

This bottle hit me quite well, an 80 proof locally produced Vodka. It was a strong tasting liquor though its scent faded just like any vodka did. Days had passed since my last drinking spree. Our household help had their summer vacations all at the same time, so I was like a proxy of some sort.

And so, after a long day of routine chores like feeding the household pets, cleaning their cages, picking up droppings and wiping pee, I ran through the refrigerator for some evening snacks and headed straight home.

I stopped by the nearby 711 for a cup of coffee and blankly sat there for a while. It had been a while since my last party. Anyways it seemed like a viod week this time. The rain had been pouring heavy lateley, makes  the day even more lazy.

The humid and stale air surrounded me as I dragged my feet on the wet asphalt as I headed to my place.

It was the last week of May, everyones getting ready for the opening schoolyear. People passing here and there. Chatters filled the staircase as I walked up to my suite. Some of my neighbors were planning to have a nightcap while playing some card game called "tong its".

Douglas a.k.a. "Dougs" a neighbor of mine and JL their bedspacer asked me over to share a few shots as we played. Since I had nothing else to do besides playing cards and hanging around I decided to pitch in my stock of vodka which I garnered from an old favor. To my suprise, this bottle gave me quite a kick, it well added a little extra strong buzz to our boring evening.

Long before we finished the bottle of vodka, I had planned to wash it off with some light beer at the nearby KTV I frequently visit. To my suprise, they were already closed for the evening. "This isn’t really my day" I said to myself. I really had expected so much for that evening. Anyway, I just slept it off this time.

Anyways everyday isn’t my birthday….so what the heck?! RACCOON!!!

I have nothing much to say except that I enjoyed a lot and came home quite drunk after this day. We had so much to drink and so much to eat. It was quite tiring actually, though we all had so much fun. That day Sarge grew a year older, Ferdie flew back a few years after.

We had consumed a bottle of tequilla at Sarge’s place as we celebrated his birth date and another bottle at some resto/bar in Malate as homecoming of one of our old friends. Ferdie along with his girlfriend, came all the way from Japan to visit us. Tata and his woman pitched in as well, and so did Sarge’s fiance. Three pairs, ain’t that better than a Royal Flush?

Well anyways, I could harly remember how much beer we consumed that evening. I managed to grab a few photos whilst celebrating with my old cafe buddies. We had the classic SMB pale pilsen in cans to wash each shot of tequilla. We also had table salt and calamansi for those who missed the routine.

I also enjoyed binging on the food served at Sarge’s place and at the resto. Sarge had blocks of crispy pata and chicken gut for snacks. Ferdie ordered a bunch of pizza and pasta at the resto where we proceeded to after the birthday celebration.

After consuming so much slices of pizza, I decided to head home early  that evening, I guess I couldn’t handle two consecutive sessions unlike before.  I guess age is catching up on me, or maybe I’m just lonely hearted.

Anyway, to Sarge, Ferdie, Tata and their better halves…RACCOON!!!

Summer time was officially over, and it had been raining continuously for like 3 days. Bryan phoned me  in the middle of the second week of May. They (Pin-up Girls) were playing front act for Mr. Per Sorensen aka "Fra Lippo Lippi" at the Araneta Center in Cubao K-zone City and were in need of some roadies for the night.  He asked me if I would be available that Saturday evening and that he would get me a production pass in case I was.

And so Saturday came, I had a dental check-up earlier that day around the  Ortigas area so I headed straight to Cubao right after, since we had to be there at 4pm for the sound check and setup. Bryan and Mondo and I met at a coffee shop,  had a few esspresso’s and headed straight to the venue to report. James, Jeng and their sessionist showed up after a couple of minutes. Since I had no breakfast that morning due to my  check-up, I was kind of trembling due to hunger and thirst. By the time we had arrived at the venue and were escorted to the band’s lounge area we were offered with some pancit canton and roasted chicken for merienda, thanks to the producers and Sutton Records, they literally read my mind. Anyways, James and I  unloaded the gear, checked them out one by one and tuned each instrument.

It was like 5:30pm and the band had to do the sound check and so James and I hauled the instruments from the lounge and onto the stage. We had everything set up and the Pin-up Girls started to warm up as they played some of their tunes. I listened carefully to the sound far away from the stage, adjusted their instrument settings as they played on. When everything was set, stage sound, amplifier settings and everything, we headed back to the musicians lounge to chill out as we waited for Mr. Lippi to show up.

We still had a few minutes to hang around until the call time for the
main event was announced so we strolled the venues grounds and looked
around. We checked out the CD’s of Mr. Lippi and the Pin-up Girls at the front desk, and loitered around the grounds as we killed the time.

It was around 7:30om and we had to report back to the lounge and wait for the  production assistants cue. Faces were filled with excitement as the band waited. Dinner was served as we lounged around, which by the way was quite a feast, thanks to James and his clever stint.

We were quite tense so we hung out most of the time in our official office (the comfort room) to relax and fool around. Which also served as a smoking lounge for the band and its visitors. One of the best places to chill out. As you can see, James was quite attentive since being a roadie entails great responsibility and discipline in keeping things (such as the bands equipment) in tip top shape and in order.

8:30pm and the show was on, the Pin-up Girls were cued for the concert. We all ran out to the stage to get set. We had our video camcorders and digital cameras ready for the event. Everyone was cool and relaxed as they started playing one of their songs they had in their second album. Everything went on smoothly as we covered their act of three songs. Just like paparazzi’s we ran about the side stage as we took photographs and video coverage as they performed. The Pin-up Girls ran their act well, they even sounded better than the sound check itself. The crowd responded with a heartful applause.

Their third song was up and we had to get evertything back to the lounge area. We escorted the band from the stage as we hauled the instruments altogether. Mr. Lippi was next and we had to get everything packed and ready to go just to catch a glimpse of the famous Fra Lippo Lippi live in Manila. Songs like, Light and Shade, Beauty and Madness, brought about memories of the past as we enjoyed watching them perform.

Everyone had a great time, and everything went on smoothly. Mr. Lippi sang his last song and swept the crowd from their feet as he waved at them as he performed. Smiles and cries of joy filled the grounds as Per Sorrensen happily greeted the crowd of fans. Back in the musician’s lounge, Bryan and the rest of the band went over to Mr. Lippi’s lounge to have their CD’s autographed by the great artist just before leaving. All in all it was a great evening.

To Mr. Lippi and the Pin-up Girls! Raccoon!!!

You can visit their blog at: http://www.pinupgirls.blogspot.com/
or at: http://www.thepinupgirls.net/index.html

Bryan - e-mail: ryannachura@yahoo.com