I started listening to the
Red Hot Chili Peppers in the early 90's and were the reasons my siblings and I got hooked to NU107 (when it was still cool) and MTVs as we patiently waited for their music videos all day.
Rumors of the RHCP performing in the Philippines first surfaced 12 years ago, unfortunately it seemed negotiations didn’t work out.
Fast forward January 21, 2014, I was sitting together a crowd of media at the
Aracama listening eagerly to the confirmation that the Red Hot Chili Peppers were going to be part of the 7107 International Music Festival—at that time I still had my last minute doubts as the project seemed too ambitious.
As part of the generation who grew up with RHCP, it brought back a lot of flashbacks, from singing along with my friends and imitating Flea’s guitar solos.
So the thought of watching them live brought back those memories—unfortunately I also have the same problems then as I did back then-- their tickets were quite…make that very expensive.
Seeing them live, was part of my bucket list and seeing them now, 20 years later was all the more intriguing. I wanted to see how
Anthony Keidis would like without his shirt off, or if he still sounded the same.
Thank God for blogging—and friends from
Fleishman Hillard Ph.
I could barely sleep the night before, from all the excitement and messages from my brothers who are working abroad asking me for photos of RHCP to prove that I was indeed watching their concert, and friends asking if I still had tickets or if I wanted to sell them my ticket—As if the thought ever crossed my mind.
Trying to hide our excitement we were quite (very) early at the meeting point in Centris Quezon Avenue, last February 23. The travel time was about two hours to Clark GGLC and we waited for another half an hour for the gates to open.
Security was very tight and we had to leave all our “baon” (water and chips) back at the van and were advised that there was strictly no re-entry.
As soon as we entered, I was awed by the spacious grounds. It was HUGE I guess almost 3 to 4 times the size of the MoA concert grounds, there was a loooong row of portalets near the entrance, food tents on the left and on the far right were the two stages. One with a carabao horn where our local artists performed and the International stage decorated with the rays of the Philippine sun.
It was no wonder that many had been comparing the event to other international festivals like
Coachella. It wasn’t just a concert event it was really a festival area.
There were souvenir booths selling souvenir Tshirts of RHCP Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and other artists a long food tents with almost every kind of food you want and a separate beverage station for liquor, water, juice and of course the
Jamba Juice truck.
As long as your wallet is full, your stomach will never go empty.
Besides the VIP area there was also a more noticeable
Guess stay in tent with the small pool inside for those who want to take a dip but unfortunately it was for VIPs so even the media couldn’t get in.
Near the international stage was the
Smart Hangout tent where Smart subscribers got pampered as they could watch the concert inside the airconditioned tent, get freebies and use the charging station to recharge their gadgets.
As the first bands like Pulso played we were still exploring the grounds and taking souvenir photos of the 7107 markers before deciding to cool it down at the Media tent.
It was quite difficult shuffling back and forth the two stages, and it was a good thing there was the
7107IMF app that would alert you of the bands currently playing on stage so you could choose which stage to go to.
In the early afternoon, we could go as near as the very front of the stage but as the crowd started to gather and set up their own areas with those mats, it became more difficult to get closer. And when Kendrick Lamar got on stage there was no getting
back once you leave your spot.
It was only fellow blogger Earth Rullan who braved the crowd and stayed at her spot for the next few hours to get the best view of the stage. The rest of us, on the other hand were content on seeing them from a distance instead of trying to squeeze our way back.
I enjoyed most of the local acts that day including Rocksteady, Itchyworms, and
Radioactive Sago Project, which I should say made an impact on the audience especially with his witty lines and spiels.
I even noticed this teenage boy banging his head continuously as Lourd sang
Walang Basagan ng Trip and Alak Sugal Kape Babae Kabaong--- who afterwards sat in the middle of the field looking quite dizzy from all that headbanging.
As
Empire of the Sun wrapped up their performance you could see the people lining up like ants to the stage as they prepared for the final act of the two-day festival.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers appeared on stage at about 10:30 pm and as much as we tried to squeeze ourselves closer but it already impossible as the crowd has gotten so dense near the stage.
The crowd erupted as soon as
Flea struck the first chords of their opening song, and as soon as Anthony voiced out the words, it became a frenzy.
Everybody was in high spirits and there was generally a good vibe amongst the crowd. People would make way to let you pass and would even shine their cellphones so you wont trip over.
The stage was lighted up in different colors and I felt like I was watching them in a foreign land. The LED screens and the Sound system was by far the best I have seen in the country.
Contrary to rumors, the RHCP was in their groove and the only reason why people were not jumping and singing as much was because everyone was trying to steady themselves as they took videos of every performance.
Anthony gyrated topless before the audience,
Flea nailed Californication, it was an awesome performance from RHCP, everything at the moment was truly amazing and we went a notch up for the international scene, we made history for 7107.
I was on cloud nine when RHCP made their final encore with my personal favorite
Give It Away, they ended up at 1200 am, with a grand fireworks display marking the end of the first of hopefully a yearly
7107 music festival. I just wished my siblings were with me to share the moments.
I did keep my promise of sharing the memories through pictures, and yes, I was a living witness to the history that was 7107. I instagrammed, twitted and FB status everything happened for the fest. Long live the music scene!
And thank you Red Hot Chili Peppers it was worth my 20 year wait.
