By the time November rolls around, the Ateneo Musicians Pool (AMP) hosts its much-awaited, annual Rites of Passage. This year’s Volume 1 was held last November 3 at crowd favorite Mow’s along Matalino Street, where rookie bands and performers come together in a baptism by fire, claiming the stage and proving if they have the chops or not.
First blood of the night was four-piece band Seizure Salad, which performed an array of punk, pop rock, and indie tunes. They opened with an electrifying cover of “Hybrid Moments”, pumping up the crowd with an abundance of guitar riffs. Despite just being a year old, the band performed a number of originals: “Waterway”, “Zombies” and “Plans and Trips”, with each track leaving the crowd head-bobbing from start to finish.
To slow things down, Sab’s Boys took to the stage with their heartfelt serenades. The band self-describes their sound as a mashing of “sadness and sorrow into rock and roll”. Taking on a much more mellow atmosphere, Sab’s Boys crooned and sang their hearts out to an achingly sentimental performance worth swooning over. From an affable cover of “Picture Picture”, to favorites from My Chemical Romance, Sab’s Boys gave a performance laced with all sorts of feelings: from love to heartbreak, and everything in between.
Taking things in another direction, the next performer of the night was The Gafs, a quirky set of members who describe themselves as a band that does not “give a truck”. Their performances were, put simply, all over the place – but in the best way possible. From an eclectic opening number of “Bad Romance”, to a mash-up of Rihanna classics, The Gaf gave a performance that left the crowd electrified. Special mention goes out to their surprise skit that eventually led up to a banging rap medley. No trucks given, indeed.
With the night still young, Rites still had 4 performing acts remaining in store for the audience. Next was The Blanks. The four man band got the crowd singing with their set of Arctic Monkeys songs such as “R U Mine” and “Hellcat Spangled Shalalala.”. The crowd loved The Blanks as they performed a lot of their original tracks such as “All I Want”, “Miss You,” and “Red Tides.” These are three songs one should quickly search up on his/her Soundcloud right now. Certainly, The Blanks had Mow’s fall in love with them.
‘Lil Hicci got the crowd going with his flow of raps and beats. One of the solo artists of the night, his rapping and mixing skills got the audiences stunned. His performance imbued Mow’s with a chill, almost zen-like energy. A star-in-the-making, ‘Lil Hicci is a musician poised to go go very, very far in the rap world.
Following was the last band of soloist musicians for the night: TALA. Opening their act with boy pablo’s “Everytime,” the crowd was left mesmerized in a flash. They soon showed their masterful skills by performing a mash-up of Ben&Ben’s “Maybe The Night” and Up Dharma Down’s iconic “Oo.” Taking the audience by surprise, their next songs were “Lover Boy” by Phum Viphurut and Rex Orange County’s “Best Friend”. Their rendition of Arctic Monkey’s “Fluorescent Adolescent” was very popular amongst the crowd as well. The band had everyone in Mow’s at the ready, their hands with the audiences chanting for one last performance. And, they did with a small snippet of Daniel Caesar’s “Japanese Denim”, ending their amazing set.
The first night of Rites was certainly a blast for everyone at Mow’s. Capping off the night was AHJU$$I, the last solo artist for the night. The last people standing at Mow’s were seen dancing and jumping around with AHJU$$I’s well-crafted mix of different, eccentric, popular and indie music. Armed with a video-game guitar, AHJU$$I ended the night with aplomb, giving the audience an eclectic, sample-filled set. Definitely a crowd favorite.
Rites is always one of the most-awaited AMP events. The set performances of different rookie acts never fail to mesmerize both old and new members, no matter the time, no matter the place, no matter the music. With the performances showcased tonight, the future of AMP is looking up.
Photos by: Miguel Tarrosa and Maiko Ara Ng