And Here Is Where We Say Goodbye

Bea, Mel, Julius and I were at the Sugarfree 7th anniversary party at the Elbow Room last night. Me and B met up at Megamall and bought deep-dish pizzas (yum) which we ate inside the taxicab and at an abandoned Chinese restaurant at Metrowalk. It was fun to be out again.

After the pizza Bea and I went up to the place, got ourselves seated in a nice, big, empty table, and ordered drinks. I had a mudslide and she got a vodka cruiser. I was hesitating to register at first because I'm just a silent lurker in the Sugarfree mailing list, but we did eventually. Bea used her nametag to cover the tomato sauce she spilled on her shirt. After some time, Melinda, then Julius, arrived.

A few bands played before Sugarfree: Hilera (?), Ciudad and Sandwich. Ciudad sounds good. Gabby Eigenmann apparently took the stage too; luckily Bea and I were at the local Starbucks then getting tea for my sore throat. You know my reservations about Mr. Eigenmann's singing. Anyway. We got back just in time for the Sugarfree set. They have a new drummer, Kaka Quisumbing, who's really good. But I guess that, at least for the night, everyone was focused on Mitch.

They played new songs from their upcoming album... and they were good! Very Sugarfree, with the pain and the humor injected masterfully by the great Ebe. (*falls prostrate on the floor*) After a few songs, Mitch came in and was teased endlessly by Ebe. It was hilarious. They played some classics like Prom, Mariposa and Burnout. Then Mitch stood up and delivered what he alleges is his longest conversation with fellow human beings. Basically he said goodbye, and thanks for the support and all the years he was with the band, and asked that Kaka be treated with the same warmth. His voice was shaking all throughout and he was in tears. I went teary-eyed and my skin went all goosebump-y. It was a lovely, heart-breaking moment.

Haay.

Anyway, we didn't see anyone we knew personally, but a lot of bands were there. Like Imago. Aia was being her usual captivating self, Zach stood silent in those thick-rimmed glasses, and Tim was issuing forth this out-of-this world guffaw from deep within his insides. Ang saya nun. And, oh, I refused Quark Henares a seat. Haha. He seemed really nice.

Yun lang, I'll post some grainy pics soon.

***

My friends Mel and Patrick are out of the running for being America's Next Top... err, Philippine Idol, I mean. The absurdity happened almost a week ago. They were over it in a jiffy--I have a feeling I will take longer to recover. Seemed fitting to include it in this post.