I am Mae German. 34 years old. Born in Mangatarem, province of Pangasinan. I was taught and trained by 
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Some-Kinda-Blog-Stop From live music to the sound of the waves...
Some-Kinda-Blog-Stop From live music to the sound of the waves... | From live music to the sound of the waves... |
| Sunday, 16 November 2008 | |
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"You're staying over at the Regozo's camp tonight...", Kuya Rey said while I made myself comfortable at the backseat of their beamer. Ate Shirley and Kuya Rey drove from Staten Island to our place on Friday night. Before proceeding to their "camp", we bought Mat (their eldest) three large fries at McDonald's. Then when we got home (at least before leaving again), the three of us (me, Kuya Rey, and Ate Shirley), had adobo fried rice, tortang talong, and pork binagoongan. Hungry yet? We left Staten Island quarter past eight in the evening. They made a reservation at this bar called Cafe Wha? at MacDougal St., Manhattan (west side downtown). The bar is located in Greenwich Village-- The Village-- a home to the upper class families. Cafe Wha? was unbelievable. The huge white head with a 3D effect at the entrance was cool (or was it a real 3D?). Well, every resto/bar that I've tried back home has a unique identity. But it was my first time to watch a gig at a bar here at Uncle Sam's and it was my first time to try the night-life in Manhattan. So, allow me to document the night that was. We had to squeeze ourselves in to get a seat at the back. The place was jampacked already. Unlike in some bars I've been to, here, you have to share a table with anyone. Never mind the closeness while eating. Just clip your wings.. este... elbows. Never mind the scent that the guy beside you is wearing (or not). Just stick your nose somewhere! Have you been to saGuijo Cafe + Bar in Makati? Think of Cafe Wha? as its (much) bigger version. All right, I am just trying to give you an idea on how the "inside" of Cafe Wha? looks like. SaGuijo is (or is it "was"?) a house. Cafe Wha? is like a basement of an apartment in Manhattan (at least that's how I see it). But hey! Bob Dylan and Jim Hendrix used to perform there! Woo Woo waha... Wha?! According to Ate Shirley and Kuya Rey, before every band plays in Cafe Wha?, they usually have an opening/front act-- a stand-up comedy! That night, a guy who looks like Chris Rock to me (never good in describing people, eh?!), did a 30-minute act. I was laughing the whole time until he delivered a joke that I knew, was not original. "Hi lady. Did you fart? Because you blew me away..." I was like, "okay, that wasn't an original... he should have given additional lines to disown it, or at least give credit to his resources." Luckily, I think I was the only one who's read and heard of that pick-up line a thousand times before. Or at least I think I was the only one who was taking him "seriously" that night because everyone was oblivious, laughing 'til the end of the act, in which, I could rate, he did his job well. Woo Woo Wha?! The band for that evening was their very own Cafe Wha? Band. There were 8 members during the gig and all did pretty well in playing different songs from different music genre (no HipHop for that night though). The narrow walkway of the bar was teemed with dancing people when the gig ended-- making way to the next show.  After some bottles of beer for Kuya Rey and some Woo woo cocktail drinks for his two ladies, we left the Cafe Wha? before midnight and headed for coffee and dessert at some shop along MacDougal Street. Ahhh... MacDougal Street. I don't think I will ever forget it. The street where a bouncer pushed a guy outside a bar. The guy unmindful of his bleeding head. The street where we saw a couple trying to make-out and some drunk ladies walking behind us, shouting, "Come watch a free sex-show on the street!" I am not incognizant of such things as I know for a fact that these things (could) happen anywhere. But I was new in that place and I was trying to make a forceful statement base on the facts that I have seen on that particular night. I cannot conclude how night-life really is in the streets of Manhattan, with just that one night out at a bar. But come on, let's talk about human-interest and street photography! Talk about capturing the "life" in that busy street of MacDougal. Interesting! If it isn't rude to take photos of strangers, I might have taken out the camera and took a shot on every kind of people, of different behaviour in different scenes, of different ethnicity that I've seen that night. But it is rude to take photos of people you don't know (unless you can really zoom-in or act as if you're not taking their picture... *wink*). Whoosh... to the South Beach The next day, after celebrating Bekah's 17th birthday over breakfast at Dove's Diner in Staten Island, and after Bekah's performance (she sings really good) with Kuya Rey playing the guitar, at the "camp", Ate Shirley and I drove to South Beach for fresh sea-air.  A relaxing Saturday afternoon capped off with a cup of cappuccino, a piece of Apple Pocket, and a Raspberry Horn at French Tart (New Dorp Ln). Ey! Tried learning how to play the acoustics before leaving the Regozo Camp. I refused to bring home one guitar as I know I might neglect my "priorities" once I start strumming. *teehee*  |
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