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| Playback Music Festival 2018 featuring Stephen Speaks, Leigh Nash, Vertical Horizon and BLUE |
Last February 10, 2018, the Philippines finally had its first-ever throwback-themed music festival. Playback Music Festival. While it wasn't as big as Wanderland or Bazooka Rocks, it had a following of its own—90's kids!
The event was held at Circuit Makati. Even though Playback Music Festival did not have several fun activities, they had this cute photo corner and photo wall for 90s kids and 90s kids at heart to take photos on.
I loved the props from this photo corner!
The catchy blue and pink photo wall:
And my friend and I just had to have our photos taken here okay. LOL.
Other than the photo corner and some food stand, they had this arcade station. Which was always occupied, by the way.
Anyway. We arrived just in time for Moonstar 88's second to the last song. But we chose to roam around and caught their last song which is Torete. We just had to witness it live.
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| Moonstar88 | Playback Music Festival 2018 |
After Moonstar88, there were several minutes of break. So we decided to eat first. Unfortunately, there were not many choices for food. Plus, it was all quite expensive. We ended up just eating at McDonald's.
After eating, we decided to watch Rivermaya.
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| Rivermaya | Playback Music Festival 2018 |
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| Rivermaya | Playback Music Festival 2018 |
We were only able to catch like two songs: Kisapmata/Di Bale Na Lang Kaya (cover) and Hinahanap-hanap Kita. In all fairness, the audience was so hyped up.
But not as much as when the first international performer appeared on stage—Stephen Speaks!
He performed alongside his younger brother and a half-Filipino saxophonist. Stephen even said he was here for 3 weeks already and enjoying it. Although clearly, he still hasn't adapted to the country's temperature. The guy was sweating bullets. But can't blame him though, since all the lights were literally pointed at him.
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| Stephen Speaks | Playback Music Festival 2018 |
And then everyone just melted when he sang his most popular songs:
Out Of My League
Passenger Seat
He also told us that before Plain White Ts made it, he asked them if he could buy this song from them because he loved it that much. The band did not agree. And perhaps it was a good choice because they rose to fame with that song. Here's Stephen Speaks' cover of Plain White T's Hey There Delilah.
Several minutes later, Leigh Nash of the famous 90's band Sixpence None The Richer finally appeared! Performing with her is her husband, Stephen Wilson.
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| Leigh Nash of Sixpence None The Richer | Playback Music Festival 2018 |
Now she may have aged physically but her youthful voice and quirkiness still remain. She was so talkative and energetic. She even repeated kept dancing, plus all these crazy antics of her, like flying a paper airplane and stuff. Check their performances of Sixpence None The Richer's famous songs:
Don't Dream It's Over
There She Goes
Kiss Me
They also graced us with a new song Leigh and her husband made entitled You and Me.
And then it was time for Vertical Horizon! The band has been here several times now, but Filipinos love them and their music.
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| Vertical Horizon | Playback Music Festival 2018 |
Grabe. Vertical Horizon's performance certainly gave the audience nostalgia! Everybody was singing along to their songs! To think that they've been here performing for several times now.
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| Vertical Horizon | Playback Music Festival 2018 |
And as it turned out, it was Matt Scannell's birthday that same day! Host KC Montero appeared on stage, wearing a white tee to greet him a happy birthday. Him, along with the event producers surprised Matt with a cake.
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| KC Montero and Matt Scannell of Vertical Horizon | Playback Music Festival 2018 |
Look at how much KC Montero and Matt Scannell look alike from afar! 😂
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| KC Montero and Vertical Horizon | Playback Music Festival 2018 |
And finally. BLUE!!! I was still a kid back then but my sister and I have loved their songs for like forever. Until now, actually. In fact, they're the number one reason why I'm here at Playback Music Festival!
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| If You Come Back - BLUE | Playback Music Festival 2018 |
When BLUE went on stage, everybody lost it. I noticed several people from the VIP section left. Probably not a fan of this boy band. But who cares. More space for everybody. LOL.
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| Best In Me - BLUE | Playback Music Festival 2018 |
I was really looking forward to their performance because these guys can really sing. At least back then, perhaps. Because when the minute they sang, damn. They were losing tunes. Not just one. But most of them. I even noticed that some of them were already pissed but kept singing. Which is good.
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| One Love - BLUE | Playback Music Festival 2018 |
Although they blamed it on technical difficulties; like the microphone and earpiece not working, but I don't know. Perhaps they're not as good as before. But it was still fun to watch your childhood favorites perform live! It even looked like everybody was having the time of their lives! Also, I honestly felt like a kid again. Good job on that, Playback Music Festival. 😂
Check out these Playback Music Festival 2018 videos:
Overall, the event was fun because it helped us remember our past. The songs we used to sing along to, the bands and artists we used to love, and all the memories related to that. But perhaps since this is the first, the producers can still improve on a few things:
The host. I swear, there were times where KC Montero was so awkward. Perhaps two hosts are better. One can rescue the other from being too awkward and corny?
The concessionaires. There were a few choices on where to eat. Most of them are quite expensive pa. I mean, okay lang naman na mahal. Sana lang worth it yung price. Kaso hindi eh.
More activities. Apart from the performances, photo wall, photo corner, and arcade, there was nothing more to do. Especially during the breaks. Some breaks took more or less than an hour!
More artists. There were only less than 10 performers. While I understand most of it was international (which meant longer performances per artist, which is good!), perhaps they could have brought more local performers. It doesn't have to be big artists. Since it is a throwback-themed event, why not include OPM bands who rocked the early 2000s? Or the late 90s? They got Rivermaya, why not Eraserheads, The Dawn, Sugarfree, True Faith, Mojofly, Sandwich, well, I could go on and on about this, but you kinda get the point now, don't you?
Missed the show? Check out these videos and photos! And don't forget to subscribe on my YouTube channel for more concert and music festival coverages.
Playback Music Festival 2018 Photos:
So what do you think about the first-ever Playback Music Festival here in Manila? Any guesses on who will be part of the lineup for next year's event? Share it in the comments section below!
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Work with me! The Multi-Hobbyist blog accepts work and collaborations with brands, companies, and individuals for sponsored posts, advertisements and alike. I also photograph and blog about music, concerts and music festivals. Send me an email at themultihobbyist@gmail.com.
