The Walking Dead

Last time I went home to the Philippines, I stumbled upon a couple of DVDs (all four seasons) of this famous Zombie apocalypse TV Series The Walking Dead lying around my brother’s room.  Since my bodyclock was still on Dubai time, I started watching it, and I just couldn’t stop.

This obsession though was different. I am not after blood and gore. I was never a big fan of zombies, let alone horror movies. So what was it about The Walking Dead that I found so engrossing?  Yes, there is this  archer dude called Daryll Dixon, but aside from him, there is something about the desperate need to survive, about fighting monsters everyday and beating the odds to live in a world that doesn’t make sense anymore – these are just some of the things that really resonate.

And what if World War 3 happens, civilization dies, the world you know is taken away from you?  Just as it is happening now in some countries. You don’t have to work for money, you don’t need a car, a house, you don’t need to study, you don’t have wi-fi, there are no nightclubs,  no alcohol,  no malls, no new movies, no airplanes, no laptops, no Iphone 6s,  no facebook statuses to update. What then ? What would you do?

The truth is we’ve all become so dependent of the superficial world, so much that most of us have numbed ourselves of reality.  

Dubai is a breeding ground for Zombies. People walking around, going to work daily from 9 to 6, waiting for the next paycheck, getting out of offices, drinking, partying, sleeping with strangers, eating excessive brunches, shopping, wasting away online, even travelling can sometimes be a form of escape. All measures being done to ensure we don’t confront harsh realities, like  the very real horrors of War in the Middle East, children dying in our neighbors – Gaza, Syria, Iraq, like the threat of Ebola, like the injustices happening daily around us, like being away from the ones we love,  or not having anyone to come home to, like the uncertainty of our futures, or being stuck at a dead end job not doing what you really want to do.

Maybe the idea of death on our heels, had me confronting issues about what I really want to do versus the fact that I don’ t have much time and we don’t really know what’s going to happen tomorrow.

Watching The Walking Dead made me realize that the best we can do with our limited time is to fight to stay human - sing a song, appreciate nature, adopt a pet, cook a meal, write, create art, smile, learn something new, educate somebody,  LOVE, or just actually allow yourself to FEEL something.

Maybe the whole point of being alive is to stay ALIVE, and to quote a line from one of my favorite characters, Beth,  “we all got work to do.” Let’s get to it.

Here's a clip from one my favorite episodes, and my favorite characters Beth and Daryll, where they hide in a funeral home after they almost lost everything  - 

Brownmonkeys leads a Street Art Renaissance in Deira

Despite the seeming contradiction of street art and the strict anti-vandalism laws in the UAE, the urban art movement is slowly creeping its way into the heart of Dubai, lending a voice to a new generation of settlers and creating a counter-culture bent on exposing the soul of the city. 

At the forefront of this creative revolution is a group of Pinoy artists collectively known as the
Brownmonkeys, who were commissioned for Street Connection, a 10-day Art festival held  recently at the Al Ghurair Center aimed at reviving the city’s pioneering roots.

Ground zero to Dubai’s very first metropolitan center, Deira continues to be among the handful of old neighborhoods in the city that offers a real sense of urban community drawing in a diverse mix of nationalities, including a significant Filipino population. 

Busy, vibrant and pedestrian friendly, very few areas in Dubai can rival the authentic street cred of Deira such that various art installations, creative displays, live exhibits, graffiti, music, and street performances fell right at home in its inner city streets.

Visual artist Mark Ganzon shares his thoughts on the current popularity of Street art and takes their group’s involvement at the recent Street Con as a sign of good things to come.

“I feel that it (Street Art) is getting slowly accepted by the city which is good. At the moment the art scene in Dubai is a bit locked down in sterile environments of galleries. Street art is for the people.  It's for the average person walking down the street, for them to find something interesting other than just advertising billboards that they can relate to.

Rollan Rodriguez, founding member of the Brownmonkeys and curator of Street Con says they chose the venue in Deira because most people don’t realise “how rich Deira is in terms of culture and diversity – it’s a perfect incubator for art”. Describing it as the “original urban community”, Rodriguez also noted that the Street Con aimed to expose urban art to the wider public.

“Urban art is created by artists living, depicting or experiencing city life,” he explained. “This may be the illustration on your T-shirt, the design of your sneaker or the shape of your toys. The artist’s responsibility is to amplify these visual cues and reinterpret them.”

Indeed, the community in Deira has been very receptive, with the Street con gallery conveniently hosted just beside the grocery and the right across the mall. It served as a great platform for the artist to communicate their ideas and engage audiences of all ages and from different background. 

Locals, tourists, laborers, regular office workers, passersby, were treated to a burst of creative energy. Everyone was welcome to take part in the graffiti, toy decorating, sticker-making and even the live performances.

Filipina artist Victoria Viray-Ganzon describes the experience as enthusiastic.

“I loved the whole vibe, how it was very down to earth and very approachable. Unlike the typical gallery scenes, there were no high-brow art critics to ruin it for everybody else. You don’t need any knowledge of art history or to be an art buff to be able to participate and enjoy. It’s a fun activity and for us artists, it was a really good way to give back to the community.”

Victoria who is known for painting strong female characters was invited to work on a mural that would be the only permanent fixture in the Street Con exhibition. Her work showed off a stunning tribal goddess in a huge space, 6 x 4 meters, the largest piece she has have ever worked on in her career so far.

“I prefer to portray strong female characters in various states of emotion. The centerpiece lady in my mural is one of those characters. I imagine her as a goddess of sorts, watching over Deira.” 

Pinoy revelers were happy to see her working on her wall, with some referring to her as “Chichay”, a character from a famous teleserye. Victoria takes no offense though, as this can only mean that our kabayans are connecting with art based on their daily life, whether they were art enthusiasts or not.

 

Expressive and passionate, Filipinos are natural trendsetters who somehow tend to bring in the cool and happy vibe wherever we go. The Brownmonkeys bringing their urban art explosion to an old community is one example of how our creative pursuits always lead to a role as agents for social change, or simply to connect, to bring fun and color to the otherwise mundane world of the daily grind.

Here’s hoping to see more of our Brown and Proud art all over the city!


All Photos stolen with permission from Joseph Manata. xoxo 

Sandstorm Troopers

It's official, the Geekdom has expanded its empire in the Desert city. As the 3rd year of Middle East Film and Comic Con concludes this month at the Dubai World Trade Center, kids of all ages, shapes and characters came to celebrate what is turning out to be the biggest pop culture festival this side of the world.

I love seeing the Arab geek crowd, they're awesome.  

Like most things in Dubai, it didn't take the organizers much time to step up their game, the Comic Con grew from this mid-size-day-in-the-marina event mostly showcasing homegrown stuff, to this proper huge convention with international players bringing in the big guns, and by big guns, I mean the full set of official Iron Man costumes in a gallery that greeted us at the entrance.

With the international panel led by Hollywood boy wonder Seth Green, who I know from Buffy, the Vampire slayer days, (yes I’m that 90s-kid), it will be no surprise if next year’s con will bring in more A-list geekiness.

Stark enterprises has opened a branch in Dubai. 

Sandstorm troopers! 

Of course, no Comic Con in any galaxy will ever be complete without a trace of the legendary Star wars.  Stormtroopers were everywhere this year, turning into sandstorm-troopers, and the rest of crew like good ol’ Darth Vader and Yoda found themselves right at home in traditional ghutras and kanduras, that you would think maybe George Lucas spent some lost years of his adolescent in the Middle East.

Arabization of Star Wars in full swing. 

I can go on and on about all the cool things about the comic con, but what I find interesting in the Middle East Film and Comic Con is how they seem to have adopted a western concept and neatly folded it into their own unique identity so seamlessly (and so quickly) that even though it might not be in the same league (yet) as the original San Diego convention, it will always be a unique affair, and somehow we are all lucky to have it right next door.

Gundam as Dubai Police by Brownmonkey's Dogboy.
Coolest toy at MEFCC 2014.  

Master Yoda by Filipino artist Lewis De Mesa.
He was actually one of the first few who came up with
Arab Star Wars prints back in MEFCC 2011.

So as I contemplate on wearing a costume for next year, (the way I always do every year but never really get on it), I also realize the greatest part of this whole thing for me, and perhaps all the other kids-at-heart  out there, is the opportunity to forget about being an adult for a while, put on my favorite sneakers and play outside with the strange kids from the neighborhood.

Hello old friend. Till we meet again!

Till next year MEFCC! May the force be with you.

Staring at Walls

Before I came to Dubai  I had this bad idea of a fake city devoid of any art, culture, history or inspiration. All I ever knew about it were all the superficial superlative stuff - the tallest buildings, the gold, the Louis Vuittons, the Ferraris and Lamborghini’s of the affluent Arab masters. 

Perhaps in some ways, on the surface it is true, but I would now rather reserve judgment. The truth is Dubai, of all places, has gotten me face to face with Art, as much as it did with consumerism.

Unimpressed with the grand shopping festival culture, I was drawn to the inner dungeons of the city, and pretty soon found my way to the backstreets of Al Quoz, in spacious empty warehouses converted into comfy loft galleries.

"Saying goodbye means forgetting." This sculpture reminded me of Peter Pan.

A collection of war portraits painted based on real photos.

Growing up in the Philippines, where much of high-brow art was reserved for the buyers or the academe, my initial idea of art galleries was synonymous to my idea of museums, which is pretty much lethargic, confined to memories of boring school field trips.

By this I mean, staring at hanging paintings on the wall didn’t really appeal to me as a cool activity until Dubai, where the galleries have more to offer than any mall, and where staring at art seemed more interesting than  staring at people getting drunk in a bar.

To its credit, in a few short years, Dubai has managed to attract a bustling creative scene, that after three years of hosting the annual Art fair every March, it apparently has become one of the major avenues for showcasing the region's best on a global platform.

Filipino visual artist Mark Ganzon was commissioned to paint the Art Bus
that can take you to all the Galleries around the UAE for 50dhs 

Women behind bars, ignoring the open door.  

The Conductor.

Art as therapy.

My favorite author Kurt Vonnegut once said that “the arts is very human way of making life more bearable.” He couldn’t have said it better.  Perhaps I will never learn enough of art history, or be anywhere close to drawing a straight line, but what I’ve seen is enough to compel me to write and drag people out of their comfort zones into a strange world of walls that talk.

More my style. A collection of woodworks by
Spanish grafitti artist Ruben Sanchez.

Threads and tongues.

Where are the superheroes? A bold statement by FN Designs.

Don’t take my word for it! Check out the interesting exhibits at the Sikka Art Fair at the old Dubai Museum,  Al Serkal Avenue in Al Quoz, the Gate Village in DIFC and Madinat Jumeirah. Art Dubai opens every second week of March. For a full calendar of activities log on to : https://www.facebook.com/DubaiCultureArtsAuthority

Burj Khalifa says F*&ck You.

To be a tourist in your own city is one thing, to be a tourist in a city that has adopted you is another.  I have lived in Dubai since March 2009, a bad time, a time when layoffs and salary delays were common, jobs were scarce, abandoned cars were plenty and the Burj Dubai (now the mighty Burj Khalifa) was pending completion, with rumors that Dubai, the once glittering promising metropolis was sinking in debt. It wasn't really the most ideal time to look around aside from the fact that my early paychecks could not afford going on tours (this was during pre-Cobone and Groupon discount voucher deals).

I spent most of my time working. The Burj Khalifa was eventually completed, the metro was finally up and running, and things started to bustle again. I got a new job, I did get to go around more often than usual, but I no longer had the "tourist eyes". You know those fresh eyes that light up with wonder upon seeing something for the first time?  I was a semi-local, and pretty soon the Burj was just another tall building and the Dubai Mall was just another tiring walk, everything in the city was becoming a hyperbole bore, with only one exception, - the Dubai Fountain, swaying to Bocelli, that's the one thing that never fails to amaze my jaded city heart.

So this year,  as it was bound to happen, I had to play tour guide to a visiting friend and pretend that I know my city. It was the week before the big EXpo 2020 announcement and UAE National Day so there couldn't be any better time to get to know Dubai.

Golden City Dubai, as seen from the Dubai Metro.

My favorite building - the Twister at the Dubai Marina. 

A view of business bay from the Atlantis Monorail. 

Sunset at Jumeirah Open Beach.

From Jebel Ali to Rashidiya, Old Town to New Town,  from Burj Khalifa, to the Atlantis, from Irish Village to Global Village, from Souk Madinat to Bastakiya, we went to explore every nook and canny, with me struggling to explain the way of life, picking up interesting realizations along the way.

These walls could talk. Anonymous Grafitti artist "Arcadia blank"
captures the inner city soul.

Every day a different story, every day the city that I had grown indifferent to was looking better. I was like this bored boyfriend who was suddenly seeing how lucky he is to be with a nice beautiful girl everyone would want to have.

Of course Dubai is not without its faults - the silly rules, the annoying people, the expensive arrogance and daily luxuries, the lack of alcohol, real music and street life, but overall there is just this unique air of confidence, this overwhelming sense of pride coming from an accomplished, self-made, half-crazy, half-obsessed City who beat the desert odds.

Airshow at the Dubai Marina
celebrating Dubai's 42nd anniversary and Expo 2020 win. 

Young Camel Dancers chilling outside before the show.

What is Dubai if doesn't have a Gold Plated Mercedes
parked outside the Mall ? 

Dubai and the whole UAE may just be 42 and way too young to be in the 1^st world champion league, but what it lacked in history and experience it certainly made up in steel determination and discreet charm. I think of the UAE and of Dubai, and I think of Leo Di Caprio in Titanic or The Wolf of Wall Street. I see a young and ambitious first-time Wall-street hack daring to make a million on his first year, with many people envious and challenging, waiting for him to fail, but he goes around making it happen anyway.

I heard an old joke before that the BurjKhalifa is middle finger of the UAE. After winning the Expo 2020, I think it could very well be that fitting gesture from the Middle East to the rest of the world - and maybe, just maybe, there is rock and roll in this town after all.

                                         

Being an Illustrado : A note on National Heroes Day

“There goes my hero, he’s ordinary ” goes a line from one my favorite songs by the Foo Fighters. 

I have always identified with this song for various reasons, but mostly because it reminds me of my everyday heroes - my late Lolo Marsing (who I fondly call Tatay) who has been an OFW all his life, he worked in Saudi to support his family, my Dad, who continues to take pictures of strangers for a living, my Mom  who has worked a 9-5 job since she was 20 while taking care of her family and doing all the house chores, my Lola (who I fondly call Mama) who remained strong and loyal throughout the years, married to an OFW and single-handedly raised her kids and grandkids - each of them and every hardworking Pinoy I’ve met in Dubai struggling to send money back home - they are my heroes. They inspire me to show up at work every day, to work hard and be nice.

Tatay worked as a Foreman for construction company in Saudi Arabia in 1980s. He had worked as an OFW for over 2 decades. 

Tatay on the field with another filipino co-worker. He was always generous and friendly towards them. Their wives would come to visit my grandma often and share stories. 

We celebrated National Heroes day recently amidst the brouhaha of the 10 Billion Peso Scam by Janet Napoles and our corrupt lawmakers. I hated them. I hated how the upper class, the elite, the ones in power continues to manipulate us like the Indios of Rizal’s time. But then I can’t help but think that maybe it is also our fault, the Middle Class, the Illustrado, the educated pinoy, the ones who know but can’t be bothered because we’re too busy taking selfies, or looking out for shopping bargains, working in our offices, watching out for low fares to Boracay, waiting for the next Superman installment, just maybe, we the so-called Illustrados, are in effect, to blame.

They say that Hate is not the opposite of Love, Apathy is. I am waking up to this realization that by being silent, by being apathetic, I have contributed to the damage. It is time we Illustrados rise up and fight for our rights and the rights of those who do not have a voice.

Tatay at their accomodation. Living in Dubai now, I can relate. 

Another day at work in the hot field. 

The Rise of the Middle Class

The recent Million People March that snowballed from social media to a full blown protest/picnic at the Rizal Park is a good indication of a middle class that is finally finding its voice. Thanks to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and most of all, the blogsites that became a venue for Anonymous writers to freely reveal what they know. Detailed accounts of the nasty modus operandi of this long-standing organized mafia linked to some powerful people in government surfaced to the public via comments on a blog, free to share with no other agenda but to bring out the truth. 

Support came in from working class Filipinos from all sectors and from all over the world who felt the injustice of toiling everyday only to find out that their hard-earned tax-payers money is being squandered carelessly at Beverly Hills by some spoiled little rich girl who, perhaps unaware of their unexplained wealth, had the gall to post everything online. Her shiny Louboutins and their Disneyland mansions plastered all over social media made the case increasingly harder for us to ignore. These visuals triggered the ire of the otherwise indifferent middle class who finally found something to fight for.

 Fighting for Change

When I was younger, I refused to participate in discussions involving religion and politics thinking that these things are better left to the “adults.”  I was resigned to corruption in the Philippines the same way I was resigned to my Catholic upbringing. Both were something I was born into and were too late to change. Besides, I had other things I’d much rather worry about, like “bakit hindi ako crush ng crush ko?” 

It was only when I came to Dubai, when I lived with our kabayans and met many other different nationalities that I started to open my eyes to the realities of being a Christian and being a Filipino. I learned how it is not easy being a Pinoy in the Middle East and how coming from a third-world country limits my opportunities despite my merits. I saw first-hand how the lack of jobs in the Philippines has led many to leave their families behind and how corruption in the Philippine government continues to take advantage of our OFWs.

On the other hand, I also witnessed first-hand the kindness of strangers, especially of kabayans, how their simple “malasakit” have changed countless lives and steered them for the better. I was reacquainted with the phrase “love thy neighbor as you love thyself” in a concrete setting.  I learned that faith, more than anything else, is an action word, and if I wanted anything to change I needed to get involve. Cliché as it may seem, the change I wanted to see really had to begin with me.

Tatay on a rare occassion of attending my grade school graduation, with my Mom and Mama (grandma) . I did my best to make them proud, that gold medal was priceless to them.  

It’s all in the mind

A revolution, a real revolution, the kind that inspires real change, all of them begins in the mind.

In most Pinoy gatherings  (and we have a lot of these with a lot of pork dishes too), I hear talk about corruption, all of us pinoys hate our government, but only a few really believe that Philippines can be saved.  I cannot blame them. Hundreds of years had passed since our national hero, Rizal wrote his epic Noli me Tangere, yet it remains relevant today, reflecting the same ills that our society is suffering from since the 1800s. Nothing much has changed.

The 10 Billion Peso Pork Barrel scam and its catastrophic implications are no less than disheartening. I can understand the sentiments of most of my collegues when they say “wala naman mangyayari” or “ganyan naman lagi”. 

Perhaps it is so, but the little spark in me won’t die because I know for a fact (and I can swear on my Lolo’s grave) that heroes, real heroes, are just ordinary men and women doing extraordinary things.  

If only we can change our way of thinking, if only we start to believe in our own capabilities. There is no better time for us, the Illustrados, to wake up and inspire the change we want to see by sticking to our ideals and sharing what we know. Today, with social media as our connecting thread, one click can go a long way.  It is time to finally make use of our expensive smartphones and education degrees that are parents worked hard to provide.

It is time for us to actively participate in our country’s future as we all share a common destiny. It is about time we stop wasting our potential. Be a hero minus the dorky cape.     

Tatay's final resting place. He has lived and died a hero and he will stay in our hearts forever.

Minsan: The Eraserheads Reunion Concert in Dubai

 “Nostalgia - it's delicate, but potent. It's a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone. It takes us to a place where we ache to go again.” – Don Draper, Mad Men

The heads with Sancho, old time collaborator, friend and third guitarist, who Ely introduced to the crowd
as the “fifth Eraserhead. 

I was 13, on my first year at a co-ed highschool when I first saw the Eraserheads play at the UP sunken garden. It was my first ever real live concert. I went with one of my best friends and her cool older sister who was at the time, studying at the same University.  There were plastic balloons flying around which I later learned were called “condoms”. We know pretty much all of the songs from Circus, Ultraelectromagnetic pop and Cutterpillow, but even if you don’t have the records there’s no way you can escape them on the radio. Honestly, who can resist Ely Buendia and his witty common-guy lines about sem-break and heartache?

Such was the pull of the Eheads, it wasn’t just the music per se. In a way, there was a reason why they were always being compared to the Beatles. They were our generation’s (our country’s) Beatlemania. It was a cultural thing more than anything. They had too much influence in fact that everyone, young and old, even the resident “tambays” at your neighborhood sari-sari store would most certainly know the lyrics to  Pare Ko.

I moved to Dubai in 2009, like many other pinoys, in search of better opportunities. As a music fan, and having spent most of my adult life working for the “pop machine”, the news of the Eraserheads Reunion in Dubai was just too good to be true and when it was confirmed that they will be playing at the annual du Music Festival, all of us “Kabayans” based here were psyched.  It was collectively agreed, on all our facebook accounts and twitter feeds, that we HAVE to see them. 

When you work outside the country and your monthly budget is limited, divided into remittances, loans, and other responsibilities, you think twice about spending precious hard-earned money on concerts, but the Eraserheads Reunion, was not just a WANT, it was a NEED. We needed to be there. We needed to see Ely, Raimund, Buddy and Markus play our favorite songs. We needed to belong to that special place again. We needed a piece home as we remembered it.

The Eheads reunion couldn’t have come at a better time.  It was on the same week we launched our first Tagalog / OPM FM station in the Middle East, Tag 91.1 and all streets had banners of either the Eheads or Tag 91.1 that said “serving 645,000 Filipinos in the UAE.” It felt like, for once, the whole of Dubai, was nodding at our Community with respect, and we are finally getting the recognition we deserved.    

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the press conference and while waiting for the band, I met another Filipina, Maggie Lafuente, who came out there with her husband. She skipped work for the chance to meet the Eheads up close. She was trembling.  

 “I was working in London at the time of their first reunion concert in 2008, I badly wanted to go.” Maggie shares.  “I was ready to book a ticket. My sister had to stop me and told me it wasn’t practical. Then I heard about Ely’s heart attack, I CRIED, they just mean that much to me. I never thought I’d see them live again. You see those girls on old footages screaming out, crying over the Beatles, they look crazy but I’d be one of them for Eraserheads.”

Of course, 90% of the media representatives in room were Filipino. I came with former Pulp photographer and good friend Brutal Grace and for a second there I felt like I was at home.

We were told not ask “personal” questions and only stick to the “music festival”. There was a bit of awkwardness at first, but Markus, the more laid back member of the group, put everyone at ease with his clever one-liners. I asked them the most standard thing I could think of  - what was their impression of Dubai, of the place, of the people.

Buddy was quick to answer,  “We are impressed by the camaraderie of the Filipino Community and the incredible presence and support.  We also experienced a bit of the diverse culture in Dubai, like last night we tried Ethiopian food, which was really good.”

When asked if they learned to say any Arabic words, Markus came out with “Kebab, Kebab Dylan, Kebab Marley”, that cracked everyone up and after that the questions just came pouring in until finally somebody was brave enough to ask the obvious    - why a reunion? and why in Dubai? 

Raymund playfully sang “reunited coz it feels so good.” Buddy replies “how many Filipinos are now in Dubai? 600,000? So we have 600,000 reasons to play here and finally Ely spoke up with a cheeky retort – “peer pressure”.

More than 10,000 fans in the UAE came to Dubai Media City to see the Eraserheads perform live on stage again. 

“It was simply natural progression.” Ely explains further.  “We are all doing our own thing for awhile now and then there was this clamor to get back together again and play, especially for those who are based outside the Philippines, and have not seen us play live yet. We are music fans ourselves, and we know what its like to love a band and grow up with their songs. We are just grateful that our songs still resonate with our fans.”

About the songs that they packed for the concert, Raimund shares, “we picked the ones that we enjoy playing. We didn’t really think much about what people will like, or what other nationalities will be there to see us play, pinili namin yung masarap tugtugin.”

I would say this decision just paid off big time. There is simply nothing better than seeing your favorite band enjoying themselves on stage while singing your favorite songs. I was there during the first reunion in 2008, I didn’t feel as connected to them as I was at the Dubai show. Perhaps it was the “homesickness” but I would say the Eraserheads Reunion concert in Dubai, was in the purest sense, about “connection”, about all of us, including the band, sharing the familiar songs and the memories.

The band kicked it off aptly with “Walang Nagbago”, then went on to perform 27 of their best hits, among them the well-loved songs -  ‘Maling Akala’, ‘Ligaya, Huwag Mo Ng Itanong’ , ‘Kailan’ ‘Overdrive’, ‘With A Smile’, ‘Julie Tear Jerky’, Magazin, Minsan and Super Proxy which they dedicated to the late Francis M, who were with them at their last concert in Dubai back in 1999. With over 10,000 fans in attendance, the Eraserheads Reunion at the du World Music Festival last 4^th April was one of the biggest, and possibly the loudest, Dubai has seen this year. 

A friend wrote on his facebook status the night after the concert –

"The best thing about watching Eraserheads is not about the band itself, It's about having the greatest time with your friends, friends that mean the whole song to you, people who you can sing and relate with, banging and just having a great time!Thanks mga pare ko!"

He is right. There was this magic moment, when everyone out in the open field of Dubai Media city was  all singing along to “With a Smile”. We all knew the lyrics to the entire song by heart. It’s hard not to get sentimental, coz the song was about us, about my friends, old and new, about every single struggling overseas filipino I've ever met in Dubai, including myself. 

Lift your head, baby don't be scared / with the things that could go wrong along the way.
We'll get by with a smile / We'll get along with a little prayer and a song.