Earth Day Music Jam 2103

Getting the message across: Members of the PYEN - Pilipinas Youth Environment Network read more about them here. 

When I was in High School we would always celebrate 'Ecology Week' which is basically a whole week were different schools participate in different competitions that aim to promote Ecological awareness among the students and the most anticipated event was the 'Eco Song Fest' where each school performs an original song about the environment or Mother earth. Most of the time it is a chorale group or even the glee club (just to give you a better picture) who performs. It then all boils down to a battle of nightingale like singing and show stopping choreography-think UAAP cheerdance meets Glee and ecological themes instead of school spirit. 

This particular High School memory comes alive as a decade later as I am watching another musical tribute to Mother Earth -Earth Day Jam 2013. As the name itself suggests it is a gathering for Mother Earth through music, featuring different local artists and musicians. This year's event was held in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. 

One of the first things I saw was a group of students in white with green bands and holding signs up that said 'Be an Eco Filipino' Paul took a photo of the group (see photo above) and I asked some questions. 

PYEN or the Pilipinas Youth Environment Network is a network which is recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Southeast Asia You Environment Network. They serve as a bridge for environmental youth organizations and individuals for environmental projects of the DENR (Department of Environment and National Resources) and other government agencies. The group was present during Earth Day Jam to recruit and invite more members- I'm sure that they were able to meet that goal and had fun doing it. ;) 

If you are interested to be a part of their group you can check out their Facebook page here. 

A smile in the crowd 

 Aside from the amazing local talent lined up there were different video montages that were played throughout the night. These videos had different environmental messages in them and i think that it's really important just so the audience does not forget the reason and objective of the event. 

Mr. Tarsier - representing the event

Check out the cute and amazing logo for this years' Earth Day Jam - A cute and cool tarsier wearing a pair of sun glasses and holding onto a microphone - very apt for the event if you ask me. 

Short dinner break at Mercanto night market 

We had a little dinner break at Mercanto Night Market which was right beside the event. It's basically like banchetto but definitley more expensive than the ones that we're used to in Ortigas and Eastwood. 

Great blending prowess from Reggae Mistress 

The event started off with some relaxing reggae music which was very fitting when the hosts started talking about beautiful places and beaches in the Philippines- it really gave that nice beach vibe. 

Lights and Shadows: Paul's favorite shot

Aside from the amazing performance on stage, Paul walked around to take photos and this is actually his favorite shot, it was a play on lights and shadows and silhouettes. 

Singer, Actor and Host Teddy Corpuz of Rocksteddy getting the crowd reved up. 

Things really started to pick up when Rocksteddy took the stage and front man Teddy Corpuz had the crowd singing and jumping. Their last song was 'Kulot' and I just smiled and sang along as I remembered (probably) the most iconic 'kulot' of generations - Tado of course! 

Teddy Corpuz of Rocksteddy sharing the stage with young seedlings. 

Earth Day Jam is the longest running Earth jam in the Philippines it first started in 2000 and has been an annual jam for Mother Earth ever since. There have been many different venues for Earth Day Jam like at the Araneta Center, in Subic, the Mall of Asia and for this year it was held in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. 

You can check out more about the Earth Day Jam Foundation (2013) in their Facebook page. 

And the crowd goes wild. 

In between performances there were different talks about different environmental issues and there were special guests who were invited as well. This definitely helped keep the environmental theme alive and well. 

Different groups and guests included the Animal Welfare Coalition as well as Kilos Foundation- you know the group that makes bags and other accessories from used Zesto packs? They are based in Ugong Pasig and have really become popular with these bags, they are even more popular abroad (most especially in Europe) and are actually exporting more which is sad I think as one of the hosts pointed out since we should also be supporting these products locally. 

With all these environmental concerns it really boils down to inspiring the youth and the younger generation to be more aware about their environment because no matter how many times you have heard it being said it is still very true, the youth is the hope of the environment and helping them be aware through events like these is both very crucial and important. I applaud those kids who are members of PYEN in the photo above if more young people were like them then maybe we are looking at a greener and better tomorrow. 

Another part of the program was choosing audience members to come up on stage to give their personal pledges to the environment (save water, save electricity) they were given a seedling afterward. 

Bands who performed also gave green tips on what they do to help save the environment, I think this is really important sort of 'practice what you preach' right? 

Gracenote

This was my first time to catch Gracenote outside of a Paramore Night - and whatever respect and admiration I have for them was definitely multiplied as I saw them perform in front of a very large crowd. A Solid Gracian fansign was waving in the air and it was  definitely a sign of love for the band. 

Hushing the crowd with her mad violin skills. 

Picking up her violin, Eunice hushed the crowd to whispers of 'talented' and 'ang ganda ng mukha niya' Hey! I really heard those from people behind me. I for one know how the ecological issues were important to Eunice as I saw environmental related tweets days from her  before the event. 

These tweets went: 'Do you think people have Eco-guilt these days' and '...you aren't single-handedly responsible for saving the planet, but we can do something to maintain it' 

Seeing these tweets really made me think that she has her heart in the right place ;) 

Eunice of Gracenote - yeah I'm looking at you! 

Aside from supporting the environment through music, Earth Day Jam is also a great way to support OPM - Original Pinoy Music. I picked up a copy of Gracenote's debut album - First Movement and you should too! Here is my album review. 

You can like them on their Facebook page here. 

Up next was Ney - originally of 6cycle Mind fame, his very distinct voice had the crowd screaming and cheering especially when he made his way through the people for an up close and personal fan encounter. 

Ney getting up cloase with the crowd 

Effortless. Soul Siren Nina hitting those notes

Aside from Reggae bands, and local rock bands, Soul Siren Nina turned up the heat by wowing the crowd with high notes and a short and backless dress. (Hey! It was a really hot night) 

Glaring Lights 

Moonstar88's Maychelle Baay 

Although suffering from a bout with the flu-for Maychelle Baay of Moonstar88- the show must go and it sure did! I just love her cute, pink Hello Kitty guitar strap! They have a new album out called 'This Year' make sure to pick it up in Record Stores. 

The still very iconic Raimund Marasigan of Sandwich 

The last band that we saw (explanation later) was Sandwich with the still very charismatic and iconic Raimund Marasigan fronting the band. 

Okay, so why was Sandwich the last band we saw? Well I was kind of like Cinderella that night since I still  had to rush back to work by 11:30PM. I wasn't able to go on leave so I really felt bad about leaving before it was over and missing out Save Me Hollywood and of course Mayonnaise! 

We didn't have a Press Pass so all of these photos were just taken from the crowd with Paul's 70-300mm Sigma Lens- can you imagine if we had Press Passes we would definitely have better photos (next year maybe wink, wink (^_-) 

Although Paul had a very traumatic experience while shooting in the crowd, since it was a free event, just about anyone could get in and watch and as Paul was sniping away he felt a hand reaching for his pocket, he looked around to see a group of guys behind them, one guy was squatting on the crowd and he was obviously the culprit. Paul gave him a long hard look and moved his head from side to side. After that Paul was so stressed and freaked out that he kept looking around and tried to be aware of the crowd as much as possible. We had to give up a good spot that we had near the stage since the guys were still there and giving us bad looks and moving closer and closer. 

So maybe not everyone that was there was really there for Mother Earth, others might just have been present for the free music or even worse looking at opportunities to steal from concert attendees. 

As I was rushing to go back to work, we saw one of the young people who gave their pledges on stage, carrying her seedling with her as she was on her way home with her mom and that got me thinking that even if there were people who were present at the event who had their heart and intentions somewhere else, as long as the event was able to sincerely touch just a few young people and as long as there are people who are sincerely dedicated to making a change and making things better for the environment then i guess that there is hope, there is hope for Mother Earth and you should hold your head up high if you are part of that hope. 

For MORE PHOTOS of Earth Day Jam 2013 you can click here to go to our Facebook page.