ON THE VISAYAS ROAD - U.S TOUR Tune Up Shows

(A story by Stiff Lu – Night watchman of Kasbah Boracy, proprietor at Loudhouse MusicEnterprise, lead vocalist of the Rockoustic Blues Experiment, gatekeeper of The Rizal Underground and a musical voyager to some of the most beautiful destinations of the World)

It’s the middle of May and June is just around the corner, for my first scheduled out-of-country performances. In preparation, I embarked on a similar solo tour and did 3 shows in the south, as a prequel of my upcoming “SABADO NIGHTS (U.S. TOUR)” - namely Cebu, Dumaguete & Bacolod.

Kicking it off with a stint at MAC ROCK & ROLL BLUES RESTOBAR in Cebu, with my favorite mates, PANDORA CEBU. These guys have supported me in the past, lately for the ROCKOUSTIC BLUES EXPERIMENT album launch last August. It was a very warm KARANCHO BEACH RESORT welcome by my friendly host, PETER AMORES that really set the tone for this trip. After a short rest, we head out to the City to meet up with Pandora for a short run-through & some beer. It was really cool that some unexpected friends showed up to meet and greet, and as usual, it was a rockin’ set with the boys and had to call in it early for a long trip to Dumaguete (which I've not seen in 25 years) the following day.

Of course it wasn’t easy to wake up early after a long night of debauchery, so I ran late but made it to the 2pm bus. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that it was a 6 hour journey and so there won’t be any rest nor recreation before the CAFÉ RACER DUMAGUETE show. I was picked up from the bus station by my hosts, the good folks of BELLTOWER PROJECT, who’ve released 4 compilation albums online to date. These guys were referred to me by Boracay photog/videographer BENZI.

After a quick bite and shower at the official residence, GABBY’S BED & BREAKFAST, we head on out to the venue to catch local artist CHELSEA DAWN who played her original tunes then followed by the energetic FRILUEN, who likewise came from an even longer journey than me. His performed a set of original songs and unique renditions of popular rock songs in the mix.

By the time I got to the stage, the audience was warmed up, unlike my guitar partner and I, JUANCHO REYES who just had a small talk before the set. But we managed to do well, to the amazement of the local crowd, again surprisingly composed of common friends who actually came to watch. The night turned out really great until my eyes were shutting down. Luckily, a THE FORESTCAMP side trip was planned for the next day, for rest & recreation of this tired body. As night turned into day, we head out to camp and sampled their best selling Chicken dish and were treated by the ever friendly host CHUCK VICUNA, whom I’ve met back in the early 2000s. On the way back we got to visit CATA-AL WORLD WAR 2 MUSEUM, filled with WWII relics.

A lovely dinner and a few drinks and we call it the night as another long trip to Bacolod awaits. This time, I get up earlier and into a cold Ceres bus. The trip was flawless and I arrive Bacolod in time for a quick nap at the official residence PLANTA CENTRO HOTEL. As I get ready to rock I was received the news that another Boracay friend is in town and so we meet up for dinner and cocktails at the now popular THE MARKETPLACE AT VILLA ANGELA, same venue for the second staging of the Bacolod Bluesfest produced by OMNIBUS MUSIC. The show starts without much fanfare and I bump into this year’s headliners the BLEU RASCALS Feat. the much talked about blues guitarist PAUL MARNEY. After a few exchanges I invite him to join me onstage for a jam and the rest so they say was awesome as I joined Bacolod rock band NUANCE led by an equally talented guitarist PETER VINCO. We don’t waste time to rock it as we only had 3 songs to show our wares. After which came the headliners and the local folks were totally entertained and we drive away into the sunset.

Check out the tour PHOTOS HERE.

It was truly an amazing experience squeezed so tightly in 5 days and a perfect prequel to the main shows in the US this June. Please stay tuned to this channel for more information about the venues, dates and tickets to my upcoming SABADO NIGHTS (U.S. TOUR), with the following dates:

6/9 - BAMBOO BISTRO. 8516 Van Nuys Blvd. Panorama City, California.
(818) 920-5000

6/16 - NECK OF THEWOODS. 406 Clement St. San Francisco, California.
(415) 387-6343

6/23 - UGLY KITCHEN. 103 1^st Avenue. New York, New York. 10003. (212) 777-6677

6/30 - PASAYAHAN SA NAYON. 8388 W. Sam Houston Pkwy. Houston, Texas. 77072. (832) 525-1024

See you soon!

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Stiff Lu

Rockoustic Blues Experiment