Kicking Off Oktoberfest

Mindanaoan Meets World by:
Maria Irene Aserios

I was there! And boy, was the SMB Oktoberfest 2015 grand launch a really fun night – not only because of all the merrymaking, pop-up bars, beer shower, celebrities, seemingly bottomless beer everywhere and amazing music acts but also because I was there with good friends. Much thanks to Rivermaya, I had backstage access at the Mall of Asia Concert Grounds.

Let me back track for a bit.

I rode with the Rivermaya boys. Their call time was at 8 PM but because we all know how bad Friday night traffic in Manila can be, they fetched me at 3:30 PM. I initially groaned at the idea of traveling for 4 hours but well – I was with Rivermaya. That alone would make any OPM fan squeal! Plus since Mark Escueta had to be in Japan to be with wife Jolina Magdangal (who had a show there) and adorable son Pele, Rivermaya requested the great and equally fab Ebe Dancel (formerly of Sugarfree) to fill in. Aah…truly what better way to spend a Friday night! As expected, it was all kuwentos and laughter as soon as Ebe got in the van. It was my first time to be around him that long. No wonder he’s friends with the boys. Ebe’s cool!

We arrived at the venue just in time. I then learned that there would be 16 music acts including Joey “Pepe” Smith, The Dawn, Hotdog, Ely Buendia and Pupil, Side A (which already had a new vocalist, by the way), Slapshock, Greyhoundz, DJs Marc Marasigan, Patty Tiu, Boyet Alamazan and Funk Avy. By the way, the 2014 Muziklaban grand winner, Cagayan de Oro-based Nobela band, also rocked the Oktoberfest stage, which had two complete band setups! That made the transitions between acts smoother and faster.

Rivermaya’s set was one of, if not the, most applauded one. Thousands of people sang along with them as they belted out their hits “Kisapmata,” “214,” “Ulan” and “Awit ng Kabataan.” What people didn’t know, though, was that as soon as they sang “Umaaraw Umuulan,” it was time for non-stop beer shower! Interested to know what SMB’s idea of a beer shower is like? You can visit my YouTube channel – http://www.youtube.com/mindanaoan1 – and view the videos I took that night with my GoPro!

After the boys’ set, I also got to rub elbows with SMB endorsers including Efren “Bata” Reyes, James Yap, Mark Herras, Aljur Abrenica and the SMB Beermen backstage. Needless to say, that was truly an Oktoberfest experience to remember.

Catch the CDO Leg of the SMB Oktoberfest on October 3, 2015 at Limketkai. Visit my blog Mindanaoan.com for the lineup of artists who will be there!

That’s it for this week! Thanks so much for reading. Til next ish! Safe travels, everybody!