beabadoobee in Manila Was Out Of this World
Fil-Brit alternative rock darling beabadoobee’s sold-out two-day homecoming show in Manila was a stellar night of nostalgia-driven rock cuts and killer showmanship, capped off with an OPM cover with a local music legend that we will be talking about for some time.
The 25-year-old indie rock star kicked off her meteoric set at the New Frontier Theater in Quezon City with chugging guitars and the line “spending too much time out in California” from the aptly named “California” off her latest LP This is How Tomorrow Moves.
The angsty 90s alt-rock energy carried along through the next tune “Talk” from the same album, with a portion of the chorus that goes, “we got out, we go out on a Tuesday,” almost like it was written for August 12, Tuesday, which was day one of the two-day dream concert for her loyal fans.
Beatrix Kristi Laus, who is a native of Iloilo City, addressed her young crowd in the venue via healthy servings of Tagalog greetings, updates on the Lapu-Lapu fish she ate, and the new ink she got on her skin before the show.
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She last played a show in the country in September in 2022 when she toured her previous and her most commercially successful album (so far) Beatopia.
The talk of the town was her surprise cover of the Apo Hiking City classic “Panalangin” on both show days, with Apo vocalist Jim Paredes joining beabadoobee on stage on the last day.
beabadoobee and Jim Paredes singing "Panalangin" on day two
The half-Filipino alternative songstress said the moment was a dream come true for her since her grandfather and her mother had always played the OPM rock band’s music at her house growing up.
Beabadoobee’s vocal performance still seemed as pristine and silky as her studio recordings despite an illness she got before the Manila show that led to her cancelling her Seoul concert date.
I personally would have loved to hear cuts such as "Pictures Of Us" (written by Matty Healy from The 1975) and "Animal Noises" from her previous records since these are what got me into her music.
The melancholic "Pictures of Us," which features a mid-western emo math rock guitar lead and was a regular song during her previous tour, is so gripping thanks to the memeorable crescendo and chorus that just makes you want to sit down and philosophize. It goes: “She reminded me that God starts with a capital, but I don’t think I could do it.”
The indie artist also performed an emphatic rendition of her emotional multi-layered alt-rock song “One Time,” which is almost an ode to failed relationships and having one foot out the door with your partner. Some of the attendees beside me at the show were so moved hearing the 90s-flavored track live that it led to them howling unsavory things about their exes, and we can’t really blame them for doing so.
On the other end of the emotional spectrum, beabadoobee’s sweeter love songs such as "Glue Song" and poignant piano cuts like “Girl Song,” and “the way things go,” were hard hitting tearjerkers and performances that triggered an involuntary “aww” from the crowd (and from me, of course)
“Ever Seen” is also another sweet acoustic-tronica song that was met with much uproar due to the infectious hook of, “He has the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen,” that you can’t help but fall in love with.
She also played a lot of her beloved earlier songs like “She Plays Bass,” an ode to her band’s bassist and dear friend Eliana. The groovy rock song has a headbob-inducing bass line and post-punk guitar work.
The crowd, which consisted of tote bag sporting, digital/film camera-wielding cool kids, also erupted and piled into separate mosh pits for “wish I was more like you” bridge, authentic throwback to 90s/00s gigs.
