A Rock Gig Inside a Jollibee Branch? It Happened

Jollibee is familiar to nearly every Filipino. It has been the country’s number one fast-food chain since it was founded in 1978. Ask any Filipino born in and outside of the Philippines and most will say they’ve tried meals like Chickenjoy, Peach Mango Pie, and Jolly Spaghetti. 

In addition, what makes Jollibee extra special are its party packages, where people can celebrate not just birthdays but nearly any sort of milestone. Other than the hordes of relatives and friends attending the celebration, the Jollibee mascot reveal at the end of the program makes the event extra special. Seeing Jollibee himself or any of the mascots never fails to bring a smile to the faces of everyone in attendance.

Jollibee plays around with the drum set

But here’s something different: recently, there was an announcement of an actual rock gig happening inside a Jollibee branch. That doesn’t happen every day.

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The promotional material showcasing the famed mascot with the production name “AT LAST” signaled a celebration that’s been a long time coming. Featured on the bill were alternative and underground music acts closely associated with one another: Mister Meyers, GNY, Ango and (e)motion engine. Due to the high demand and virality of the show, the production eventually took down the ticket link and moderated the flow of guests via direct messaging. People needed to inquire directly to the production for tickets, then cross their fingers for a chance to get themselves in the event. 

Guests register for the event

But with all the presentation and promise that it’s not going to be just an ordinary Jollibee Kid’s Party, the first question that comes to mind is: how in the world did an independent production manage to make it happen? A dream longed for by people from different communities in different genres—from the punk scene, the shoegaze scene or even the mainstream music industry—was finally going to happen. A live music gig inside the country’s most famous fast-food chain. 

Last Thursday, November 28, Esquire Philippines went down to Jollibee Vito Cruz, Taft Avenue, Manila City to check out the long-anticipated At Last It’s Jollibee event. Upon arriving, the first thought that came to mind was it was a function that almost never saw the light of day.

Happy guests wearing their Jollibee party hats

It was a busy evening in Taft; traffic was almost at a standstill, but it didn’t stop most college kids and wandering music fans from searching for the actual party. After a couple of minutes of inspecting the branch, we found that it was a typical Jollibee activity on a normal day; folks with their kids eating the signature meals; students hanging around with their friends and taking time off from class. But eventually we managed to climb the second floor and discover that there were function rooms by the other corner of the establishment. Seeing the front of the house sitting by the entrance with a laptop and party hats stacked onto each other felt like it was a light at the end of the tunnel. Jollibee had officially turned into a gig venue for one night. 

“Parang fever dream” music photographer Ellyza Cua said.

“You know pag nilalagnat ka tapos gumising ka ng pawis na pawis, tapos uminom ka ng tubig, that’s how this event feels like,” was how college student Andrew “Soul” Soriano described the whole function. 

A host eventually took over the evening. A regular Jollibee employee asked the whole crowd of 20-something year olds, with no children in sight, made a call-and-response: “Hello and welcome to Jollibee, bida ang saya! Masaya po ba ang lahat?” A roaring crowd followed with a “YEAH!” then the host then followed up with “Gaano ba kasaya?” then it followed with the crowd screaming “SOBRANG SAYA!”

The show kicked off with the first two independent music acts GNY and Mister Meyers showcasing their music up front with costumes and the classic Jollibee party hat amplified by their stage presence. GNY presented lo-fi hip-hop and R&B, while Mister Meyers aggressively played its brand of experimental hip-hop and boombap rap in front of a crowd of alternative goth attendees, college kids, and indie music scenesters.

The real surprise of the show came about when an actual Jollibee mascot arrived on the scene. The whole world stopped for a minute when Jollibee showed up and proceeded to dance, messing around with the band equipment from the drums to the guitar pedals. 

Producer and rapper Mister Meyers expressed one of his dreams of performing alongside the mascot. “Dancing with Jollibee, nasa mini bucket list ko,” he said. “It was good, hoping for another time maybe some other fast-food restaurant.” Mister Meyers was able to imagine a situation of performing in front of different crowds, especially in a place that’s accessible to as many people as a Jollibee branch.

“Before this set I watched a JPEGMAFIA set,” he explains, “So I internalized it: small room, probably no one’s going to listen to me, I’m going to scream in my set. Sobrang humbling yung experience because sanay ako sa places like Sining Shelter and sa mga bars, and playing in Jollibee, di ko alam if I should go extreme or not. I’d rate it a light seven out of 10.”

Shortly after the classic Jollibee dance intermission, the event proceeded to the second half by welcoming the last two performers of the night: Ango and (e)motion engine. The former played their unique take on alternative R&B and electronica while the latter made the audience move around moshing in light movements before officially ending the evening.

“Man, it was really unexpected,” the birthday celebrant, electronic music performer Angelo Paz or better known as Ango, said. “It was really tame at the start but as the night went on, it kept getting wild. We can’t mosh at this place, but people find ways.” 

Asked how the marketing of the show went, Paz went on to explain his experience of how the show came to be as one of the birthday celebrants from the perspective of the performer.

“We didn’t market it this way but like it’s our birthday so it’s our celebration and also a way of giving back to the community din,” he said. 

(e)motion engine closed off the night with their brand of shoegaze and noise pop and band frontman Ace Santos believed that it’s a breath of fresh air to actually play in a different venue. 

 “I feel like it’s a different assignment,” he said. “People are a little bit more open because the people who would come to a gig like this are more likely down for experimentation, because why would they be here if they weren’t? So I feel like we got to let loose for this show. It was a lot of fun. I loved wearing the [Jollibee party] hat. Yeah I would love to do it again as soon as possible.” 

Event organizer of At Last Productions and the other birthday celebrant, Gabriel Garcia, was able to give a rundown of how the whole event happened.

“It took me three months because I was looking for a Jollibee [branch] who would be willing to do this,” he explains. “We all know the Denny’s meme, that was not my intention. It was supposed to be the fact that we could gig anywhere, and we can be safe. I kind of honestly want to push the music scene in a sense that we can just gig anywhere and treat the events place as part of the experience.”

After taking photos and thanking the Jollibee staff and their managers, Garcia was able to give a tip for future show promoters on putting up shows in public spaces like Jollibee. 

“I’m telling you now guys, if you want to do this, one key advice I have to give you is: you have to be selfless,” he said. “These gigs aint gonna make a lot of money. We do it for the experience. And I want to do it because it’s my first time. So for logistics, it’s either paying or breaking even, the gig just paid for itself. So I also want to make it fair for everyone. P350 is a normal price for a ticket. You go to a gig with P350 usually with nothing. But now you’ve got food and a loot bag sometimes. I just made sure we just broke even. I don't care about making profit. We just made history.”