Gig Review: "In Progression: The First Movement" ( 6Underground, Makati, Dec 3, 9pm)

Progressive Rock has had a very small but noticeable presence in the Philippines. In Manila a small sprout of bands have finally come up with a gig that's dedicated to prog rock music only. A gig for musicians by musicians. Being a prog fan since I was 15 (which was a long time ago) I was stoked.


I came to 6Underground in C. Palanca in Makati at around 9:45pm, the pace started filling up at around 10:30pm the host Mr. SLH of NU 107s Metal Madness Started introducing the first band Silent E, which was sans vocalist. Na-traffic daw. Their set of twin guitar calishtenics was impressive despite the absence of their lead singer. It still amazes me how these young bucks get their chops. They did an ok cover of Dream Theater's Erotomania. When I was their age, I could do a few blues scales, but not run an Aeolian all through the neck like they could, oh well, blame the internet.

Another band called Minds Through Eternity, a three piece keyboard ensemble, came along. Turns out these guys have been together for a long time but haven't really seen the need to have a guitarist. Not to put them down or anything, but I thought their sound was a little bare given that they lacked that essential crunch coming from the guitar. the keyboardist with his classical licks however, was phenomenal.

Praena was a band I could'nt really connect to at first, but their last song kind of redeemed their dark and gloomy first song. Not that Im not into dark themed music, but Praena to me was like that good dish i just dont want to eat.

The emcee finally introduced Fuseboxx. Fresh from their debut album launch, they played the entire Outlet suite as heard in the album. I currently own their first independent EP (which i hope will be acollectors item someday). As usual, these guys rocked the house, only thing is the recurring tech problem with the keyboard amp.

This was very evident during the set of Eternal Now. The guys kept pointing at their ears while looking at the DJ booth. For a reference to the first time I saw these guys, refer to my earlier entry.


All in all a great little gig for a small but influential following. This long overdue event deserves a lot of follow ups. Music has certainly taken a turn for the worse after all the Lindsay Lohans and the Ninas and the Cueshes started to dominate the local and international music scene. As the flyer given during the gig states...

"We are the true alternative...the alternative to the alternative...the'non commercial option"... We are the progressive community.

Glad to be part of it.

Thanks for the cap and the wristband, guys. (good thing I knew Abby's name)


The definition of Progressive Rock.