Long-running indie music party Meiday! bids farewell
On March 10, hipsters, scenesters and music aficionados, mostly clad in 80s getup, trooped to the Collective in Makati, partying like it was the end of the world.
In a sense, a world really was ending. Meiday!Meiday!, the gigantic monthly celebration of independent music in Metro Manila, was holding its last run that night.
According to event founder Mei Bastes, it started as a small party for friends, held in bars such as Big Sky Mind and Route 196 in Quezon City.
“I wanted to have my friends play for the event, to expose their music because their music isn't easily accessible to the public,” Bastes explains to Y! Rocks.
Free gig, nice vibe, stellar bands
Somewhere along the way, the monthly events got bigger and eventually had to be held in pseudo-outdoor venues such as Cubao X (the former Marikina Shoe Expo at the Araneta Center) and The Collective in Makati City.
Three things marked Meiday!. It was for free, had a carefree vibe a solid lineup of acts from Pedicab and Sandwich, to Itchyworms, to indie favorites Boldstar, Ang Bandang Shirley, the Strangeness, Outerhope and the Purplechickens, among others.
The last Meiday! had an interesting aspect to it. Guests were asked to come in `80s getup, as the event also served as backdrop for a shoot filmmaker Marie Jamora (also of the band Boldstar) was holding for her Cinemalaya film “Ang Nawawala.”
Costumed as Kraftwerk and the Ghostbusters
Cooperative people the Meidayers are. A good number dressed appropriately: the quiff hairdos, shoulder pads, thick makeup and folded pants.
Ciudad singer-bassist Mikey Amistoso looked like someone straight out of the original “Bagets” movie, with his rolled-up sleeves, high pants and headband.
Pedicab dressed up as electro pioneers Kraftwerk, and the Itchyworms came as the Ghostbusters.
With Meiday! being the great party that it was, why end it? Bastes explains, “Everything has to end.”
‘Keep supporting local indie music’
“I didn't like the popularity that came with it, and it became more of a job for me,” she admits. “Plus there was the factor of pressure of the bands. The event just became too big.” Since the expenses came out of her own pocket, one cannot blame her.
What does she advise future event organizers following in her footsteps? “Patience. And humility.”
She assures though that while the concept of the free music festival ends, she will still be around. Bastes asks for one thing from her “orphans,” though:
“Keep supporting local independent music.”
