Partying ’Til Dawn: A Trip Down Memory Lane
A young man’s view of a Pinoy classic band
got even more guitar-driven as we rode on with the wave.” Pangan is credited with having composed most — if not all — of the band’s hits.
Bassist Carlos “Caloy” Balcells, who took a break from managing the Lacson ( his mother’s) family-owned sugarcane farm in Bacolod, explained: “Back then, when it’s punk, it’s punk, if it’s new wave, it’s new wave. Now, it’s more diverse: we have an explosion of subgenres. Today, we try to incorporate some of the styles of the music around, but we also play music from our older albums.”
NEVER LOOKING BACK?
Reyes wolfed down a few more bites, evidently enjoying the Spambas which Privé had to offer. He then told me about the importance of looking to the past, citing the Belgian- born French guitarist and composer Django Reinhardt, one of the “greatest musicians of the 20th century” as an example: “Most writers said he always looked forward — and never looked back — but a reporter with insight saw that he actually looked to the past for inspiration, and from there he created something new with it.”
He concluded, “It’s not okay to be nostalgic and stay where you are. It’s okay to look at the past, but you need to create something new from there. The past is our foundation, and we cannot escape it.” Philippine Science High School when The Dawn was founded by the legendary late guitarist Teddy Diaz. He remarked how strong and powerful Diaz’s presence and performance was back then. Sanchez had been such a fan that he took up with alacrity the offer to be one of the guitarists of the band in 2014.
Drummer Junboy Leonor — who also records keyboards for TD — banged the drums with the energy of a young man.
TIME TRAVEL
After singing a few of their newer songs, Pangan shouted, “Get ready to travel to the past!” I started to hear synths from Leni Llapitan, who was on loan from equally iconic 1980s band Identity Crisis.
“Oh my, we’re going back to the ’80s!” I told myself. This was when the magic happened. Although most of people who were watching with me seemed to be nearing their 40s or 50s, they became 20 years old again. They started singing, moving, and reacting as though they were people my age.
All throughout the night, The Dawn dished out everything their audience wanted to hear, i. e., 1980s songs, mostly by British bands: Big Country’s “In A Big Country,” Bolshoi’s “Away,” The Smith’s “How Soon is Soon,” The Police’s “Synchronicity II,” Echo and the Bunnymen’s “Lips Like Sugar,” Tears for Fears’s “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “Shout,” The Church’s “Unguarded Moment,” Psychedelic Furs’s “Ghost in You,” ABC’s “Be Near Me,” and Martin Garrix’s “In the Name of Love,” among others.
“Ohmaygad, it’s a family gathering!” Pangan exclaimed when he started naming those in the audience and realized that their fans from yesteryears had come out of the woodwork. The audience lapped up all of The Dawn’s own hits, such as “Tulad ng Dati,” “Love Will Set Us Free,” “I Saw You Coming In,” “Iisang Bangka” as well as Sanchez’s creation “Standing by Your Heart.”
All throughout the night, Pangan asked the audience how they were. “Are you feeling good tonight, my friend?” “You guys having a good time?” “You guys alright?” and finally, “Thank you for being such a great/fun audience. Now, we don’t want to stop.”
BEFORE MIDNIGHT
Finally, the band called two bassists on board, Balcells and former Wolfgang bassist Mon Legaspi to the stage. Legaspi joined The Dawn briefly in the mid-2000s, left for Hong Kong, and is now back with the group.
They played their last song, “Salamat,” which is about gratitude for a friend’s companionship; a very apt song to end the night with. Pangan thanked not just the people who partied with them that night, but the people who had been with them over the last 31 years as The Dawn. He also noted that it was the birthday of two Teddys: former Truefaith manager Teddy Dario who is partowner of Privé, and the band’s unforgettable founder, Teddy Diaz.
Of course, the band couldn’t leave without an encore. The man at my back shouted, “Bitin pa kami!” and somewhere else, I heard a shout, “Kulang pa!” The audience kept saying “More! More! More!” And so they obliged.
While they didn’t end up playing ’til dawn, I did see something else that The Dawn brought to the table: the ability to become young again, and in turn, make other people feel young, regardless of their age.
The Dawn know their heroes and their foundation well. And whether it was back then, or right now, The Dawn has that ability to create or play songs that make people feel like they’re young again.
The Dawn creates new songs which cater to the tastes of people my age, while they can also dig up the music of what Pangan calls their music “heroes.” It was just like Reyes said — they look back to the past, but they create something beautiful for the present. This makes them perfect for corporate parties where young and mature alike enjoy music together.
The “quintessential” manager (as Pangan describes her) Lizza Nakpil said that although the band members are very technical, they are “nice.” They usually hang out before and after a gig, and with one another’s families on holidays. And it shows in their performance — how they are genuinely fond of, and respect one another.
When I asked what’s next for The Dawn, Pangan replied, “Well, we’re gonna play and have fun as long as we can!”
Said just like a young man.
The Dawn have an upcoming 12-song album, and will tour Canada (and probably, also the US) in September.