Makiling’s 10th Anniversary Gig at Penguin Cafe
by Diwa de Leon
September 14, 2007

I arrived at Penguin earlier than usual that night. At first I thought I was the first from the band to arrive. But I saw Wed’s gear as soon as I got inside the bar. I placed my stuff onstage and sat down to relax a little. I looked around. There were only a handful of guests. I was uneasy. It was always a fear of mine that maybe none would come to see our gig. And believe it or not, we’ve done gigs in the past where not even one guest came. But then again, it was still only 8pm. Regulars at Penguin usually arrive past 10.


A taxi stopped by in front of the bar, and Otto opened the door from inside. As he came in, some new guests entered too. Moments later, I saw Evan opening his car trunk and taking out his bass guitar. David arrived last.

More guests finally arrived in groups until the bar was packed. But I could feel that this night was a bit more special. Aside from the band being 10 years old, there was something else different that night. Tonight’s crowd was composed mostly of the friends we invited. But there were also long lost friends whom we haven’t seen in a long time, and there they were, watching and supporting our 10th year. It gives me tears of joy to think about it.

Still having a hangover from the previous night’s silent film gig, we started our set with a new song that we made for that silent film. We then played our usual songs for the rest of the night with some Marley sprinkled between songs. Some people started dancing to our performance. The sight of our friends dancing to our music never fails to make me smile. I spoke to the audience and said “Hindi kami aabot ng sampung taon kung hindi dahil sa suporta nyo.” The night ended with a vigorous interpretation of Sinulog.

As I was packing my things, people approached the band members, greeting and congratulating us of our 10th anniversary. We thanked them all and smiled.

We like to thank our friends who came by that night: Philip, Eisa, Alyx, Marj, Tara, Juris, Jedette, Jamir, Myra and family, and everyone else who I forgot to mention. Thanks guys!