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Cool Saturday afternoon with no threats of rain. You’d think everyone has already flocked to the malls, but Alabang Town Center (ATC) was met with light foot traffic. But then again, this was Muntinlupa, south of the metro, where the residents are known to take it easy.

At the shopping complex’ activity center, things were a little more interesting. A stage was set up and people gathered by the barricades. A shopper, obviously unaware of what was happening that day, asked the security guard, “Who’s performing?”

To those who had no clue, the baby grand piano might’ve deceived them and made them think that a crooner was dropping by. When the show started at 5 p.m., two masked men took to the stage and amplified the noise that the screaming crowd was making.

It was Twenty One Pilots’ debut performance in the Philippines and they treated the July 18th ATC concert no different than their other shows. Singer Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun have a reputation for outrageous behavior — all i…

The men and women behind EDSA Beverage Design Group (EDSA BDG) are an idealistic bunch. They trust that Filipinos are ready for specialty coffee, bottled cocktails, and a startup with a unique business model.

You may have learned about EDSA BDG while going through your Instagram feed and stopping to check out a photo of its now-famous glass door where the words “In pursuit of the noble beverage” are printed.

This shop, which is a few meters from the historic EDSA Shrine, has created a buzz among coffee and cocktails aficionados, as well as lovers of all things artistic; but little do the patrons know that EDSA BDG, for all the coziness it serves, is a business-to-business company.

“We’re really consultants. We help you out with all your beverage needs — from recipes and supplies to trainings,” says EDSA BDG general manager Trissy Perfecto.

“It all started with coffee,” narrates Perfecto. Founders Jericson Co and David Ong used to frequent Craft Coffee Workshop in Quezon City, which is…

A musical adaptation of Bituing Walang Ningning (originally a Nerissa Cabral serialized comics strip made into a movie in 1985 and a TV series in 2006) is somehow inevitable. It tells the story of singers Dorina Pineda and Lavinia Arguelles — the former intent on building a career and the latter, on staying on top. The drama of show business, its spectacle, not to mention the celebrities’ occasional histrionics, can be fully realized in theater.

As such, the creative team behind Bituing Walang Ningning the Musical exploited the medium, creating set pieces where Lavinia (Cris Villonco) and Dorina (Monica Cuenca) can perform like true divas. Particularly memorable was the Pangarap Na Bituin number where Dorina sang solo on center stage, her gown blending with the starry sky backdrop, making it appear as if she herself were among the stars.

It’s amusing that there is some degree of parallelism between lead actors Villonco and Cuenca and their characters (we’re not sure if this was the in…

The only reason I don't want my mother dead is my father will be lonely.

Up Dharma Down is accessible in many ways. The band plays at least once a week in bars up north all the way down south, and you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg to get in. On social media, they allow the public a peep at their private lives, cat snapshots included. And their music, though distinctive in sound, touches upon the familiar: love, longing, confusion.

On the flip side, theirs is a career anyone with musical aspirations can only dream of — anyone who knows how challenging and, to some extent, discouraging a creative endeavor is. As for artistry, their work gained the admiration of many, including Scottish band The Blue Nile’s Paul Buchanan, who even agreed to lend his voice in a track in their latest album, “Capacities.”

They make heartbreak, because beautifully written, noble and reason for people to commune in a bar, cognac in hand, shouting to someone in particular, “Ba’t di pa sabihin ang hindi mo maamin?” They also make the dancing-averse feel like it’s safe to jig. (…

Neither feel safe nor free in my own house.