Sweating Bullets and Bottles That Fly: My First-Ever Pulp Summer Slam, Part 1 of 2

On April 29, 2017, I ticked one item off my bucket list: attending the Pulp Summer Slam XVII: Redemption, the seventeenth installment of only the biggest metal music festival in Southeast Asia(!!!).

Official poster, from Pulp Live World.

Of course, it didn't come easy. 

I first got interested in attending the Slam when Pulp Summer Slam XII: The Apostles was under way. I was in my junior college year, and I wasn't yet the Arch Enemy fan that I would be a couple years later. Back then, I anticipated the 2012 Slam because of August Burns Red and blessthefall, two metalcore bands with Christian members (except for blessthefall, the gorgeous vocalist Beau Bokan is the only confirmed Christian member)--I used to refer to these bands as "Christian metal" bands. (Why I dropped that term is another story.)

Since I was a student back in 2012, and I did not receive my scholarship stipend during summer vacay, I was not able to attend that year's Slam. Add to that the fact my mom would never allow me to go to a black mass of a metal music festival. Or at least I thought she would never.

Five years forward, I was finally able to make it. (Thanks, Mom!!!) And that after having two supposed-to-be chaperones canceling on me 😛 Okay, I forgive them now.

Did you know that this Destroy Clothing/Daily Grind shirt is actually the last of its kind?

The day of my first Slam was also the day I officially got to use my Grab app. After taking an early lunch of KFC Sisig ('tis so awesome you should try it!) in Philcoa, I had to book a GrabCar trip to the battlefield, err, Amoranto Stadium in Quezon City.

When I got to the stadium, I had to go round the corner from Amoranto Stadium's Gate 3 to the right side of Manuel A. Roxas High School, which stood just beside the stadium, to line up.

It's just one leg of a very long queue that circled the stadium... on a freaking hot Saturday noon.

Some of the guys behind me brought some to-go food for lunch, courtesy of Jollibee, which they ate while in the queue since you're not allowed to bring outside food and drinks into the venue.

Good thing my social anxiety didn't disturb me much even when I felt a bit lonely in such a long queue with people I totally did not know. And although I had to be content first with small talk, the guys and a lady who talked to me were nice, as Pulp stated in an article about the five people you meet at the Slam (obviously a spoof of a Mitch Albom novel) in their April 2017 issue.

Although the posters and tickets said the gates would open at 12 noon, the gates did open at around 1 p.m. Upon entry, one of the marshals suggested I get my free cup of Red Horse first before proceeding to the grounds. I don't know if I just misheard him, but I remember him saying I cannot enter without having my cup first. So I reluctantly took it.

I never really intended to take that cup of beer, I promise.

Then, the lady before me in the queue approached me and invited me to join her and her hubby. Just like that, the couple before me in the queue, J and M, became my instant chaperones for the day. Later, the three of us were sharing the protection my Miniso folding umbrella could offer against the harsh summer afternoon heat and I was sharing stories with M, the lady of the couple.

The nicest panoramic shot I could manage 😊 M is the lady with the bonnet in the foreground; her hubby J is the guy with glasses and a camouflage-ish backpack, his back to the camera.

The show started more than thirty minutes later with the 2016 Red Horse Pambansang Muziklaban champion, Shotgun Combo.

Shotgun Combo onstage ("Gusto ko ng labahita!") while Slammers line up on the grounds for the official tee ("Gusto namin ng t-shirt!").

Here's a clearer picture, from the Pulp Summer Slam FB page.

J and M did not want to purchase the event shirt, and so I didn't. (I could buy one soon at Tribal or via Pulp, right??? Only that I cannot avail of the Php50.00 discount anymore... 💔)

There was a sudden change in the schedule (Kjwan was supposed to perform second), so right after Shotgun Combo (their flamboyantly dressed bassist = FTW!), Razorback took over the stage.

Razorback. Photo from the Pulp Summer Slam FB page.

Kjwan then became the third band to perform. At this time, M was fangirling (though not the squealy type of fangirling, which was good) over the band, even telling Marc Abaya (from afar, of course), "Maghubad ka na (Take your shirt off)!" I was singing along to the chorus of "Pintura" and the entirety of "Daliri".

Spoiler: Only one frontman out of twelve did take his shirt off. It was not Marc. (If you have been at the Slam from Shotgun Combo to Slapshock, you better shut up and not add to this spoiler! At least not until Part 2 of this post.)

Kjwan. Photo from the Pulp Summer Slam FB page.

The sweltering heat--both from the merciless afternoon sun and the developing tipsiness thanks to beer--not only made us all bathe in sweat, it made the place look too blaring bright. I had to take my glasses off to save my badly nearsighted eyes from the glare.

I had to watch Australian progressive metal band Gods of Eden sans my glasses. But it's fine--there were projectors, and I was there for the music anyway.

Gods of Eden, from the Land Down Under. Photo from the Pulp Summer Slam FB page.

The sun tempered down a bit when technocore band I See Stars took over the stage. M, crushing on keyboardist Andrew Oliver, invited me to join her somewhere closer to the stage.

Our spirits, tempered down by the cruel solar heat, were stirred up by I See Stars's performance (but heck yeah, the first three bands were fucking great, too!). A few empty Mountain Dew and mineral water bottles also started flying over our heads--or maybe it was the only time I noticed them.

Now I really See Stars...

I ended up crushing on Devin Oliver, the frontman and Andrew's brother 😍

Sadly, I could feel the threat of hangover migraine rising up from the back of my neck. So much so that when the turn for my current favorite deathcore band Whitechapel to lord it over the stage came, I had to take naps every now and then (by this time J and M decided that we sit and rest for sometime).

"Respect, trust, and loyalty--I gave it out and I've taken it, too!"
Whitechapel slaying it onstage. Photo from the Pulp Summer Slam FB page.

Raise the banner. From Whitechapel's official FB page.

"God damn the elitist ones"--and the headache that came to me, please.

Look at that guy behind me. He actually looks a tad like a former churchmate (and still friend) of mine.

That's just for the first half of the chronicle of my adventures as a first-time Slamera. Am I gonna see you on the second part, though? 😊


The unattributed images in this post are mine.