Jerking around...A slow Friday night with the Jerks

Wow...I said in my previous posts that I will be trying to keep this blog as up to date as I can with new content but try as I might, other things seem to keep me and my thoughts preoccupied. Not that it takes that much to keep me distracted but as the bespectacled one said, "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans."

Anyway, for this post, I would like to focus on a band who's been making the rounds of the local scene since 1979 at hanggang ngayon ay anjan pa din. Ika nga ng t-shirt nila, "Walang Pahingang Rock N Roll"

It's "Rakenrol"!

I managed to coax my wife into watching some live music with me and what better way to spend the night with her than witnessing in action one of the true gems that the local music scene has to offer.

Fronted by the enigmatic Chikoy Pura, the Jerks has been making raucous, fist-raising anthems before any of us could even say "rock n roll". Pero nakakapagpabagabag na in terms of output ( albums ), there is a noticeable lack sa recorded material nila. I remember being introduced to the band circa '94-'95 when I managed to get a hold of their live tape which to me, perfectly captures the energy and power of the band. Of course, they were doing all of this even before that time period, back when punk exploded here. I guess not a lot of people know that they were part of that original BIG BANG, so to speak, with their original songs, Romantic Kill and Big Deal. 

The other album that I know of coming from the group was the major backed, self-titled outing which had the classic "Rage". I don't know about you but the rerecording of the other songs ( Reklamo ng Reklamo, Sayaw sa Bubog, Tambol ) felt like they fell short of the majestic live renditions of the said songs. Some would say na watered-down pa nga ung iba, an example is changing the lyrics with "Hacienda Luisita" to "Sa iba't ibang hacienda" on one song. Oh well, alam naman natin ung original lyrics nya e. For those who don't, well now you know. It was also quite refreshing to hear several slow songs from the band on this album, na me pagka kundiman ( one song is titled Kung 'di Man ) which was a nice balance to the "rage".

Anyway, on this particular night, my wife and I managed to find ourselves going to 70's Bistro to catch the Jerks performing. One of her concerns was, "Di ba magulo dun?" And I answered,"Hindi naman," thinking that it would just be a steady night for the Jerks and for the venue.

And indeed, it proved to be business as usual for the group. All in all, 6 na ang members ng band that night ( not sure if that was a permanent line-up ), with 2 more guitarists excluding Mr. Pura himself. The first half of the set had blues and R&B renditions which were played excellently but I can't help to think na mas maganda pa yung mga original numbers ng banda rather than these covers. Dun din sa first set tinugtog ung kambal na reggae flavored songs Reklamo ng Reklamo and Sayaw sa Bubog.

The second set was more of the same but instead of blues covers they ventured into some Beatles. Mukhang Mad Mathematical World land ata original na tinugtog nila during that 2nd part. As a whole and as far as I can remember, mabibilang lang sa isang kamay ung tunogtug nila na orginals, kung hindi ako nagkakamali.

Now don't get me wrong. We were witnessing a performance by one of the greatest bands that the Philippines has to offer. Pero what I had seen that night left me wanting for more. Again, the Jerks original songs to me are infinitely better than the covers that they did that night. Sure, they were played well but I guess I was just looking for that extra grrrr, that energy so well-captured on their live tape.

In my ill-informed and probably misplaced opinion, the Jerks were more powerful when they were a three-piece. Again, di ko alam kung permenent ang line-up nila pero as I've said in my previous posts, iba talaga pag 3-piece ung kumakana nung mga songs e. Oh well, I did enjoy seeing my wife grooving to them tunes. If you are so inclined, do try to support the Jerks. Those t-shirts are damn good looking. And of course, the music is still there, still raging, still rakenrol!

Check 'em out at their FB page where you can order music, t-shirts as well as some tea :)