coast2coast

On January 17 and 18, John Bottles hosted their annual Bottle City gig with the first leg taking place in Unity Coffee & Vinyl, and the second leg in Cebu Making Space. As with last year’s Bottle City, the gig featured acts that hail from Manila, with this year’s featuring electronic music duo Tarsius, experimental rock supergroup Party Pace, and DJ duo The Diegos. The gig also saw numerous local favorites perform such as Mandaue Nights, Milkmus, Kana, The Qings, and Thcrss. Meanwhile, the second leg featured a separate roster of local acts as well including Coloura, Shiela and the Insects, Sad Day Assistance, Coney Reyes on Camera, and DJs Libya Montes and MisterMIL. 

Down the hatch

I was excited for the gig because John Bottles Events have hosted a lot of entertaining and fun events in my experience and on top of that, Bottle City was a two-day event. Upon arriving at the cafe for the first leg of the gig, the venue was still rather empty as the organizers were still setting up. After around half an hour, I returned to the stage and found the first band, Thcrsss about to perform. The indie rock quartet performed several sharp and groovy post-punk laden tunes that served as a nice warm-up for the rest of the show. It’s no surprise that the band was incredibly skilled at delivering a captivating performance, as beloved multi-instrumentalist Keith Human also joined in playing guitar for the band. Having seen him perform in the past, I was already familiar with his charisma and stage presence as a performer and it was a delight to see it to not only see him deliver as usual, but also see it with the rest of the band.

After a series of groovy and infectious tunes, shoegaze outfit Milkmus brought the show to a slower pace, but was no less captivating with their performance. The band delivered a series of tunes that start off quiet and assuming but escalate and crescendo into noisier passages, which gave off a feeling of cathartic bliss that made them stand out from the other acts. 

The atmosphere of the show took a turn once again thanks to local indie rock quintet KANA. Their signature brand of mid-paced, breezy, and melodic tunes was a nice breather from the overwhelming and noisy soundscape that Milkmus delivered prior, making for a pleasant stylistic contrast and adding some variety in the performances that night. When it comes to relaxing and soothing indie rock, I can always count on KANA to deliver on all fronts in terms of performance and songwriting.

Up next were The Qings, who, much like KANA, also delivered a series of feel-good and pleasant tunes but also shook things up with more fiery, anthemic songs. Their tunes were reminiscent of a lot of Pinoy alt-rock that I listened to on the radio when I was a kid, which definitely gave me a sense of nostalgia during their performance. What I also really enjoyed about them was their really catchy and memorable guitar riffs that were addicting to listen to. The vocalist’s passionate singing and bellowing definitely helped in capturing my attention as well as the rest of the audience’s.

Beloved local synthpop sextet Mandaue Nights also got to perform that night, and out of all the local acts, I would say that they were easily the most versatile thanks to their lineup. With six members in their roster, every member of the band showed their musical chops by not only delivering solid performances but trading places for certain songs. The band consists of numerous vocalists and all of them have the role of taking the lead for certain songs, which made their songs sound distinct from one another when they were performed. The last time I saw them was nearly three years ago at my first gig at The Park Social in IT Park and it was a delight to see them once again delivering a magnetic performance that had me and the rest of the audience engaged.

Bottoms up

The second leg of Bottle City took place in Cebu Making Space, another popular hub for local weekend gigs. Prior to that, I attended a music-related forum called Conclave: The Bottle City 2025 Music Talks, which took place in the same venue. The speakers featured in the forum were Bobbi Olvido, Jigger Divina, Dexter Sy, and Coast2Coast’s very own editor Kara Angan. It was an insightful hearing the speakers cover different aspects of the local music scene and it definitely helped get me in the mood for the second leg of Bottle City that night.

Up first that night was Sad Day Assistance, who delivered a set of infectiously catchy and poppy tracks that set the mood very well. What made this band stand out to me were the really prominent synth melodies in their songs which gave them a distinctly sweet sound that the crowd and I thoroughly enjoyed. Similar to the first leg, the opening act featured Keith Human once again, which is no surprise as he is more than capable of delivering a charismatic and magnetic performance, whether it is in a solo performance or with a band.

Next up was renowned local DJ Libya Montes, who is also well-known for being the co-owner of Cebu-based record label PAWN. His blend of electronic remixes and budots tunes did not fail to get the crowd moving and dancing that night. When it comes to delivering a string of memorable and infectious bangers, Libya Montes never disappoints and his set that night was proof of it. The crowd and I remained glued to his set for its entirety, which showcases his experience as a DJ.

Up next was another DJ called MISTERMIL, whose tunes also consisted of electronic remixes and afrobeats. Performing alongside MISTERMIL was Cebu-based Nigerian vocalist Freshoeas who brought a chill and lighthearted vibe thanks to his melodic patois singing. On top of that, Freshoeas’ stage presence and charm really shone through during his performance thanks to his natural ability to interact with the crowd.  It was a pleasant surprise hearing this style of music being performed that night and made for a welcome change of pace from the typical indie rock and shoegaze acts that I see perform in Bottle City’s events.

Afterwards, the event reverted back to its natural course thanks to indie pop and rock band Coney Reyes on Camera, one of two bands that night of which John Bottles owner Bobbi Olvido performs in. Having seen them perform numerous times before, I was expecting a solid performance from the quartet that night and they did not disappoint. They performed many fan favorites that got me and the rest of the crowd excited, from the upbeat sing-along 12L and the more subdued and low-key Ice Pop. 

Bringing in a more anthemic performance was Coloura, whom I have had the pleasure of seeing live before at GADJA, which is a festival held by the University of San Carlos. What drew me into them initially was their knack for building up crescendos in their songs, making for euphoric climaxes that give their songs a larger-than-life feel which I am happy to report was also present in their music. The buildup to the choruses in the songs got me and the rest of the crowd excited for the eventual climax, making it all the more cathartic once they hit.

Another band that the audience and I had the pleasure of watching was Shiela and the Insects, the second band that Bobbi Olvido played with. The band’s longevity speaks for itself as they have been active since their formation in 1991 and their brand of snappy and groovy alt-rock still remains captivating and attention-grabbing to this day. I can definitely say that they have still retained much of their energy since their inception judging purely by their performance as they still sounded vibrant and almost youthful with the energy and bravado in how they performed.

Manila meltdown

As mentioned earlier, Bottle City 2025 featured three acts from Manila that performed during both legs of the event, namely Tarsius, Party Pace, and the Diegos. All three acts brought their own brand of unique music and performances that made for highly entertaining and engaging performances.

Electronic music duo Tarsius delivered a very distinct and idiosyncratic performance during both nights that got the crowd and I moving with their hypnotic grooves and melodies. Nearly everyone was dancing and moving along to their beats due to how infectious they were. Even I eventually caved in to the urge to gyrate to their performance. While I’d initially hesitated because I don’t consider myself to be a particularly good dancer, a few other people gave me a bit of a push to get me to dance, which made me dance to the best of my ability along with other people I came across. Tarsius definitely stands out to me as being a particularly unique act because I’ve never seen a duo consisting of only a drummer and a DJ. However, their performance during both nights was proof that quantity does not necessarily equate to quality as they were more than capable of dishing out solid performances with their brand of infectious techno.

Equally unique but with an indie flair was instrumental rock band Party Pace, whose guitarist Eco del Rio I have seen in the past when he performed in Unity Coffee and Vinyl as guitarist and vocalist with indie pop and rock band bird. Something that caught me off guard whilst they were performing was hearing female vocals despite all of their members being male and no one seemingly singing into a microphone. It was then that I realized that the vocals came from a sampler from the DJ of the band. I find the way it was incorporated into the band’s music really creative and it gave their catchy and nocturnal-sounding instrumentals a hypnotic and mesmerizing tone to it, which the audience and I dug a lot. 

Finally, DJ duo The Diegos ended both nights with an afterparty where they played a series of beloved classics in their record crate from a variety of genres such as disco, funk, and dance music. While most of the attendees had left by then, there were a handful who decided to stay and listen to their tunes and dance along with them. I decided to stick around and listen to their tunes before heading out to recuperate for the rest of the days.

Curtain call

All in all, I can say that John Bottles and the acts who performed that weekend have delivered an extremely solid and enjoyable show that will definitely stick in my mind for the foreseeable future. Bottle City 2025 served as an incredibly strong start to the string of events that John Bottles will hold for the rest of the year, which I am looking forward to.  The production value, choice of artists, and passionate crowd have once again reminded me why I continue to attend John Bottles’ shows whenever I get the chance, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.