On My Surprise Trip to Dubai
I played keyboards for Rico Blanco overseas. My journey in words and pictures.
On Friday, March 18th, 2022, I was barely awake when I took a phone call. It was Frey, a friend and artist agency rep, asking if I was available and willing to play keyboards as part of Rico Blanco’s band in the United Arab Emirates.
I was one of two musicians to fill in for Poch, Rico’s incumbent bassist and keyboardist, who couldn’t come.
The catch? We were playing on March 26, hardly a week from then.
During that minutes-long call with Frey, my half-asleep mind raced. Oh boy, I am utterly unprepared for this. But it’s a gig abroad! I get to fly out of the country after being in quarantine for over two years! Is there time to learn the songs? What if I fuck up? Hell, what if I don’t?
I said “yes” before I could process my thoughts.
Things moved at light-speed after that. The intense rehearsals, the scramble to gather and submit documents to get the team’s visas approved, the travel, and finally, the show, came to be. I can’t believe it’s over already. I’m still reeling days after my return.
March 20: Flight case. I had to find a hard case for my keyboard because my padded gig bag wouldn’t provide enough protection while in transit. Fortunately, an individual was selling this Gator flight case for cheap on Facebook Marketplace.
March 22: Rehearsals Day 3. Paolo Manuel on drums, Poch Villalon on bass, Rico on guitar. My first priority was to sing backing vocals. Playing keys came second. (I was too focused on learning the songs to take any photos on the first two days of practice.)
March 23 (Part I): Flight check-in. Met up with the team in NAIA Terminal 3 at 1PM. The downside to playing in faraway places is having to bring equipment in hard and bulky containers. But Gen Puza (Stage Manager), Rey Manzano (Road Manager), and Nojo Gamara (Technical Manager), helped make our lives easier.
March 23 (Part II): Departure. We took Emirates flight EK333. I was lucky to have an aisle seat because I tend to use the restroom frequently. Pao was my seatmate. We told each other stories and shared countless laughs. A cool thing about our aircraft was that the ceiling had “stars” that would illuminate when the cabin lights were off.
March 24 (Part I): Arrival. We land in Dubai International Airport and check into the Holiday Inn past midnight. We meet up with Dave (substitute bassist) who flew in from elsewhere, and get swabbed for COVID-19.
March 24 (Part II): First buffet breakfast. While eating, I was approached and asked by a man if he could join me at my table. His name is Sergei, and he hails from Belarus. He and his wife Julia work in IT.
March 24 (Part III): Rehearsals Day 4. We practiced in the Dubai Expo 2020 grounds from 1-10PM. There was much work to do, now that we were jamming with a different bassist.
I still didn’t have my parts down pat, so the long session was welcome. I had duties beyond playing keys. Singing backing vocals aside, I played percussions in certain sections of some songs (ie. rainstick for “Yugto,” and tambourines for “Hinahanap-hanap Kita” and “Your Universe”).
At some point, Rico experienced instrument problems that required opening up his guitar to fix.
March 25 (Part I): Rehearsals Day 5. We practiced in The Fridge from 2-7PM. Met a lovely cat named Ertha, who would rub herself against us whenever we’d sit anywhere in her turf. I was more confident about my parts but still nervous for the show.
March 25 (Part II): Exploration. With our UAE stay lasting three days and most of it spent rehearsing, the sole window of time I had to go around was after practice, on the night before the show.
Instead of turning in early, I hit up Dubai Festival City Mall. I got myself a hair clamp from Claire’s, and proceeded to get lost in the enormity of the mall. I stumbled into Festival Bay, where the lights were sublime, and The Ripe Market, a food court of sorts.
March 26 (Part I): Soundcheck. For logistical reasons, our call time in Expo was at 2PM despite our 11PM set. The first thing we did was sound our instruments out on the Jubilee Stage. Because a crowd of Filipinos requested us to play something, we treated them to a performance of “Panahon na Naman.”
March 26 (Part II): Showtime. Whenever I perform with Never the Strangers, our shows tend to pass like a blur. I lose myself in the moment, and before I know it, it’s all over. This was not the case during our Dubai set with Rico. I was hyperaware.
Because I wasn’t at the forefront of the performance, I had the benefit of deliberately shifting my attention: to the spectators, to Gen, who was at the soundbooth just offstage, to my bandmates, and to the slow unfolding of night.
Right after our set, I fixated on my mistakes. But now that there’s some distance between today and the gig, I realize that, in the face of a punishing timeline, we pulled off a great show.
We gave people and ourselves something wonderful to remember.
This gig was two milestones in one. It was my first-ever show overseas, as well as my first performance before a live audience in over two years. As far as clichés go, this experience was surrreal.
At some point during our set, I stepped outside of myself to marvel at the moment. I was playing for my longtime manager and mentor Rico in a foreign land, alongside Pao and Dave, two people whose talents and hearts magnify my own.
I’ll treasure this memory for as long as I live.
The setlist: Antukin, Umaaraw, Umuulan, Elesi, 214 / Balisong / You’ll be Safe Here, ‘Wag Mong Aminin, Bye Bye Na / Himala, Yugto, Awit ng Kabataan, Liwanag sa Dilim / Hinahanap-hanap Kita, Your Universe
You can watch our full Dubai Expo set in HD here.
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