Secrets of the City: SoFar MNL and its surprise gigs


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The idea is to present live music in the most intimate way as possible. So gigs, which are held in living rooms, garages, or in the case of Coconuts Manila’s experience, in a retail showroom, have very little to zero divide between artist and audience.

You come into a room and a mic stand signals the makeshift stage. Throw pillows on the carpeted floor will indicate that’s where the audience will be staying to watch all performances from about three surprise artists. They are encouraged to sit through the entire gig, and by the end of it, they won’t be able to help but compare it to an episode of MTV Unplugged.

Welcome to a typical SoFar gig. It promotes secret intimate gigs, where audiences can listen to, discover, and enjoy new music. SoFar is actually an acronym for Songs from a Living Room. It’s a global movement that was started in London in 2010 by a bunch of friends, who were frustrated with the rowdy gig scene there. They wanted to listen to their favorite bands, you see, and enjoy the tunes.

Fast-forward to 2015 and SoFar a sprouted in 182 cities worldwide including our very own. “We’ve been around for two years na, actually,” Ellie Centeno, the designated SoFar host told us during the September gig.

In the two years it’s been around, the movement has stealthily grown. They’ve produced 13 successful shows already, and has brought SoFar from random living rooms to places like barbershops, which Li Perez, the main woman behind SoFar MNL, tells us is one of the most interesting venues they’ve been in yet. They’ve also attracted corporate sponsors like Sony, for special editions, like the silent concert last September.

“I was watching a clip of a Singaporean band called Anechosis, performing at a SoFar show,” begins Li. “I looked it up and really liked what the movement is, and from there, worked on how I can bring the movement to Manila.”

That was in June 2013. By October 2013, they’ve successfully organized the first SoFar MNL gig “in a random house in Cainta, featuring Idioms and Dispositions, Hannah + Gabi, and Taken by Cars.” She was quickly joined by seven other volunteers: Lorraine Sandel, Chistopher Alelis, Clarence Garcia, Martin Tensuan, April Hernandez, Karen dela Fuente, and Ellie.

They are all employed millennials, who are in one way or another, part of the scene. The strange thing about them is that when SoFar started, they weren’t really friends. “Nahanap ko lang rin sila,” Li tells us. Love for music and the spirit of volunteerism has propelled the group to keep at it.

Much like Creative Mornings, or even Ted Talks, interested folks need to sign up in the global mailing list if they wish to attend a SoFar show. But here’s the fun part: they will have to do so on the basis of the gig date and the gig date alone. They won’t have a clue on who will be performing, and neither will they know where the gig will be. And they wait for confirmation.

Li says they haven’t turned people away “but we do limit the audience size based on the venue’s capacity.” First-timers, she says, are their priority.

SoFar gigs, because they’re done it in unusual places, are a BYOB kind of an affair. There are no snacks and no drinks, and there is also no door charge. Instead, people are encouraged to shell out money they think is worth the gig. And bottles, too, if that’s even necessary.

Because the music and the way it’s presented is really enough. 

It’s a very pro-active movement, if you ask us. One that puts good music front and center, and one gives it the respect and attention it rightly deserves.

Photo: SoFar MNL/Facebook
 

There’s a SoFar gig happening on Oct 24. Sign up if you’re free!
 



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