Nakarating din ako sa NU Rock Awards ever! Hehe…I wouldn’t normally go to gigs like this one, but since the tickets were there and Friday nights meant “must have fun”, why not get into a new experience, I thought.
Rock FM station NU 107 held its annual NU Rock Awards last December 2 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City to celebrate the Philippines’ best in rock music.

Celebrities and VIPs (not always one and the same), rock artists and rock music fanatics crowded the hall to support their bets and to have a rockin’ time to the music of Sandwich, Imago, Sugarfree, Urban Dub and Junior Kilat. Hosted by The Dawn’s Jett Pangan, MYX VJ Karel Marquez and Asia Agcaoili, this year’s program featured sexy stars as award presenters such as Gwen Garci and Joyce Jimenez and girl next door Bianca Gonzales to name a few.

Winner ka, bai!
Junio Kilat brought the house down with their funky “Ako si M16,” a song about arms trade, which won this year’s Song of the Year while Jeross Dolino of Sheila and the Insects brought home the Drummer of the Year Award. Cueshe, another member of the south’s queen city posse, was nominated for the Rising Sun Award but lost to Orange & Lemmings…este! Lemons, which churned out hit after hit all over the airwaves.
If you have not yet seen punk band Kamikazee, then perhaps their Best Live Act Award should be reason enough for you to start attending their gigs. This fun band brings the craziest antics–say, Spidermam costume–even as they received this year’s trophy. “”Nanloko ba kayo? Lasing na kami!” they chided the crowd which applauded in approval. On the other hand, Updharma Down brought trip-hop to the limelight for winning the In the Raw Award, which is given to unsigned groups. Imago’s video for “Akap” won the Best Video Award.
Bamboo became this year’s Male Vocalist Award winner for his “Light, Peace, Love” album, a follow-up to 2004’s wildly successful “As the Music Plays.” Just how do fans cherish this cute dude? They even asked for his empty water bottle as a memorabilia.

Just like in the MTV Music Summit experience, I could only be happy to watch the show from the press/VIP section. Not only was the raised platform less crowded so it allowed for a better view of the stage, it also had food and cocktails for starving observers and celebrities on a diet.