Gab Garcia, a music production student in De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, formed ATLAST Productions with a team of graphic designers, sound technicians, and marketing specialists. They are a small independent music production that helps small artists grow in Manila’s college rock scene. But one day, Garcia wanted to do something that would surprise people. He and his friends put up a rock show in Jollibee’s Vito Cruz branch last December 2024. The internet went into a frenzy, wanting first dibs on tickets for a show in an unlikely venue that’s known for its kids’ parties and iconic bee mascot. The lineup consisted of several key players from Manila’s electronic and alternative rock scenes such as hip-hop producer GNY, neo-psychedelia and electronic trio Ango, shoegaze band (e)motion engine, and experimental rapper Mister Meyers. The show immediately sold out.
But the choice of venue was more than just for celebrating the organizer’s birthday. Garcia clarified that the Jollibee show wasn’t inspired by the infamous “What The Fuck is Up, Denny’s” video when a hardcore punk band performed inside of a Denny’s in the United States. “We’re really pushing the boundaries of what a music show can be in our modern times,” Garcia says.
Reflecting on the Jollibee gig, Garcia shares lessons he’s learned on mounting a show inside of a fast food chain. “We weren’t preparing for it to be a viral thing,” he says, “Not going to lie to you, I was very nervous to pull it off. I’m happy there were a lot of happy accidents and things I didn’t know [were] going to happen to make the show feel more raw and authentic.”
Garcia also talks about their upcoming show this March 7, which will take place inside of a Shakey’s branch. “After Jollibee, I told myself that I didn’t want to do it again,” he says, “I learned [from] what went wrong in Jollibee and I want to amplify [the experience] even further.” Garcia mentions how people participated in the parlor games, which Garcia and his crew will bring back this March 7 with winners receiving Shakey’s Supercard giveaways. “This time around we went full on banda-banda. We’re allowing the whole moshing,” he says, “We’re allowing just a little bit of crazy because Shakey’s has a bar.”
Garcia shares that the virality of the Jollibee show was unprecedented. The criticism they faced was enough to make ATLAST Productions realize the underlying problems of venues accommodating bands of a certain sound and community. A regular gig goer shared the Jollibee poster on Facebook, outlining all the things he strongly disliked about the show. “You will need to buy food from the bar. I assume you can’t serve alcohol, limited time. Only hipsters will want this. Support your local bars and spaces instead. Dami nyo alam eh, lol.”
“It really shows you the problem we have in the Philippines. There’s not a lot of places that would host band performances,” he says, “I would love it if other restaurants [were] open, but the truth is I’ve really asked a lot and four out of five would say no.”
What began as a string of shows with friends inviting friends has grown into a community effort. “I wanted to bring out some of my favorite music acts from the college scene,” he says, “We just keep moving forward. I don’t want to do the same stuff over and over again. I want to keep learning more about new communities, learn more about new people, and where we could have shows in.”
