Let's go Metro!

It was Anne Curtis who had the song Shake It stuck in my head for days because she was always playing it on the set of The Wedding where I am a supporting cast member. I thought it was cute and catchy.

Two weeks later, my band member Bogs Jugo was singing it, saying it was his favorite song of the moment.

So when I saw the billboard on C5 that Metro Station was playing at Ayala Malls I called both of them to see if they were up for it. Anne was busy, but Bogs was game, so off we trekked to Alabang Town Center on Independence Day to catch them live.

We had no idea what to expect. We both only knew one song and had no clue what the rest of their songs sounded like.

I should have gotten the hint from seeing the crowd that surrounded us. Everyone was half our age.

But when the band came onstage, looking at them, it seemed like they actually could be a rock act.

Vocalist and lead guitarist Trace Cyrus sported a Marilyn Manson look with Mong Alcaraz guitar-twirling moves. He was covered in tattoos (which were incidentally done by Pinoy tattoo artist Chris Garcia, brother of Jamir Garcia of Slapshock) — signs that definitely did not read pop band or give away the fact that he is the brother of Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus.

Pinoy drummer Anthony Improgo easily looked like a member of Laguna-based band Typecast, while Masson Musso, who is actually the band’s lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, was forgettable.

The coolest band member award goes to synth and keyboard player Blake Healy, whose passive and walang paki moves made Bogs and I wish that our own drummer, the great Wincy Ong, would mimic Blake’s nonchalant yet oh-so-sexy vibe during our gigs.

Once they start playing though, it becomes obvious: pop they definitely are. And the dead giveaway wasn’t even the music; it was the cheesy spiels that Cyrus came up with in between songs that really classified them as a pop band.

The way a performer speaks to the audience is a sure way to separate rock stars from pop stars and his lines — such as, “Is anyone in the audience 17? Yeah? Well this song is for all you seventeen-year-olds…it’s called “17 Forever” — could have been something heard from Britney.

If I were 10 years younger and actually knew their songs I would have probably really enjoyed it, as I did end up dancing on top of my chair when the one song I knew finally played.

I just don’t know how I would feel if I were a parent of one of the 13-year-olds at the gig and saw my barely even high school daughter freaking out over someone who could pass for a crack-smoking convict. 

So now it’s official. I’m old and I believe I’ve crossed over and am now on the baduy side of the age gap.