Act of Congress' Philippine Tour

Act of Congress' Chris Griffin, Tim Carroll Jr., Bethany Borg and Adam Wright

Whenever cultural institutions or embassies bring over musicians here for either a concert or a masterclass, I always make it a point to check them out. These kinds of events are an opportunity for me to expand my musical horizons and learn a thing or two even if the guest musicians play different instruments than mine. This time around, it was the turn of the Embassy of the United States of America to bring forth American music here as they flew in Act of Congress, a country/bluegrass band coming from Birmingham, Alabama.

Act of Congress is composed of Adam Wright (mandolin), Chris Griffin (guitar), Tim Carroll Jr. (bass) and Bethany Borg (violin). The group’s current violinist, Connie Skellie, couldn’t join the tour due to her duties as a mother. So Bethany Borg, the group’s other violinist, came on board and joined Adam, Chris and Tim as they embarked on a four nation tour as part of the America Music Abroad program of the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. After Thailand, he Philippines was the band’s second stop before they headed over to Palau and Timor Leste.

The Welcome Reception

The Philippines is known as a very hospitable country so the local hosts made sure that the Act of Congress was received warmly during the Welcome Reception held at the Silangan Hall of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Guests included several officials of the US Embassy including Alan Holst, the Cultural Affairs Officer whom I last saw at the screening of the film Safety Last during the 6^th International Silent Film Festival. I couldn’t contain my surprise upon seeing Louie Talan of Razorback/Garlic at the venue. Then I looked around and realized that there were a considerable number of local musicians who were present at the affair like Bayang Barrios, Sammy Asuncion and the rest of the Kalayo Band, and Diwa de Leon among others.

The Welcome Reception featured a short set by Act of Congress and that was when I and the rest of the guests got our first taste of the band’s organic, acoustic sound. The band also got a taste of how the Christmas season starts early in here as they gave in to a request and included an instrumental rendition of Carol of the Bells for their last song. They also got a sampler of some local talent when Bayang Barrios and Kalayo performed that night as well.

After the song numbers, the local musicians had to depart since almost all had gigs later that evening. But Act of Congress remained and I was able to have a brief chat with them although I still couldn’t remember the names of the members at that time. But this was just the beginning and I was pretty sure that I would know their names by heart before their Philippine stop was over.

Tim Carroll Jr. looks on as a young student tries the bass

The Masterclass

Bethany Borg jams with Diwa de Leon

I got really psyched for the masterclass that was also held at the Silangan Hall for a special reason. A week before they arrived, I was at Radio Republic watching Bamboo perform. His guitarist, Kakoy Legaspi, also played the mandolin at the program. And when the show was over, I immediately told him about Act of Congress’ upcoming visit to the country. I informed him that one of the members plays the mandolin and that they were scheduled to have a masterclass. Kakoy was really enthusiastic about learning more about the mandolin. He said that he doesn’t know anyone else in the country who plays it also. And this was the main reason why I got excited for the masterclass despite me just merely observing that afternoon. I was very pleased that Kakoy got along well with the band and also learned a lot about various techniques in playing the mandolin.

Chris Griffin demonstrates guitar techniques as eager students look on

The masterclass didn’t turn out to be like the usual ones that I’ve attended before. It was more like a creative interaction between the local and foreign musicians. The afternoon was started with performances by the local musicians and then Act of Congress performed a short set once again. After the performances, that was when the musicians started huddling up. Some like Adam and Chris, taught, demonstrated and shared pointers to those who were gathered around them. Bethany and Tim on the other hand, had an impromptu jamming sessions with the other musicians there.

Kakoy Legaspi (left) is one of the two mandolin players present
to the delight of Adam Wright (right)

Performance at The Podium

After the masterclass, Act of Congress went to Marilao, Bulacan for a couple of days to hold another masterclass and perform their first concert here as well. So after a two day break, I was able to see them once again as they were scheduled to have a performance over at The Podium. And I expect this performance to feature a much longer set compared to what I’ve seen from them before. Unfortunately, I was already indisposed that day but that didn’t stop me from going to The Podium despite the horrible weather the night before. I am glad that I went there since I was treated to an hour long set.

The mall crowd wasn’t as thick as it normally was which was understandable considering that many got stranded the night before (including me) due to the heavy rains and that the weather only improved a bit. But there were still a good turn out especially from the shoppers who got curious when they heard the rare kind of music not normally played on Philippine radio and television.

I wanted to catch them as well later that evening when they headed over to the 70s Bistro for a jamming session with Bayang Barrios and Kalayo. But I was already feeling too tired and I wanted to have some much needed sleep. I really regret not doing so especially when I saw the videos and photos from that night.

The Concert at the Park Wash Out

I finally got some sleep but the following day, the weather didn’t cooperate. I remember telling Adam that the Welcome Reception came a day after a very heavy downpour and they were lucky that they had none of that when they arrived. Well, I spoke too soon since the weather eventually got really bad that they had to cancel their Concert at the Park performance over at Rizal Park. Many other events were cancelled that day so it was really bad that Act of Congress had to experience the unusual Philippine weather during their brief stop in here. It was disappointing not just for me, but also for Kakoy who wanted to see the band more since he wasn’t able to make the night before at The Podium and 70s Bistro.

Fortunately, during Act of Congress’ final day in here and right before they headed over to Palau, they had one final performance at the La Salle- College of St. Benilde. I wasn’t able to see it since I learned about it just the day before and it was too late for me to work my schedule around this previously unannounced performance. But Kakoy was able to watch and hang out with the band a bit before they went to the airport. And if I’m not mistaken, the band also got a copy of Bamboo’s CD No Water, No Moon signed by Bamboo and the rest of his band.

Act of Congress

While I felt bad that I wasn’t able to see the band on their last couple of days in here, I still have high hopes that this wouldn’t be the last time that I’ll hear from them. Bethany was really vocal about how great time her time was in here. And she vowed that she’ll definitely be back in the country with a solo project that sounds “sick”. And when that time comes, I also vow that I’ll have her meet more local violinists.