Serial Tripper

Where’d the Pinoys Go?

For me, Handlebar Bar and Grill is a familiar place. It’s just about five establishments away from my favorite videoke joint along Polaris Street in Makati City. The location is quite obscure, but “hardcore” regulars (mostly bikers, as the bar prides itself as “A Bar Run by Bikers for Bikers,” and is actually the home of the Mad Dog Motorcycle Club) frequent it nightly.

“Where’d the Pinoys go?” I asked one of their employees that night I visited Handlebar for Razorback’s first gig in 2011. “Parang puro foreigner ‘yung nandito ah. (It’s like everyone here’s a foreigner.)”

He explained that many of their loyal customers are expatriates, as the bar is owned in part by a Filipino and in part by British and Canadians. This crowd hovers at the alfresco area of the bar, where Handlebar allows customers to grill their own steaks (which is actually their specialty) and a few screens are set up to show sports (they were showing golf when I visited, but they also show rugby, cricket, and football). In addition, they have a couple of pool tables set up inside for billiard fans.

So, where’d the Pinoys go? I found them all huddled inside the bar, waiting for Razorback (one of the greatest Filipino hard rock acts of the 90s) to start their set. The band is not a regular attraction at Handlebar, but they’ve long been playing here as frequent-enough performers. While they do not play there on a weekly basis, they’re a good measure of the kind of music they play at this particular joint. I think the attitude they try to exude is a manly, beer-drinking, hard-rocking, sports-loving culture that would cater to a niche crowd that’s into big bikes, loud music, and great steaks.

Razorback

I’ve followed Razorback’s gigs a lot a few years ago. During my college years, we’d try to cover their songs with the school band, and we actually went as far as to play “Payaso” - arguably their greatest hit, ever – in an inter-school band competition. A year after that, I found out that the band was playing gigs regularly alongside DRT at Club Halo in Makati. It so happens that the very same club hosted poker nights that eventually influenced me and my friends to start our own house poker games. (But that’s already going off-topic.)

I think the attitude they try to exude is a manly, beer-drinking, hard-rocking, sports-loving culture that would cater to a niche crowd that’s into big bikes, loud music, and great steaks.

I was already familiar with the band’s set list and the songs they played (with a few exceptions: they played a few new songs off their new album, which I’ve never heard yet), and they rocked the stage with their usual swagger and energetic vibe. It’s awesome how the band looks like they’re still having so much fun on stage some twenty years after they’ve formed in 1990.

I find Razorback perfect in Handlebar Bar and Grill’s mood: here, it’s all about the swagger. Beer, cigarettes, hard rock, big bikes, pool tables, and all that shizz. Definitely my kind of place… sometimes.

Handlebar Bar and Grill
31 Polaris Street, Bel-Air Village
Makati City, Philippines
handlebar.com.ph