July 9, 2009 Mindanao Times: LifeStyle

Confessions at The Metro

by: Ian Garcia

Thanks to social networking and the wonders of blogging. Holding an event today is not as backbreaking as it was, ten years ago. Clicking the QWERTYs is indeed the new word of mouth.

That is how four friends, Mike Sy, Dingo Braganza, Bevs Lim and Marie Braganza, make their new venture work: with the aid of modern technology.

Smallfish Productions, the party organizing company which the quartet formed, is one of the up and coming events organizers in the city that has successfully produced weekend parties for the party-deprived Dabawenyos.

Seeing the need to perk up this city's nightscape especially that nightlife in Davao has recently been a bit quiet and slow with not so many new places to chill-out and to be excited about, Smallfish thought that if they can't provide (yet) the hardware (i.e., perhaps a new party venue), they might as well create the software (i.e., something for us partyphiles to look forward to on weekends).

Enter "Confessions at The Metro: Are you a Sinner or a Saint?", the group's sophomore party project which they creatively hatched in the blogosphere by drawing and asking blog visitors to post (anonymously) their deepest and darkest secrets. Aiming to titillate more net surfers, an ad of the party was then passed on via email and their Facebook accounts, fanning the curiousity even more to Davao's party set.

Finally, at the "Confessions at The Metro" party last weekend at the Metro Lounge, the clandestine messages posted on their blog were played out, complete with snazzy graphics, on the LCD screen, making the event truly engineered by and from new technology.

Backed by friends and supporters such as For The Love of Prints, Pista Lokal, Bloom Facial Spa, North Valley College Foundation, Eskinol and K1 FAmily KTV, the event was jam-packed as partyphiles enjoyed dancing to club anthems and house music of this decade, as spun by DJ Torch with DJ Zhaun on the mic. Success.

The secret is out: their name might be Smallfish but their ideas are new school and surely no small stuff.

Special thanks to Karloz Alba for the photos.

***Smallfish thanks Mr. Ian Garcia***

Smallfish Hypnotizes Partyphiles

***Thanks Zhaun Ortega for the awesome write up!

http://confessionsofapartyphile.blogspot.com/2009/09/smallfish-hypnotizes-partyphiles.html

A couple of months back I wrote an article entitled “Where My Party People At” where I was complaining about a lack of real parties and hot events in the metro. I ended the article with a short prayer to the partyphiles gods, hoping that somehow, someway, somebody would fall from the partyphiles clouds and give us some hot-bangin’ parties.

I forgot about that article until, recently, I found that all my hopes and wishes came true with the help of four little fishies (yes, alcohol is their version of water), who decided to form a school (school of fish, get it?) and named themselves Smallfish Productions.

Smallfish Productions is an event-organizing group made up by Marie Braganza, her brother, Dr. Dingo Braganza, friends Bevs Lim, and Mike Sy; and together they have given us some of the hottest parties this year. If you ever felt a hunger for REAL partying, like I did a couple of months back, they have come to answer your prayers!

They started off with a big bang with their first event dubbed: Traffic. Unfortunately I couldn’t be there since I was vacationing outside the country, but judging from their Facebook pictures, it was a blast! I mean, they required guests to come in Red (if they were taken), Yellow (if their dating status was complicated), and Green (if they were single), and I bet your bottom dollar, that was enough to make it a hot-bangin’ party!

For their second event, Confessions: Are You a Sinner or a Saint, they featured DJ Torch playing all the best ‘90s music all night, and yours truly was on the mic giving away hot prizes. It was definitely one for the books, as guests danced the night away, all donned in black and white, while sipping free cocktails (free cocktails were served ‘til midnight).

Their third event, Wave: Beach, Breeze, Booze, was a Kadayawan party by the beach (Garden by the Bay). It was the place to be for this year’s Kadayawan, as all of Davao’s young, hot glitterati were at perfect attendance! They featured DJ Keelo, DJ Maxie Perez from Club Vudu, (Cebu), and once again I hosted the event. This had a whopping attendance of approximately 500 partyphiles, which I’m guessing is ground-breaking in Davaosociety.

So you couldn’t really blame me for getting uberly-excited when Smallfish contacted me to host their fourth event: Hypnotiq: Burn in your Afterglow. It was held at the Metro Lounge last September 18, and as usual, most of Davao’s glitterati (young, hot partyphiles, who only go to the hottest parties and places. Read: the Paris Hilton’s of the world) were there, partying the night away!

DJ Torch opened the evening with his signature brand of crowd favorites, to get the party started. By the stroke of midnight, the hottest topless DJ from Hey Jude (Boracay), DJ Surf, (who, I must say, is one of the best DJs I have heard recently) started spinning, and the partyphiles went wild! The half-British DJ wowed the crowd with his gorgeous party mixes, and his wonderful song selection (of course the girls didn’t mind that he was topless for most of the evening).

To add to the festive flair, Hypnotiq was a glow in the dark party! Yep, they attached black lights all over Metro Lounge, and asked guests to come in something white, something bright, or something that reflected light. The result: hot partyphiles, all aglow!

And if that wasn’t enough, the small fishes started smearing glow-in-the-dark liquid at friends (and on DJ Surf’s topless body) which started a domino effect. By the end of the night, everyone’s faces were glowing, everyone was laughing at each other, and were all giddy and tipsy (they were too drunk from all the free drinks).

Overall, Hypnotiq was one of the best parties Smallfish Productions has dished out. It was intimate (because it was at the Metro Lounge), festive (thanks to everybody smearing glow-in-the-dark ink all over everybody else. Yes, even complete strangers), musically-impressive (thanks to DJ Torch and DJ Surf), glamorous (thanks to the attendance of Davao’s glitterati, and well, just plain, HOT!

If you ever wondered how it felt to be in partyphiles heaven, Hypnotiq was as close as you could get!

Confession:

I’m really glad Smallfish Productions has taken the lead in bringing back excitement in Davao Partylandia. They have managed to make everyone party like we used to, back in the day: all dressed up, without a tinge of drama!

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for their next event. If you miss out on that one, say goodbye to your partyphiles status!