With the closure of institutions like Penguin and trailblazer Mag:Net High Street, is it time for a swan song like "Closing Time" and "Band on the Run" for the local live scene? By Edwin P. Sallan

Whoever predicted a doomsday scenario for the live scene after a few bars permanently called it a night may have made a mistake.

See, while the closure of these places is not at all a pleasant development, there are still plenty of other venues to book everyone for gigs.

The party remains far from over for institutions like 70’s Bistro, Club Dredd and Freedom Bar. All three are still around while comparatively newer joints like Saguijo, 19 East, Handlebar Bar, Obsidian, Ten 02, Dencio’s Riverbanks Marikina, Route 196, B-Side and Grub, among other new players, are also providing healthy competition.

Another positive note is Rock N’ Rogue, a monthly concert series created by JB Music and Rogue magazine, where rock bands get to play not just at posh venues like Encore (among others) but also with high definition audio equipment that make them sound ten times as good as they usually do in rock clubs with a deliberate underground feel.

Cebu-based hard rockers Urbandub headlined Rock N’ Rogue’s maiden show last month and delivered their best performance to date—with loads of audio pyrotechnics from music spanning a distinguished 10-year career. Just a few days later, it was the turn of hardcore punk rockers Betrayed and reggae masters Tropical Depression at Fly, another high-brow live venue.

The real rationale behind these things may be far less romantic than we’d like to believe. For the most part, it’s really just plain economics. Clubs do eventually close down. Where new ones open or re-open is simply where their owners think people will go. In the final analysis, it is also demand that dictates where a particular sought after performer will play.

So it’s safe to say that the live band scene has not seen its demise. If the respective Facebook pages of the performers and numerous venues are any indication, this is only the beginning of a new wave.