09/17/2017 02:20:33 PM
It was in 1992 when this renowned folk singer-songwriter staged a one-time big-time concert at Music Museum, one of the sophisticated music halls in the Metropolitan. That also paved the way for him to release all of his three albums at once during the special evening.
Fast forward to two decades: It was on mid-July 2017 when music event producer Ian Urrutia (known as the man behind Vandals On The Wall) invited me to their latest concert project to date – yes, after the famous Dama (Johnoy Danao, Ebe Dancel, Bullet Dumas) and Secrets (Aia de Leon, Barbie Almalbis, Kitchie Nadal).
Two months later, I stood inside the halls of Music Museum, witnessing Joey Ayala and his famous crew Ang Bagong Lumad graced the stage of this premier performance venue after merely 25 years. And just when I thought of seeing this at the low end of a VOTW and Gabi Na Naman Productions' risky move, I was wrong.
Clock ticks at fifteen minutes before seven in the evening; and after having a quick dinner inside the nearby Tropical Hut, there I saw more than a hundred of people lined up from the sidewalks of Greenhills Shopping Center all the way up to the MM's entrance itself. And nearly 75 minutes later, only a very little number of vacated seats left. Safe to say we are then bracing for a full packed night.
Ayala performed for nearly three hours in over 20+ songs – including a series of collaborations with a mix of old and new artsy ones: Bullet Dumas, Bayang Barrios, Gloc-9, Dong Abay, and Juan Miguel Severo. All that with just a bunch of jokes, and few bottles of mineral water and beer on the side.
Mandiriwa was fun and probably sent shockwaves (in a fun way) to the share of youngsters inside the hall, including yours truly. I mean, who would thought that an elite-sounding legendary person would actually speak and act like a cool kid in between sets? It doesn't really look on the hindsight.
It certainly helped that after 2 ½ decades, his impact in the music scene – no matter how small it may looks – has paid dividends big-time as standing ovations and the numerous “cheers!” gestures took over the crowd.
His tandem with Bayang Barrios has proven a test of time; on how long they have been no matter how many times they perform together on stage and their off-stage arguments in between. For a while, it was a Yano moment when Abay, the famed rockstar belt out a classic-but-timely Banal Na Aso, Santong Kabayo, much to everyone's clamor that was initiated by the producers themselves.
Severo kicked off the second half of the program in a dramatic savagery form. And Gloc-9 has been on his usual form with his edition of Balita. Hey, I'm a bit sad they didn't perform Papel, but it still felt good because of the-heck-of-a-things they can do on stage.
Somehow, I think people still managed to catch a break even for a brief intermission in between halves.
Author: slickmaster | © 2017 The SlickMaster's Files
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