The year 2018 saw one young man emerged from the shadows of his old band and transformed himself into a heck of a new person. It was a series of shocking events leading to his evolution as a musician, I must say.
After breaking away from IV of Spades, Unique Salonga exposed his talents elsewhere under Kean Cipriano and OC Records; making him the top-tier of the singer-songwriters at his age. Truly, that made him living to his namesake. Hype then followed the shadows of this wonder kid, leading to his own solo album and his solo concert that raised eyebrows of many, including yours truly.
Like... “Really? He's just under-20 something and he is now technically jumping into the bandwagon ride of young rising stars usually seen on television?” Well, if you think about it – the difference is that UNIQUE is probably the literally unique person who take such path straight from the indie shores. His former band almost done that, except that issues and toxicity lying over and under it hampered their progress – and that's something that should have not been talking about it.
In August, UNIQUE released Grandma on digital platforms; and a month later, the said record was unveiled with more formality in his solo concert held at Kia Theatre on 29 September 2018. And what really set this live recording apart from his canned counterpart? Basically... almost nothing.
Yup. Save for the renditions of a song that become stellar stuff at its own right, with elements of intimacy added in between. But it seemed inconsistent when applause was faded to cuts in some songs that basically took away one of essence that makes a live album live up to its type.
Yup, Grandma Tour Live had a grandeur start but a flatter-than-flat ending.
Interesting point, though, was a segue from My Old Friend to Mundo, his penned for IV of Spades that launched their popularity to the stratosphere. His acoustic work really differed apart from how the funky hugot song was executed. Intimate as it sounds? Yes. The falsetto fitted right on target, but it definitely looks like an exhausting task if you take the vocal chores, especially when there are practically no breather breaks in-between lines. I guess this was basically the highlight reel of them all, as the audience sing on the backup.
Save for the great set arrangement, but all in all, Grandma Tour Live is just another recorded live project fall into the lists of wasted potential.
Fave tracks: I'll Break Your Little Heart, OZONE, Sino
The Verdict: 5.7
Author: slickmaster | © 2019 The SlickMaster's Files
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