Indelible stamp of the ’70s

GARY Arriola and Bob Guzman

On that snap-tap-happy Saturday night, it was clear the gods of Philippine music were smiling upon a stretch of the Manila Bay that used to be famous only for blazing sunsets. At four hours to midnight the party started, and not just inside cozy bars tucked away in sundry restaurant rows.

Two big ones had packed parking facilities on opposite ends of the reclaimed land: at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, a 45th anniversary concert featuring the best of contemporary Pinoy musical theater; at the Solaire Hotel ballroom, a no-holds-barred celebration of what has come to be labeled “Manila Sound.”

Siren call

SAMPAGUITA and Sonny Parsons share the stage.

“Ahh, awitin mo, at isasayaw ko (sing and I’ll dance to the tune).” It was a siren call, too compelling to ignore.

Sampaguita, VST & Co., Hagibis, Boyfriends—no doubt, this lineup for Steve O’ Neal Productions’ “Manila Sound Then and Now” dated the fans who had braved the daunting weekend car queues on Aseana Avenue. But they were nothing but proud to wear a virtual 1970s stamp, proof that there is much to be said about the drawing power of familiar tunes, especially if they’re enduring hits, to boot.

The three early “boy bands” and their music were meshed into what promoter Danee Samonte dubbed Manila Sound Project—Bob Guzman and Gary Arriola of Boyfriends, Male Rigor of VST, Sonny Parsons of Hagibis.

Understandably, the singing was not recording-studio perfect but the performances were on the high end of enthusiastic and the effect on the audience, quite moving.

SHE LETS out a whistle and the energy is turned up.

“Bakit labis kitang mahal (why do I love you so)?” Arriola and Guzman crooned, and their voices were promptly drowned out by a hearty sing-along.

As Rigor started on “Tayo’y Magsayawan,” Parsons hopped down the stage and plucked a well-dressed woman from the front rows to do the Swing with. She would have danced all night, it seemed, but another woman from her group cut in after just one minute. Smiling broadly, Parsons obliged.

Sampaguita’s set was diced in three juicy parts, making her the intermittent treat. Nimble in layers of colorful garb and sensible flats, she brought the house down each time. “Nosibalasi?” became the password to a series of showstoppers that concluded in a madhouse with “Bonggahan.”

FROM left: LUCKY Robles, Mark Mabasa, Lilibeth Garcia and John Vincent “JV” Decena

“Manila Sound Then and Now” was the archetypal ti-par from start to finish. Because disco babies, specifically the ones that turned up at Solaire, were parents or grandparents now, disco music was finally just… fun, and not the fiend that it was in their elders’ dictionary.

Added value

Of course it wasn’t the first gathering of ’70s stars performing one another’s hit songs. For this event, value-added elements were a solid session band and a front act that both understood, and kept, their ends of the deal.

Mark Mabasa & Friends (Lilibeth Garcia, JV Decena and Lucky Robles) expertly warmed up the crowd with OPM favorites—from Hotdog’s “Manila” to Sharon Cuneta’s “Kahit Maputi na ang Buhok Ko.” Staying as close as possible to the well-loved melodies, they improvised only to sustain audience interest. Everything was about the music.

Whichever way nostalgia in this lively package is delivered, it is bound to be appreciated. If revivals of carefree, catchy music were a field of dreams, Steve O’ Neal’s tenacious philosophy

IN ACTION together: Boyfriends, Hagibis, VST & Co.

works: “If you stage it (and stage it well) they will come.”