Endearing, engaging imperfections

TRES Marias members (from left) Cooky Chua, Lolita Carbon and Bayang Barrios

JUST as the ladies of the musical trio Tres Marias were about to sing “Wika,” an original composition from their self-titled album, Bayang Barrios suddenly pointed at Cooky Chua, who had just returned onstage after a costume change, and began cackling and stomping her feet.

Chua had her outfit on inside out.

The Color It Red singer seemed quite unsure whether or not to make a run for backstage to fix her wardrobe malfunction of sorts. But when she finally did, her bandmates completely lost it: Lolita Carbon was hunched over, laughing; Barrios was almost on the floor, squatting, still laughing. And then everyone was.

These three exceptional singer-songwriters have been performing almost all their lives. Although, admittedly, doing a formal, structured concert—such as this one held at the Music Museum last month—was still somewhat out of their comfort zone.

Chua, in a previous interview with the Inquirer, jested that one of her biggest concerns was having to wear heels and potentially falling on her backside. Meanwhile, Carbon, the lead singer of the iconic rock band Asin, was worried about the spiels she would have to read off a prompter. And she did fumble a few, much to her and the other Marias’ amusement.

But these bouts of imperfections, if you could call them that, only made the three music artists all the more endearing and engaging to their already smitten fans. Because it was precisely in the moments they veered from the script that their personalities truly shone—the spontaneity, the humor, the sincerity, the palpable chemistry.

And, of course, the night was filled with fantastic music, as one would expect from Chua, Carbon and Barrios.

Regarded as champions of Original Pilipino Music, Tres Marias regaled the crowd with an all-Filipino repertoire that included their signature songs, a few originals and a slew of classic hits that elicited either deafening cheers or passionate sing-alongs.

Individually, the three singers displayed their respective styles: Chua’s blues-tinged vocals trailing off after every other line as she sang of loss and longing in “Paglisan”; in “Malayo Man, Malapit Din,” Barrios fused contemporary and indigenous music, flourished with an elegant ethnic dance; Carbon, sitting on the edge of the stage, was subdued, but still emotionally intense in her rendition of “Tuliro.”

No showboating

Chua’s husky tone, Barrios’ ringing high belts and Carbon’s earthy growls complemented each other, and together they sang as one—no competition, no showboating. They brought the house down with a funky mashup of “Kumusta mga Kaibigan” and “Hinahanap-Hanap Kita,” and medleys of essential Asin songs, throat-busting Aegis anthems and mellow kundiman tunes.

Dropping by as special guest was Gary Granada who poked fun at the ills of society with his deceptively perky song, “Holdap.” So did Noel Cabangon with “Tatsulok.” Later on, he teased the ladies: “You look decent!”

Tres Marias ended the rollicking show dancing and rocking to “Bilog na Naman ang Buwan” and “Kapayapaan,” whose carefree, reggae-inspired vibe perfectly encapsulated the infectious, unbridled joy that Chua, Carbon and Barrios exude when they’re onstage, doing what they love and do best.

Who needs spiels?