Mass karaoke session with Michael Learns to Rock

BAND members (from left) Mikkel Lentz, Jascha Richter, Kåre Wanscher

After opening its Manila show with “Silent Times,” a new song that was warmly received by the audience at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Michael Learns to Rock vocalist Jascha Richter said he better take everyone “immediately down memory lane.”

From that moment on, the Danish pop band dished out hit after hit, prompting what felt like a mass karaoke session.

Profusely thanking the crowd as he ended each number, Richter, who was joined onstage by drummer Kåre Wanscher and guitarist Mikkel Lentz, turned back the clock with radio staples like “Sleeping Child,” “Paint My Love,” “I’m Gonna Be Around,” “Out of the Blue,” “Take Me to Your Heart” and “Actor.”

The trio also performed “That’s Why You Go Away,” “Nothing to Lose” and “25 Minutes,” which drove the fans mad. Clearly overwhelmed by the enthusiasm the Filipinos had shown, Richter told them it was so heartening that they still know the band after all these years.

“You didn’t grow a day older… Stay young!” said Richter, who vowed to return to the country someday.

The concert was mounted by CCA Live Entertainment and Midas Promotions.