Sarah Geronimo shines

SOME of the action at Sarah Geronimo’s “24/SG” concert: the star of the show in one of her solo spots.

Sarah Geronimo giggled a lot and chattered like a teenager during her concert on Saturday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

But though she hardly acted her age—she’s turning 24 on July 25, hence the show’s title, “24/SG”—Sarah personified maturity when she sang. Her voice had not radically changed, but it seemed she had more control and was able to convey mood and emotion without relying too much on power.

Bamboo. Photos by Johann Cuash

Fun bash

After the obligatory bongga opening numbers in which she evoked desire and sensuality via Beyonce’s “Beautiful Nightmare,” Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” and Rihanna’s “Where Have You Been,” Sarah’s growth as a singer was apparent in the succeeding tunes—her personal favorites, she said.

These included The Script’s “I’m Falling to Pieces” and Christina Perri’s “Jar of Hearts”  —songs about pain and being vulnerable which, whether or not Sarah had experienced in real life, sounded genuine in her renditions.

Yet she looked bashful and laughed nervously at the end of that set, again revealing her shy-girl nature.

The concert—mounted by Sarah’s management, Viva—was an advance birthday bash, which meant it had to be fun. That was best handled by comic Jon Santos, whose quirky impressions of Dionisia Pacquiao (Mommy Dyuning), Annabelle Rama (Annabelle Drama), Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago (Miriam Defensive) and Vilma Santos (Ate Vee) certainly left the audience in stitches.

Sam Concepcion and Anya Aguila

Sarah with The CompanY

Santos’ act, which came in at specific intervals, served as transition for the show’s scripted theme of Sarah’s three birthday wishes—family, freedom, love—coming to fruition. The love angle, which everybody assumed to be about Gerald Anderson, turned out to be Sarah’s take on spirituality.

In any case, it was Bamboo who made the biggest difference as guest singer, more than The CompanY, Anton Alvarez, Sam Concepcion, Anya Aguila, Basil Valdez and Sarah’s dad Delfin Geronimo. In a duet on the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris,” Bamboo’s impassioned vocals brought out the closet rocker in Sarah, who head-banged, quivered and captured the song’s sentiments in a desperate tone.

“24/SG” will have a repeat on July 21 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.