Aiza Seguerra's Bente Singko Anniversary Concert

Bente Singko: Aiza Seguerra Anniversary Concert

It was exactly how Aiza Seguerra said it would be: just plain singing and jamming. There were no pyrotechnics, special effects or even confetti. There weren’t any costume or set changes. There were no backup dancers and other elaborate production numbers as well. Devoid of any gimmicks prevalent in the concert scene nowadays, Aiza armed with a guitar just rocked on stage and also got the full Smart Araneta Coliseum rocking with her during her Bente Singko:  Aiza Seguerra Anniversary Concert.

While the venue was huge, the concert still turned out to be a very intimate and personal affair, jointly experienced by family, friend and fans who were all there to celebrate Aiza’s twenty five years in the entertainment industry. And joining Aiza in the celebrations was an army of guests. Throughout the concert, they were accompanied ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra led by conductor Gerard Salonga. Of course, a core band dubbed as Aiza’s Pogi Band was there led by co-music director Mike Villegas along with co-music director Ria Osorio, Angelo Villegas, Arnold Casinto, Jonathan Zuniga-Urbano and Michael Alba.

Aiza during her Little Miss Philippines days

The concert started with a clip of a very young Aiza where it all started: at Eat Bulaga’s Little Miss Philippines. From then, the music took over and almost never stopped. Starting with the Eraserhead’s Alapaap, it was quickly followed by Runaway by the Corrs and Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. She then sang a medley of her own hits which were Pakisabi na Lang, Akala Mo and Para Lang Sayo. I wonder why she didn’t include Another Rainy Day which was also one of her earlier hits. Then one by one, her guests came. Other concerts will use this time for a costume change, but Aiza didn’t leave the stage. She stayed there instead and sang with them firmly establishing that all of the guests have a personal connection to her. The CompanY first joined her for a Beatles Medley while Cooky Chua and Bayang Barrios had a mashup of  their respective hits, Paglisan and Isipin Mo Na Lang. Aiza then did a very emotional rendition of Bridge Over Troubled Water. Krizza Neri the winner of Protégé: The Battle for the Big Break, joined her mentor Aiza for a live version of If I Could/Wind Beneath My Wings which is part of Krizza’s debut album. The Sessionistas (Nyoy Volante, Kean Cipriano, Princess Velasco, Richard Poon, and Juris) did a FrancisM medley afterwards. This was probably the first time I ever saw Richard Poon rap. Juris remained on stage after and then she and Aiza performed Di Lang Ikaw which was the first song that Aiza ever produced.

Aiza then played a relatively unknown song called Lupang Pinangako which featured Gloc-9 who wrote a rap part for the song specifically for this concert. Although the song isn’t that popular, it still rocked. Martin Nievera entered the stage doing the duck walk Aiza made famous before the two sang I’ll Be There for You. After that Gary Valenciano did a duet of Gaya ng Dati with her. One of the most highly anticipated part of the concert was the participation of Aiza’s Eat Bulaga co-stars. But it was only Vic Sotto who was there and the two sang What Matters Most after trading jokes and some jabs with each other. I don’t know why Tito Sotto and Joey de Leon weren't there although the trio was announced to be the major guests for the concert. When Aiza sang Bituin Walang Ningning, audience member Sharon Cuneta was shown on the screen wiping away tears. Then Sharon ended up joining Aiza on stage for an impromptu duet that got my arms (and probably most of the audience as well) covered in goosebumps.

Sharon Cuneta making her exit after the concert

Then it was time foe Aiza to wrap things up. The whole audience probably thought that it would be that song but instead, it turned out to be her signature song as a child star which was Buchikik. And then it was the time for her to sing the finale, her biggest hit Pagdating ng Panahon which was beautifully and lushly orchestrated. For the encore, she chose another Eraserheads song which was Ang Huling El Bimbo that featured an extended outro fully utilizing the band and the orchestra.

Music Directors Ria Osorio and Mike Villegas

Seeing in Aiza in concert and reaffirming how real she is as a musician on stage, I started to wish that she would come up with new and original material very, very soon. Most importantly, in this age when gimmicks and grand production numbers tend to eclipse the music aspect of a concert, Aiza’s Bente Singko was a great reminder that a concert could still be an awesome experience even if it was all about the music.