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| 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.
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| 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
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
