|
When Carol told us that she will produce a show for Kuh Ledesma here in Blacktown, I told Jeanne (my wife) that we should get tickets in the best seats. Kuh Ledesma is undoubtably the classiest artist the Philippines has to offer. Her songs and style are as much part of that time of our life when we were foolish and ok I’ll say it – “In Love”.
Like most Pinoy concerts brought here in our town, there is a formula. A front act, made up of the friends and family of the producer (joke lang Tita Carol), a couple of up and coming local Pinoy artists and then the main feature minus the orchestra. This is no different. Often on this concerts, we try to miss the front act – giving Carol, who always seem to be checking on us, outrageous excuses like being busy at work etc, etc, etc. For some reason though, we got to this concert early enough to catch the front act.
As an individual performance of the participants – nothing will blow you away. In fact, I can’t get over the fact that 2 small girls sang inappropriate songs for their age. Not that it was sexy or anything like that – but you can’t connect to child singing about hurt or love. But, getting past these – the overall front act is actually well coordinated. The kids knew exactly when to switch over, the dancers and the singers gave their all and no one tried to out stage anyone. There were 2 adults in the mix and their rendition of “Prayer” is so effortless, you understand why they have the karapatan to be in the show.
Jico and Clarissa did great. Of course, I am biased as I know them. I can’t praise them enough without sounding too patronising, but both earned their spot on the show.
The second act, without being too critical, was unnecessary. If their function was to lift the show before the main act, I’m afraid it was not very effective.They were not much better than the first act. This is not a criticism to the second act guests but rather a further endorsement of the first act. Whoever directed that should be hired again.
Then Kuh Ledesma came in. As soon as she opened her mouth and sang ‘Is this LOVE feeling restless inside …’, she had the audience in the palm of her hand. Elegant as ever, walang kupas ang ating Kuh. She sang and introduced her songs, endearing further those songs we have come to know. My favourite would have been the Philippine Kundimans sang in a medley with rap in between. A very different Kuh but very effective.
She sang a bit of “A Long, Long Time Ago” in acapella to introduce the song “Till I Met You“. Though you’ve heard these songs before, learning a bit of background about it makes you listen to it differently. She also sang “Anak” by Freddie Aguilar – using an interesting arrangement with just a hint of Moro or Southern Philippine instruments. There was even a feature of the arrangement where the feel of the passage of time is evident (that part of the song … ngayon nga ay malaki ka na …).
She also sang “Bulaklak” in three languages (Filipino, English and French). Such a treat, I didn’t know it was originally a French song translated in Pinoy and English. She sang and talk throughout her show, never took a break except for a brief period when an aide handed her a glass of water.
Behind me, you could hear people singing along – not overly loud. In front, is a sea of small screen smart phones taking videos. Surprisingly, no one seem to be disturbed by it. It seem like an accepted Pinoy concert behaviour. People singing along is their way of saying – yes we love your songs and they were once part of us. And although, those video taken on the phone will never match a studio recording – they remind us that we were there. For most of us, going to a concert of Kuh, if we were in the Philippines, may be a distant possibility. If we did, we would just be one soul in a cast of thousands. In Sydney, however, it felt like Kuh came and sang in our pub – more intimate and personal.
We’ve heard that because of the recent typhoon battering the Philippines, her flight to Sydney was greatly delayed. Upon landing she was whisked off to attend a “Meet and Greet” function. Then straight to quick rehearsals and by her first concert, she’s yet to get any decent rest. Yet she stayed after the concert to sign CDs and have selfies taken for fans who lined up. We left past 11pm after the concert. Jeanne was the first in line to have her CD signed and photo taken. By the look of the queue – Kuh would have been there till 2 am next day.
I hope that her show in Sydney is worth her while and that she felt that the Pinoy community here has shown their appreciation. She is indeed the classiest artist our Philippines has to offer.
Recent Comments