Good to the last note

You know a concert is successful when people can remember portions of the show months after the performer has sung the last note. Who can forget Martin Nievera hanging upside down onstage as he kisses a member of the audience a la Spiderman? Or Lani Misalucha lying down on the stage floor to reach her high notes for an operatic aria? Or Regine Velasquez floating in mid-air at the Araneta Coliseum in her butterfly outfit?

For Gary Valenciano’s repeat performance of Gary V Hits Music Museum last April 14, there are many memorable scenes that the audience will still remember months from now.

There’s the Historia de un Amor duet with his comely Puerto Rican mother which the audience sees on a giant screen interspersed with old 8 mm clips of Gary’s childhood. The audience learns that Historia was the first song he learned from his mom.

Earlier, Gary’s daughter Kiana’s joined him in a song from the video screen. Then it’s his son Gabriel’s turn to show his wares but this time he performs live on stage, first, pounding rhythmically on ordinary boxes as Gary V sings Hataw Na and later, dancing with his dad. Gabby returns later for more dancing in the Shout 4 Joy number. The audience screams in appreciation and not just because Gabriel is related to the star of the show. He deserves to be in the concert on his own merits.

There’s Gary V playing with the microphones sounding like Darth Vader and Donald Duck with the help of audio special effects. The audience roars in laughter as he sings Kailangan Kita and sounding like a CD played at the wrong speed. He recalls that during the August run of his concert, Regine Velasquez was in the audience and he sang Sana Maulit Muli using the audio gadget. Regine could not stop laughing.

Another sure sign of success is when the audience doesn’t have to be prodded to stand up and dance. Gary V’s energy is so contagious concert-goers can’t help but sway to his music. At one point, Music Museum looks like the scene of a revival meeting as almost everyone is on his feet moving to the beat of Shout 4 Joy.

The ultimate sign of success is when the audience doesn’t mind that the concert starts at 9 p.m. when their tickets say 8 p.m. Of course, it is par for the course when a show starts late. It is also a tradition for the impatient audience to start clapping so the show can start. In Gary’s show, the audience is more relaxed and spend their waiting time ordering drinks and pica pica from the waiters. I am told that the food is quite good at Music Museum so people don’t mind waiting. For those who can’t afford it, they watch G Tongi on the big screen plugging the Freeway shop.

During one number, the audience, without prompting from Gary, sings along on Take Me Out of the Dark. One elderly woman is actually in tears as she sings the lyrics. It is a moving interpretation of the song, the best I’ve seen so far.

It is a tribute to Gary V’s artistry that people don’t tire of listening to him singing his old songs. With a different arrangement, Gary makes the songs fresh again. He does a brassy interpretation of Danny Javier’s composition Di Na Natuto and performs Sana Maulit Muli as a duet with Kyla. I like it that Gary V acknowledges the Filipino composers who penned his hits. Aside from Danny, he pays tribute to Jose Mari Chan and Cecile Azarcon. That’s because he himself writes music and he knows what it means to be recognized as a composer.

Half of the show, however, is devoted to hits from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. The highlight for me is the Stevie Wonder medley although he didn’t sing a favorite of mine, I Just Called to Say I LoveYou .

Adoring fans are aplenty in the Museum. One scene I’ve never witnessed in concerts of the ’90s is that of fans aiming their camera-phones at the singer as he goes down the stage and joins the audience. This despite an earlier announcement that cameras are not allowed in the theater. Some fans are braver and actually embrace Gary V to have their pictures taken by their companions. After he does his final number, several members of the audience want to shake his hands and make beso-beso.

Speaking of adoring fans, I espy a middle-aged man in the front row lipsynching Gary’s songs for the entire concert. Obviously, this guy already watched the first concert and has seen most of his idol’s performances. Another fan close to where I was seated was screaming her lungs out after every number. Gary’s followers, however, are well-bred and allow him to sing his songs without drowning him out with screams after every line.

One endearing aspect of the show is Gary’s attempt to show his private side. Thus, the clips of his childhood and stills of his mom and family, his admission that he didn’t know about chords ("I don’t know the difference between an F sharp and a B flat"), his subtle comments related to his struggles with diabetes, his indirect references to the passive reception from his audience during the first night and his delight at his livelier audience tonight.

The only thing I didn’t particularly like in the concert is the music video for The Warrior is a Child where Gary is dressed in a Crusader’s armor who fights the Moors. It seems out of place in this day of ecumenism. My companion tells me it is reminiscent of Lord of The Rings but the message is too hard-sell for me. Of course, knowing Gary’s religious background, it is to be expected but I’ve watched previous concerts where he was more subtle.

I empathize with him when he comes back for an encore and says, "This is absolutely the last song" because his sugar level was dropping. When he sings his final number, Kailangan Kita I can detect his weariness from the close-up of his face on the big screen. When he finishes, I am relieved that he can actually sit down and rest after a tiring performance.

It is always a source of wonder for me how a singer with a physical disability can do an exhausting two-hour concert. Gary V has not allowed his diabetes to interfere with his performance. During the concert, he says, "A part of me says I should stop at this point because my sugar level is beginning to drop. Another part of me says I may never get another chance to perform this way for you." So he drinks his juice and gets pumped up to do more frenetic numbers on stage.

Gary V Hits the Music Museum will have its final performances on April 26 and 27.