Gary V with AMP Band in ‘V’-Day concert

MANILA, Philippines – The incomparable Gary Valenciano has enough reasons to be excited about his upcoming two-night concert at the Grand Ballroom of Shangri-La Hotel in Bonifacio Global City, The Fort. In fact, he is seeing Love In Motion as something he’d still be thrilled to talk about in the years to come.

For one, it is his first time to perform with a Big Band, and it’s the 19-piece AMP Band at that. It is also a high-class dinner concert aiming to raise funds for certain beneficiaries, including victims of the recent Typhoon Nina, courtesy of UNICEF.

The so-called Mr. Pure Energy won’t earn anything from it.

“You can expect an authentic Gary V sound in tune with the sound of the Big Band. I will move around along with my back-up singers who are theater actors, too. And my slower songs will be given some twists,” explained Gary during a recent chat with The STAR.

Curiously, it will be his first solo Valentine concert in 14 years, with his son Paolo Valenciano even serving as stage director. Anna Fegi is likewise on board as a special guest after she lost the baby in her womb last November, or during her ninth month of pregnancy.

Love In Motion happens on Feb. 14 and 15, both at 8 p.m., with Mel Villena as musical director and Mon Faustino leading the way in the vocal arrangements.

Asked for the reason why it took him that long to do another solo VD show, Gary responded with clarity, “I was kind of avoiding it to give other artists the time to shine at this time of the year. I’m also very careful that if I do it, there has to be a good concept behind it.”

Sure Love In Motion is a concept show glaring in the eye, with the Total Performer himself promising everyone that it will “cover all the bases,” meaning his own classics, standards and young hits all to be performed under the umbrella of a Big Band sound.

On having Paolo in the show, Gary lengthily shared how he saw his son’s natural talent in directing stuff using audio and visual components, from a high school project tackling two kingdoms at war to Sam Concepcion’s show wherein Paolo insisted that the latter begins with four songs of his own as a nod to his fans. That worked.

“Paolo doesn’t just have the inclination for directing but the passion that such creative art needs,” Gary pointed out. “I like the way he thinks. With my concept of fun and relevance and his expertise at taking matters in clear, ascending fashion, it’s a perfect match.”

Other beneficiaries of the concert are Operation Blessing and Shining Light Foundation. As a celebrity philanthropist Gary V became UNICEF Philippines’ first National Ambassador in 1998.

For the record, Awit Awards handed Gary the Best Male Performer trophy 12 times, no doubt a proof of what he can do onstage, singing his hits like Di Bale Na Lang, Eto Na Naman, Shout For Joy, Hataw Na, Look In Her Eyes, among others. His ballads are likewise plenty, having sung songs like Natutulog Ba Ang Diyos, Take Me Out of the Dark, Letting Go, Dati-Rati and Sana’y Maulit Muli.

Gary further noted, “There’s something great when you treat a song correctly using a Big Band. That I will do this show is a big feather on my cap. In every project, I have to be drawn to do it and this one is one of those (shows) that really brings me in. The question is always how to create an impact for every song performance. We expect to do just that for every number.”

(Love In Motion sponsors include The Philippine STAR, ABS-CBN, Biogesic, One Music PH, Novuhair, Crossover, Gold’s Gym, Jollibee, Alaska, Universal Records, GAOC, Toni & Guy, DCG FM and Sound Check. For tickets, call TicketWorld 891-9999 and 0917-5399584.)