If there is royalty in the Philippine music scene, Sarah Geronimo, known as the pop princess to her legions of fans, and Bamboo, dubbed by many as his generation’s king of rock, must be wearing their un-tilted crowns.
For two hours and 21 minutes last Friday, Sarah and Bamboo reigned supreme at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, setting the venue ablaze, their fans and spectators in emotional combustion. That night was a display of passion and talent. It was the moment they set everything on fire.
Fiery was the mood splayed on the LED when the two artists took the stage — together. Not one after the other. No introduction. No front act, even. Bamboo minced some spiel as he stood back to back with Sarah, his words inaudible almost as the fans in the filled-to-the-rafters venue were going loco.
Then Sarah took the stage, set the mood of the night with her song Kilometro, as if the song was the purveyor of how long she and Bamboo would take the audience that night for their musical trip, their musical treat.
Upbeat was the mood as Sarah dittied “Gagawin ko ang lahat upang sa huli, sa huli, sa huli ay tayo. Kung kailangan kong tahakin ang kilome-kilome, kilometrong layo…” Star-maker and Viva Records big boss Vic del Rosario, whose recording company ingeniously manages the trajectory of Sarah’s career, was seen bobbing his head, his hands tapping his lap, in synch with Sarah’s Kilometro. Boss Vic and the rest of the concert goers at Araneta had already kilometric joy that moment — and it was just the first song of the night.
Bamboo owned the stage next. He was remarkable in Tatsulok, an angry song about social class disparity. And boy, Bamboo was hyped that night; his tone was livid yet lyrical. Even his blonde ‘do seemed to be his instrument to put across the message of injustice.
“Hangga’t marami ang lugmok sa kahirapan at ang hustisya ay para lang sa mayaman. Habang may tatsulok at sila ang nasa tuktok, ‘di matatapos itong gulo,” Bamboo sang, each word enunciated like a gospel to be adhered to by the people at the seams.
There was condemnation of the system in Bamboo’s eyes and the crowd found an ally in him. The angrier his emotion got, the more seemingly berserk was the reception of the audience. That night, Bamboo was almost subversive in his take of Tatsulok. The crowd sang with him and together, a revolution, that moment in time, exploded. The class struggle, the motif of the song, was well told by Bamboo whose voice did not struggle at all.
Tatsulok is an original composition by Rom Dongeto from 1989 and he performed it in 1991 with his Buklod bandmates Noel Cabangon and Rene Boncocan. When the band Bamboo, with him as lead vocalist, was still intact, they popularized Tatsulok in 2007 when they released their album “We Stand Alone Together.” The song has always had that tibak (activist) texture to it.
The concert was an ecosystem of emotions as only Sarah and Bamboo could do it. It took 11 years for the two former The Voice Philippines coaches to be together on stage again after they performed at the same venue for Sarah’s birthday concert.
“It’s crazy! It’s fun. ‘Di ba sabi nila sa buhay kailangan balanse lahat. Balanse sa buhay. Pero sa pagkanta, when it comes to performing, it’s about fire, it’s about gasoline. It’s got to burn! It’s got to burn. So thank you very much,” Bamboo told Sarah in their limited conversation onstage.
Sarah replied: “You are an inspiration. Your passion, artistry, dedication, your craft. Thank you, coach.”
Sarah, for the big star that she is, was profuse with her adulation of the rock icon, saying she had been Bamboo’s fan since she was in grade school.
The chemistry of the two was evident in the fact that they were both such natural conversationalists, you would think they didn’t rehearse their spiels before the concert. Maybe they really did not. They invested the same amount of passion and energy and talent in staging the concert, leaving spectators panting and wanting for more.
The concert goers went gaga when they swapped songs. Imagine Sarah singing Bamboo’s Kisapmata and Bamboo singing Sarah’s Ikot-ikot. Their renditions were refreshing. Sarah, a dynamo of a pop star, displayed her anima in the song, her movements like the 5-7-5 syllables of a haiku, gentle steps but with reverberating effect. Bamboo essaying Ikot-ikot was like waxing romantic on stage; the impish smile on his face was indelible, a sonnet all its own. All the more there was poetry when Sarah sang Himala — there were pleas and petitions in her voice like the whole song, as she made it her own, was a prayer to the divine.
The successful concert was also the handiwork of Louie Ocampo, musical director for Sarah’s part of the show, and Ria Villena Osorio, musical director for Bamboo’s incandescence onstage.
When the duo did covers, they did them so well the original singers would have no choice but to clap at Bamboo and Sarah’s take on the songs. For example, Goo Goo Dolls’ Iris was given a new breath, a new life, a new realm. When they hit the part “I just want you to know who I am,” it was as if the two Filipino artists were telling the universe that they are world-class, that the stage is just the venue of their music, but the world is the stage of their souls.
There was a feeling of heartbreak, reflection and hopeful reunion when they sang Just Give Me a Reason by Pink and Nate Ruess. It must be the microphone feedback that explains why the song did not resonate that much but it was good nevertheless. (I heard that song being sung in front of me by my inaanak Charice, now Jake Zyrus, and his ex-girlfriend Alyssa Quijano, and I was mesmerized to believe in fighting for love that “is not broken, just bent.”)
Sarah and Bamboo more than managed to entertain the crowd with their performances. Their connection with the audience was at once electrifying and calming. There was an overflow of energy that night and everybody felt it.
The crowd stood up when both artists did encore performances. Tala for Sarah; Noypi for Bamboo. The ending was a celebration of craft, of talent, of passion, of being Filipino. And the Philippine music royalty carried them all — voice, body, heart and soul. *
( For your new beginnings, e-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com. I’m also on Twitter @bum_tenorio and Instagram @bumtenorio. Have a blessed weekend.)