MANILA, Philippines -- Sitting in the midst of giggling, screaming teenagers at a Bieber concert might make some people feel old, but so has the initial thought of going to a concert with the year ‘80s in the title. Three decades seem so long ago, and kids these days might not even get what the fuss is all about the way we have raised eyebrows when our parents first mentioned their fascination with Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis. But this concert billed “80289: 80’s To The Max!” isn’t for the age insecure; heck, it turns out this isn’t for the shy either. For when the party mood reaches its fever pitch, there’s just no other choice but to get up on your feet and let the tunes and nostalgia move you.
“80289: 80’s To The Max!” at the Music Museum in Greenhills is a rousing, colorful hybrid of of sorts of a concert, a stage play and a variety show. It is set in this fictitious 80289 Music Bar (named, I suppose, from the years 1980 to 1989), the stage actually has a bar set up on one end, complete with a bar tender, bottles of alcoholic beverage, a bartender, and some tables and chairs for bar habitués. [The live band, meanwhile, is set up on the opposite end of the stage.]
As the house lights dimmed, the bartender took his place, and a handful of people in bright, ‘80s inspired outfits filled up the set—perhaps playing out a bar scene on a Friday night. The three ladies of Filipinas—who would also be the back-up singers for the performers on the bill—signal the beginning of the trip down memory lane with Toni Basil’s songs, “Street Beat” and “Mickey.” Host Franco Laurel joins them for the B-52’s “Rock Lobster,” before they segue into their version of “Ice Ice Baby,” whose chanting chorus they sung with the lyrics “80’s baby” instead.
They were initially singing facing the bar audience, thus making the real audience feel a little like outsiders in the concert they paid for to see. It also didn’t help that there were some technical problems with the sound—initially, Laurel’s mic did not have any audio; and several times throughout the show, loud screeching sounds were heard over the voices of the performers. But even that wouldn’t dampen the mood that night.
The Nov. 11 show saw two different types of audience members. The music fans you could readily tell—they simply sang along (or mouthed the lyrics, we suppose) to every single song, and bobbed their heads appreciatively. Then there were those who stared passively onstage, but would nevertheless clap for the performers rather than the song they’ve just sung. It might have taken some time for the audience to warm up, but the effect of the music—perhaps more powerfully to an audience of no younger than mid- to late 30s than it would have to any other age group—would prove hard to resist as the show wore on.
But let it be said that “80’s To The Max!” isn’t solely about new wave music. It is, actually, more a run though of pop hits tinged with new wave, R&B and pop rock elements. From the seemingly random line up of ‘80s favorites like Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” sung as an opener by former Rage Band front man Juan Miguel Salvador (who seemingly purged the rage within him with bouts of rock star posturing throughout the night), Wham’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” sung by Gino Padilla, Nena’s “99 Red Balloons” rocked out by Lou Bonnevie, Spandau Ballet’s “Gold” by Chad Borja, Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do With It” by the amazing vocal dynamo that is Ella Mae Saison, and Sheena Easton’s “Telephone” by Jamie Rivera (who came out actually holding a receiver cut off from an old black rotary phone; and sporting a hairstyle similar to the cut Easton famously wore at that time, making her look older than she really was), the rest of the night’s performances followed in similar vein—with each singer doing a number that would sort of segue into the next song by the next performer.
Occasionally all six singers would perform songs together like in DeBarge’s “Rhythm of the Night,” Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose” and even in “Growing Up,” the theme song of the ‘80s hit local movie “Bagets;” or the would perform in groups of three: for instance, the OPM segment, the three girls did Bonnevie’s “Rockin’ the Beat” and Zsa Zsa Padilla’s “Point of No Return;” the guys, meanwhile, dished out Gary Valenciano’s “’Di Bale Na Lang” and Randy Santiago’s “Babaero.” There were also a few duets, like Salvador and Bonnevie’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us,” the love theme from “Mannequin,” and Salvador and Borja busting out Bon Jovi’s “Blaze of Glory,” the theme song of “Young Guns II,” both sung during the movie themes segment of the concert.
Although I have a beef with the production for not including songs by Michael Jackson (1983’s “Billy Jean” comes to mind; as do 1984’s “Thriller”), Madonna (1984’s “Borderline” or 1984’s career-defining “Like A Virgin”), Van Halen (1984’s “Jump”), Bruce Springsteen (1984’s “Dancing in the Dark”), I realize putting those songs in the line-up might alter the mood of the show, or might prove to challenging either to the singers or perhaps the wardrobe department (dressing the dancers as MJ’s zombies complete with full makeup might just escalate into a nightmare backstage). But the rest of the lineup proved varied and satisfying enough, with surprise inclusion of songs like the Beach Boys’ “Kokomo,” Easton’s “For Your Eyes Only,” David Foster’s “Love Theme from St. Elmo’s Fire [For Just A Moment];” as well as some OPM originals like Rivera’s own “Hey, It’s Me,” and Padilla’s own “Gusto Kita,” among others.
The night’s highlight was the appearance of Kuh Ledesma, who delivered a perfect rendition of the Odette Quesada-penned hit “’Til I Met You.” Ledesma was such a presence that the crowd would not let her off the hook that easy, chanting for more as she was about to step off the stage. Although they hadn’t rehearsed for a second song with the band, Ledesma relented with an a capella version of her other hit, “Dito Ba?”
By the time the pop/new wave segment of the night began, the audience was finally ready to break into full-on party mode. Cheers ensued as the six each dished out Industry’s “State of the Nation,” Robin Gibbs’ “Boys Do Fall in Love,” the Jo Boxers’ “Just Got Lucky,” Naked Eyes’ “Always Something There to Remind Me,” Torch’s cover version of “Build Me Up Buttercup.” It still took some prodding from the singers for people to get up on their feet to sing along and dance, but once a few adventurous souls up front, stage left, shed their inhibitions, the others followed suit. The crowd thus enjoyed “We Got the Beat” and “Head Over Heels” by The Go-go’s on their feet, as they did A-ha’s “Take on Me.” The last song to end the nostalgia party had been Kool and the Gang’s “Celebrate,” where the singers invited some audience members on stage to form a “train” as they sang the song away.
Clearly, as good as the singers were on stage, this night was about the music and perhaps the memories and feelings they bring up whenever we hear them. And really, who would feel old when music makes you feel this good?
Catch the feel good vibe of the remaining show dates of “80280: 80’s Music To The Max!” on Nov. 18 and 19 at the Music Museum.
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