This weekend was well-spent. Nothing beats the good news that a friend is not suffering from a illness that has the ability to take away lives. He has just undergone biopsy, and we still need to wait for a few more days for the results to be out. But the initial scans showed that it is benign. N, I know you are reading this, and I know it has been hard on you for the past few weeks, having to go through all the tests and stuff. Continue to be strong, you have my prayers, and I'm always there for you. And I know you will be happy reading this post. :)
On Saturday, it was my Pinoy music night. I know I'm already like a half-Filipino, pero sa tingin ko, magiging 3/4 pinoy ako. Wahaha. And I think I'm almost a guru to Filipino music already.
It was the Esplanade's Mosaic Music Festival, and they invited Aiza Seguerra to town for performances. I'm a fan of hers, and I'm not going to let go of the chance to listen to her performing live.
Her first performance slot was at 3.45pm, in the Esplanade library. By the time I got there, there were already a number of Filipinos there, and she was getting ready, doing the sound checks. I was standing behind the couches, trying to grab a good spot for photoshoots.
Her first song was Kaleidoscope World, a song by Francis Magalona. The Filipinos called him the Master Rapper, but he passed away a few weeks ago, succumbed to leukemia. (See? I'm a guru in Filipino entertainment.) Applauses and cheers. It was awesome. She was with her guitar, but it was simply great. After a long chat with the hosts, she performed her second and last song for that slot, Ang Huling El Bimbo, a song from Eraserheads. Also one of my favourites. :)
Her next performing slot was at 7pm. I went to grab a cuppa coffee and sandwiches, and went back to the Esplanade outdoor theatre to get a good seat. From then onwards, I felt like I was in Philippines again. Lots of Pinoys surrounding me. haha.. Like I said, the Pinoys have a different sense of humour. Once the technical crew went on stage to remove the standee "Next performance at 7.00pm", the crowd started cheering.
This time round, she had her guitarist Mike with her. Together they were marvellous. The power duo. I was amazed by how the two guitarists could produce such great music, that just livened up the whole crowd. Not to forget Aiza's beautiful voice. Mesmerizing.
Again, Kaleidoscope World opened the act. She belted out other songs, both English and Tagalog, such as Eraserheads' Huwag Mo Na Itanong. She said that Eraserheads are one of favourite artistes, her inspirations.
The sun was setting, and the whole ambience was just perfect.
After her performance, the whole crowd just cheered non-stop. I ran off to purchase her latest CD, and went to get her autograph!
And a photo taken with her! My idol! :D
Photo not very well-composed, because the Mosaic crew was not familiar with using DSLR. But it's ok, because being the kind sponsor of the event, Nokia had photos taken using their handphones and developed it for all fans! Close-up! whee~! She was quite surprised that I'm not a Filipino. :D
I went for my short photowalk around Esplanade before heading back to the outdoor theatre for her 3rd performing slot at 10.50pm. There were other acts performing there as well - Ngak & Clement from Singapore, Omega from USA, Andre Harihandoyo from Indonesia. With acts from all over the world, it's truly a wonderful piece of mosaic for music lovers.
I was lucky enough to grab a seat in the front row during the intermission, before Andre Harihandoyo's performance. Sitting alongside with many professional photographers with even bigger fat ass cameras than mine, I felt like a fool at times. haha..
Andre Harihandoyo put up a very entertaining act. Audience laughed at his jokes, sang along with him. His funny antics with his band made the theatre roaring with laughter. Even the guys sitting beside me couldn't stop laughing.
But of course, everybody was waiting for Aiza. Again I was surrounded by the Pinoys. They even sat on the floor right in front of the front seats. I turned my head behind and I just saw tons of people standing at the back of the theatre. The power of Aiza. wahaha..
And again when the crew came onto the stage to remove the standee, everybody just cheered. I have never seen such phenomenon before. Again, the power of Aiza. :)
With her guitarist, her last set of performance totally rocked the whole theatre. People sang along with her (me too!), and everybody grooved with her music. Her songs were totally captivating. She performed songs like Open Arms, Pagdating Ng Panahon, Power of Two, and even gave in to the audience's requests.
You could feel her passion for her music, when you get to see how she went strumming her guitar. She was so engrossed in her music, her head just went low, almost touching the bridge of her guitar.
Mike the guitarist wasn't bad either. In fact, he was like god. I have no words to describe his performance. My mouth just went wide open. That's how amazing he was.
I was so happy that I was sitting right in front. Because I could just keep on snapping away on my camera! whee~!
You know these two musicians were having as much fun as we were.
They performed the classic of Eraserheads, Ang Huling El Bimbo to close the performance. That was the best song of all. I could hear the audience singing loud and clear. And I joined in the fun. Aiza and Mike blew everybody off with their strummings, and people were already clapping.
At the end of the performance, they received a standing ovation. They deserved one. Nobody wanted to leave the theatre. Everybody was asking for more. Alas, she had extended the performance for half an hour, until 12am. It was time to leave.
Even up till now, I'm still singing to the tunes of Ang Huling El Bimbo. :)
And today, I went to visit the exhibition of the Kangxi Emperor in the Asian Civilisation Museum with some NUSCO peeps. A good exposure, and I learnt something about the Chinese emperor and the history. In order to protect the copyrights of the artefacts and relics in the exhibition, no photography was allowed. I took some shots outside the gallery though. My tries on artistic shots. :)
Finally, the day just ended on a beautiful note - the sunset. :) A weekend well-spent.
Thank you for reading through, for enduring with my over-passion with Pinoy music. :)
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