Resound

We just got home from the Mainplace Convenarium where a concert took place. It featured Sunny Conde and the Ethereal Band and Dennis Chua. The setup was astonishing. Stalactite structures were hanged from the ceiling and spotlights flooded the area. In addition to that, there were two projectors that gave the disco light effect. This is the first time I witnessed a live concert.

I am a sucker for live concerts. Being a musician, I enjoy watching other musicians play their instruments. The band was great. It had percussions, a bass player, a keyboardist, a sax player, a guy with the blues guitar (he reminds me of the guy in Misteryo), and of course a talented singer who by the way is the daughter of the senior pastor of Crossroads 77. The whole concert brought us back in the age of the 60s, 70s, 80s, all the way up to the 90s. We got to experience a sample of music from each decade that has passed. They had a jazz/blues setup and they sounded great. At one point during the show Susan Conde approached the audience looking for someone to sing with her. I noticed that she was looking at my direction. At that moment I knew she was coming for me so I looked down eliminating any eye contact with her. Sadly though she approached me and asked me to stand up. She commented on my physique and said "Kawawa ka naman, siguro di ka pinapakain noh?" With a spotlight on my face all I could do was smile wishing that she would turn away and find somebody else to victimize. She asked me if I could sing. I hesitated and said no even though I knew I could (You have to cover your ears though). To my delight she turned on to Naniel. Thank God that was over.

At some point during the show they sang a song by The Carpenters and I was transfixed by the music. Needless to say I am a hopeless romantic. Hopeless... well to certain degree, yes... but romantic nonetheless. Those are the kind of songs that make me all tingled up inside. Most of what they played were oldies... classics rather. I barely know some of them. But on the later portion of the concert they started singing songs of my generation. They did a cover on Alanis Morissete's Uninvited. I love that song. It has a creepy vibe to it but they did it so well I had goose bumps all over my body. They also played Tamia's Officially Missing You. The last song they did was from one of my favorite artists, Alicia Keys' If I Ain't Got You.

When the band ended, Dennis Chua came in and provided the place with house music. He is one of the pioneering DJs in the country and once he got the beat started everyone was rocking their heads. Suddenly the lights went off and the disco lights turned on. The whole place was reminiscent of my HS prom nights except we were at church. Yes, at first it seems uncomfortable grooving your way in a place of worship. But then again we were also reaching out to a lot of nonbelievers. I like the church's concept of the 21st century approach to evangelism. It may be radical and seem outright crazy but I think it's a whole lot effective in reaching out to others in a more subtle way. Instead of asking the nonCs the two diagnostic questions and scare the hell out of them by stating that if they don't receive Christ they would go to hell they can offer a much more subtle approach like this concert.

I forgot to mention that Pastora Anne gave the message during the halftime of the show. Her message was simple yet profound. After a brief history on music she goes on to conclude that unless we find our North we will never find our direction in life. God is our North. In the past the African slaves sang blues as a way to send out cryptic messages which would lead them to the north where eventually they would find their freedom. Our freedom and salvation from eternal damnation comes from seeking the North in our lives.

Back to the event... the beat was thumping and everyone was clearing the way and the remainder of the night was spent with dancing. Not everyone danced. Soon as Dennis Chua got on stage much of the people were leaving. Apparently they didn't like techno or even listen to Moby. I would leave because it seems odd dancing in church but then again this was different. Surprisingly ate Eva got on the center and started dancing. Boy was she one party girl. After that the youth began to gather around teasing each other to dance. Soon after everyone was swaying but none was really dancing. Timid people... tsk tsk tsk. Who can blame them? I can't even get my feet to move. My body was shivering from the extreme cold and my eardrums are aching from the noise. But I got the hang of it. I started to enjoy it. As I said, it reminded me of prom night. I even took my sister and we danced swing. I may be rusty in dancing but I was still good at it. The night didn't seem to end but unfortunately we had to go home. Kuya EJ and ate Eva were offering us a ride back to our place. We eventually got home safe and sound. What a night to resound... reverberate... and resonate!!! (They are all synonymous by the way)

This entry was posted on October 30, 2004 at 1:33 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.