Music review: Classical music meets rock in Life Rocks concert

Four out of five stars is how I rate the Life Rocks concert series for the benefit of children who were orphaned or incapacitated by natural disasters.

 

The concept is excellent: fusion of classical music rendered by the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) and rock music delivered by some of the icons in the Philippine music industry: Tres Marias, Maegan Aguilar, Razorback, Sandwich, and more.

 

However, the execution fell a little short of my expectations. It felt as if the performers were trying a little too hard to emphasize the unlikely combination of classical and rock music.

 

Even with their outfits for their recent concert at the Newport Performing Arts Theater at Resorts World Manila, the performers seemed to be exerting too much effort in stressing the classical-rock angle.

 

The orchestra members were dressed casually, some in jeans and shirts, the usual outfits worn by rockers in their concerts. The rockers, meanwhile, wore black suits and ties while the ladies were either in gowns or cocktail dresses.

 

This gave off the impression that the orchestra members and the rockers were being a little too indulgent with one another.

 

During the concert, it sounded like the MSO, one of the most established orchestras in Asia, was toning down its performance to accompany the rockers as they played some of their signature songs: Maegan Aguilar’s “Kiliti,” Tres Marias’ “Sana’y Pag-ibig na lang,” Ebe Dancel’s “Huwag Ka Nang Umiyak,” Sandwich’s “Sugod,” among others.

 

Having been born into a musical family with a composer, classical pianists, and rock band members as relatives, I have a great appreciation for different genres of music (admittedly though, classical music is on the top of my list and my Spotify playlist is filled with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach). So, while the vocals were outstanding and the musical accompaniment was excellent, I was hoping for a showdown instead of a blend-in between classical music and rock. I had been hoping that the format of the concert would be an equal heaping of classical and rock music.

 

This is why I jumped at the chance of witnessing a performance by the MSO, one of the country’s most vibrant symphony orchestras under the musical direction of Prof. Arturo Molina.

 

The orchestra’s performance was flawless and this was not overlooked by the rockers, who throughout the concert kept paying tribute to the SMO. In fact, Basti Artadi and the other performers said, “Aren’t they awesome?”

 

Another cause of disappointment for me is the long delay in between the performances of the singers, who performed two numbers each. Unfortunately, the stage had to be set each time a new group performed. 

 

But how can I complain when I was floored by the performances of all the singers who had absolutely outstanding vocals? My highest accolades go to the girls: Cookie Chua, Bayang Barrios,  Lolita Carbon of the “Tres Marias” band and Maegan Aguilar.

 

These girls rocked the concert hall. Maegan’s sexy rendition of “Kiliti” was playful yet powerful. Tres Marias? It almost seems unfair that three musical legends banded together to form one band. Who can compare with their musical agility, vibrancy, and solid vocals?

 

Lolita was part of the iconic band Asin, a folk rock band that began in the 1970s. Cookie is the lead vocalist of Color It Red while Bayang is known to have begun her musical career with Joey Ayala’s Ang Bagong Lumad. 

 

The other singers certainly did not disappoint. I was suppressing tears when Ebe Dancel was singing, “Huwag Ka Nang Umiyak.” How can he stop tears when he sings, “Kung wala ka nang makapitan, kapit ka sa akin, hindi kita bibitawan?” Haunting and deeply touching.

 

Beyond aesthetics, the concert truly made me proud to be a Filipino because they were all amazing singers who banded together for a worthy cause: to raise funds for the scholarship of children who lost parents to natural disasters.

 

These artists are proving that Filipinos are not forgetting their fellowmen who have fallen into hard times due to devastating natural disasters.

 

The benefit concert at Resorts World is the first in a three-part concert series, to be continued in December, with the season finale in March 2015. 

 

The series is conceptualized as an annual project featuring alternative rock bands and indie artists. 

 

Life Rocks is also part of the launch for an upcoming music lifestyle show, The Lineup to be aired on TV5 starting on November 27. It is likewise a part of the documentary for the 65th anniversary of the Philippine Life Insurance Association in October 2015. — VC, GMA News