Side A to showcase timeless hits and more in tonight’s CICC concert

The Philippines’ sought-after pop quintet Side A visits anew the Queen City of the South for a night of timeless music, playing none other than their hits for the past 22 years in “The Side A… All Hits Live!” concert.

It’s been a while since the band last stepped on Cebu soil. In yesterday’s presscon at La Maison, lead vocalist Joey Generoso recalled how overwhelmed he was during their previous appearances here in the metro. They last came here to headline a free Valentine show at Ayala Center Cebu, but that was a long time ago.

Keyboardist Naldy Gonzales, on the other hand, reminisced on their Cebu Coliseum concert, wherein the audience’s response was tremendous. Another well-remembered performance was their guesting in an intimate party at the CityLights Garden in Nivel Hills.

Through all those performance, they found that Cebuanos are a keen and intimidating crowd. “Pagsumabit ka, alam ng Cebuanos ‘yun,” Naldy revealed. Hitting the right notes, he said, is always a must when performing in Cebu.

And so, after a lengthy absence from the music scene in Cebu, Side A is back—armed with a maximum of 28 songs in their repertoire for tonight’s two-hour concert, beginning 8PM, at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC). The CICC will be a music extravaganza of sorts, featuring Side A’s popular hits like Forevermore, Set You Free, Rosana, Hold On, Tell Me, So Many Questions, among many others.

“Marami kaming baon para sa mga Cebuanos, kasi matagal na kami hindi nakabalik (dito),” Joey said. “Sana ma-hit namin ulit ang panlasa ng mga Cebuanos.”

Side A’s new members

Side A will also get to introduce to the Cebu audience the band’s new members. Former guitarist Kelly Badon, who’s now based in the US, was replaced by Lee Von Cailao, a former member of Pido with Take One. Lee Von was already jamming with the group long before he was picked officially.

On one hand, Ned Esguerra assumed bassist of Side A, when former bassist and hitmaker Joey Benin bade goodbye to the group last June right after their US Tour. Ned, who was formerly with the Freeverse Band, was the first choice of the group to replace Joey Benin, who is now in Iloilo with his family. The pressure has certainly weighed on him since he has taken the place of a member who had carved a name for himself in the industry, at the same time left a mark in the recording circuit by penning Forevermore, By Your Side and I Believe In Dreams. But Ned feels challenged more than anything else to maintain that level of quality.

Amid the departure and arrival of new members, their music nevertheless stays on. How do they maintain their level of playing and staying power?

“We play at least twice a week. It is only through having a gig that a band is tested…it serves as our workout to improve our skills. We rehearse new material and play it at once. It is through the audience’s response to the song that we would know if it passed or not. Importante talaga na andun ka sa live circle,” Naldy explained. “To also maintain a balance, di lahat ng gigs tinatanggap namin. Ang management mismo ang nag-aayos ng lahat ng gig schedules (to avoid overexposure).”

It is also important, according to Joey, that they still love what they are doing and that their audience continues to enjoy their performances as well. “The response of the audience are still there lalo na sa gigs namin…nakakataba talaga ng puso,” Joey said. 

New album and other forth coming projects

For two decades now, Side A has conquered the music scene with great hits that reigned supreme in billboard charts and solicited countless air plays in radio stations all over the country. With over a hundred of gigs, sold-out concerts, multi-awarded albums, Side A has truly been one of the country’s cream de la cream as far as musical brilliance is concerned. Thus, it is only fitting for them to come up with an album showcasing their most requested songs.

The album is their way of thanking avid supporters who have been with them through the years. Now available in record stores nationwide, “Side A Gig…All Hits Live” album has 16 cuts that include the carrier single All I Need, Heart of Mine, Rosanna, Queen Medley (We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, Bohemian Rapsody), Heart of Mine, etc. under Viva Records.

“Side A started out as a gig band…which I think, most of the bands do,” Naldy related when asked why they have decided to produce a gig album. In response to an observation that a lot of bands nowadays are coming up with cover albums, Naldy said that long before this trend happened, Side A has been the forerunner in doing cover songs, especially those that have long been forgotten. “We introduced [the song] again and gave a new touch to it,” he added.

The group is also planning to record a new original material before the year ends. When the song is done, they will follow it up with an album. Naldy said, “Iba na kasi ang trend ngayon. Ang pag-consume ng mga tao ngayon sa mga songs, masyadong mabilis. We make sure na once we come up with a song, we will make it a classic.”