Wiseguys’ 1st major concert - SOUNDS FAMILIAR by Baby Gil

It is unfortunate that the late coutourier Cliff Candelaria never got to meet Art Paul Sison. Paul joined the Wiseguys only a year ago and a year after Cliff’s sudden demise. The newest member of the group is a boy after his own heart with the same love for good food and a sunny disposition. Still, Cliff must be beaming with happiness from wherever he is perched in the great beyond. He must be pleased as punch that Wiseguys, which he founded, is doing very well and is now acknowledged as the leading boy group in the country.

Tomorrow night, Saturday, Nov. 4, the Wiseguys will headline their first solo concert. Sure, these guys do a lot of regular gigs, but this one is special. This is Wiseguys... cngs gr8st hits, which will be held at the Music Museum in Greenhills, San Juan at 8 p.m. Presented by Motorola Philippines, the show will be a celebration of boy band music through the years. Coincidentally, many of the songs in the line-up were the ones Cliff was listening to when he thought of putting together a group of guys who will sing in four-part harmony.

With the help of friends in the music business, Cliff sent out a call for auditions, selected four boys whom he put through rigorous training as singers and performers. The going was tough and there were several dropouts. Of Cliff’s original group, only one member remains. This is Guy Gonzales, who usually takes care of their overall look and image of the group and is also in charge of the production concept in their performances.

Guy plus Jam Capistrano, a UP voice major student, who has lately been showing a flair for vocal arranging not only for the Wiseguys but other groups as well, Jay Roa Yu, a Masscom student considered the resident heart-throb and Paul, the baby in the group have proven themselves hard workers very serious about what they do. With the guidance of Eugene Villaluz, who took over as manager after Cliff passed away, there is no way these guys will miss.

So tomorrow, Wiseguys fans will get the chance to hear their idols do songs like Betcha By Golly Wow and You Make Me Feel Brand New by the Stylisties, Mr. Telephone Man by the New Edition, If You’re Not Here by Menudo, On Bended Knee by Boyz II Men, My Girl by the Temptations, Back for Good by Take That, I’ll Be Loving You by New Kids on the Block, Close to Heaven by Color Me Badd," I Swear by All 4 One, Forever by Damage and Larger Than Life by the Backstreet Boys.

They will also pay tribute to their idols, the Apo Hiking Society, who must be the most dream boy group in the history of Philippine pop music. If their luck holds up, they might one day become as popular and as durable as the Apo. But meanwhile, they will help the dream along by singing Apo songs like Mahirap Magmahal ng Syota ng Iba, Batang bata Ka Pa, When I Met You and Panalangin.

Of course, the Wiseguys will also do their own hits, First Time I Saw You, Fallin, Sa Wari Ko, Kwago, Sabi Mo and their own version of the Stevie Wonder love song Too Shy to Say. For fun, they will attempt to do their own takes on jukebox favorites Di Ko Kayang Tang-gapin, Bakit Pa? Isang Linggong Pag-ibig and Aray.

Wiseguys cngs gt8st hits will also feature the sensational Bituin Escalante and the new all-girl group Pebblegum. Sponsors for the concet are QP Printers, Goto King, Neo Records, Frederick Peralta and Douglas Nierras’ Power-dance.

If you want more of the Wiseguys, you might want to bring home a copy of their self-titled album which contains Kwago and Sabi Mo. Then there are the inspirational albums Servant of All and Mother of All. The boys were among several artists who were recently honored with a double Platinum Record Award for their participation in the big selling Servant of All where they performed a mellow version of the Paul Williams classic I Won’t Last a Day Without You. They are also part of the recently released Mother of All, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This time around they sing the Spice Girls Mama, male version.