Martin, Vina a hit in Canada

So sorry if that headline is starting to sound monotonous. But it’s true: Martin Nievera, plus Vina Morales, was again a hit in his (their) recent shows in Toronto and Winnipeg, Canada, never mind if the playdates came barely two weeks after Regine Velasquez’s abortive concerts (also in the same Canadian cities) because the producer (a neophyte, it turned out) bungled things up.

For a first-hand report on Martin – and Vina’s – concerts, here’s an account by Phinjo Gombu in the Toronto Star, e-mailed by Toronto-based "international correspondence" Ferdinand Lapuz:

It’s almost an hour after Filipino heartthrobs Martin Nievera and Vina Morales are supposed to appear at the East York Town Center for an autograph session.

About 1,000 people – mostly women – are packed into one corner of the cramped mall when the big moment finally arrives.

"Vina… Martin," the crowd begins to scream as Filipino-style pandemonium breaks out in the former borough of East York.

Nievera, the boyish-looking, 40-year-old balladeer and crooner of love songs, strides in quickly alongside 26-year-old Morales, a self-described Janet Jackson, and the wall of people, 10-deep, surges forward.

There is no security between the stars who perform tomorrow night at the Molson Amphitheatre, and the fans.

Nievera quickly reaches out to a woman, pulls her towards him and kisses her knuckles. She recoils in mock horror, then squeals in delight, and quickly rubs the back of her hand on her friend’s right cheek. For the next while, it’s full-contact fan greeting, with kisses, hugs and close-up photos with the idols – all of which freaks out three white-shirted mall security guards and the lone uniformed Toronto police officer in attendance.

"Filipinos don’t like unreachable stars who are too big," Nievera said in an interview earlier in the day. "I’m approachable and reachable as opposed to unreachable stars of America and elsewhere."

Within 10 minutes of the start of the autograph session, which begins at 6:47 p.m., the lone Toronto police officer is furiously blowing his whistle and screaming, "Back off!"

No one listens, so the officer is left muttering to himself, "You know what? This is out of control."

Nievera pleads with the crowd to back off, jokingly saying that if they don’t, the police are going to take him away to jail.

It’s now the turn of Morales to stand on her chair and plead with the crowd.

Some of the women, who kiss her on her cheeks and give her big warm hugs, have tears in their eyes.

Morales turns around and glances helplessly at the police officer.

By now, a tiny semblance of order has returned as two of the mall security guards and a lone volunteer allow one person at a time to move to the signing table.

But given the crush of people, they know they can’t really hold on to the crowd for long, especially when each person insists on a photo with the stars who seem happy to oblige.

By 7:08 p.m., it’s a free for all.

Nievera and Morales are calm and composed, fearing none of the adulation and physical contact. In fact, they seem to thrive on it.

The security guard orders the event over, despite the chants of "We want Martin, we want Vina." He says the property manager has decided there is a fire hazard with so many people crowded in so small a place.

There are boos, but the crowd disperses quietly.

The autograph session that was supposed to last two hours has lasted exactly 25 minutes, and even as they are escorted away from the mall, people are still lunging and hugging at Nievera and Morales.

Just before Nievera leaves, he glances over to a reporter, "I told you," he says.

There’s a smile on his face.

And here now is an eyewitness account especially written for Funfare by Rod and Linda Cantiveros who watched the concert on Winnipeg:

Dear Ricky:

For the past many days, I’d been following the skeds of Martin and Vina. I just got off from the Martin and Vina concert here in Winnipeg. The three-hour show has become the official trademark of Martin.

Again, after nine years of absence, Martin took Winnipeg not by storm but by hurricane. You’ve got to have a title of a Concert King to command thousands of fans from all ages. Little girls, young girls, teenager, middle-aged, seniors and young men and mga tatangs. King Martin has it. And his three-hour show with Vina brought down the stage. Their fans asked for more. They wanted more pieces of Martin and Vina.

The standing ovation generated more heat among the audience composed of Pinoys, puti and colored. Such a singer with an international appeal. Matindi.

Martin represented the concert industry when he defended Regine’s no show in Winnipeg. With the musical video clip Forever of Regine Velasquez, Martin sang with her. People became wild. It showed that the apology from Regine was well accepted by concert-going Pinoys in Winnipeg. Such a nice guy to offer a song of Regine. Mas matindi ito.

Martin made a wonderful interpretation of various Broadway musicals, from West Side Story to Carousel... well done. Talagang matindi ito.

Vina was all fired up on stage. Such a talented lady with a powerful voice. With her song, Pangako Sa Iyo, the audience shared the song. It was a wonderful experience to hear from Vina the theme song of the most popular telenovela with the same title.

The duet of Martin and Vina marked the dual power of these entertainers. Lovers were touched with their rendition of When I Fall In Love.

Martin dedicated a song to remember Sept. 11. The audience was quiet as he sang.

Many days before the show, the Mayor of Winnipeg (Sister City of Manila) Glen Murray, welcomed Martin and Vina as honorary citizens. The ceremony was held at the City Hall with some members of media, Forex Management and Rizal Corporation, one of the sponsors. Wow! Honorary Citizen entails many benefits... (they don’t pay taxes). The city is yours... you’re always welcome!

Wednesday morning was their appearance in the live Big Breakfast at A Channel. It was a man-to-man show with the audience. One asked him: When are you coming back to Winnipeg? And when are you going back to Pops?

"Wow, the first question is easy to answer; the second one... I don’t know. But, Pops and I will have a concert."

The Saturday fans day at Garden City Shopping Center was a real face-to-face session with Martin and Vina. With more than 1,500 Pinoys who waited from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Martin and Vina did not disappoint their fans. Of course, autograph and CD signing. The next morning, The Winnipeg Sun ran a front-page picture of Martin and Vina with a headline: Bedlam at the Mall with Filipino superstars. Napakatinding cover. Well, that Saturday, the Filipinos were well-behaved. There was no bedlam, only slambang!

With this concert here in Winnipeg, Martin has promised to be back as previously said, perhaps with Regine Velasquez! The audience applauded. And Vina was inspired by the hospitality and warmth of the Filipinos. She said, "I’ll be back for my solo concert here... hello, Forex (the sponsor). Thanks to Max Carino,CEO and owner of Forex and to Tess Dizon, the Winnipeg manager. And those volunteers who worked hard. And, of course, the whole entourage of Martin & Co. and the Toronto promoters." At ang matinding pasalamatan, mga fans who paid $105 per person, $85, $65 or even those who paid $35 each fan contributed to the success of the show. Talaga namang napakamatinding concert. Majority of the response: Napakaganda, sambot ang aming ibinayad, mas mahusay ito kung ico-compare mo sa isang concert dito noong 1998 (no mention of the name.)

Martin and Vina did the best thing – bring to Winnipeg the best of what the Manila entertainment has to offer. Wika nga, kahit magkano.

The show had forgotten the ill-feeling of the Regine’s cancelled show. Bow ako!