How dare you, Martin! How dare you, Pops!

I hate you, Martin! I hate you, Pops! I hate both of you!

How dare you, Martin! How dare you, Pops! How dare both of you!

I hate both of you for daring me – and several thousand others – to brave the drizzle last Saturday evening even if I was running a 37-degree temperature and to inch my way in the thick traffic jam around the PICC Complex and to find a little parking space (like looking for a needle in a haystack) in that cramped corner of the earth and to take a long walk just so I could catch your (Martin’s) Chasing Time XX’Mas concert, coinciding with that of your ex-wife Pops (Pops 2002) a few miles away at the Old ULTRA.

But it was worth it, so I’m thanking you from the bottom of my heart for making me "hate" you for "daring" me to rush my deadline to be on time for what turned out to be a most enchanted, magical evening not only of songs but of breath-taking special effects (is that how you call it, Martin and Pops?).

Before I get carried away, let me say here and now that – yes, yes, yes! – Martin Nievera and Pops Fernandez are the Concert King and Queen (objections dismissed!), together on the "throne" even if, for now, they are apart as man and wife (but not for long?).

Yes, Pops, I and my friends were at PICC but we were also at the Old UTRA. No, it wasn’t a case of "bilocation" (you know, one person being seen in two different places at the same time). It was, thanks to modern technology, an experience in... "virtual reality"? However and whatever you call it, it was such a big thrill watching you together even if you were in two different places. It was the biggest surprise of the evening and, to tell you frankly, the excitement it generated lingered for so long that I couldn’t sleep until dawn yesterday. Martin and Pops, how dare you rob me and, I’m sure those present at the Old ULTRA and the PICC, of precious sleep!

I knew that was coming, Martin, because you were hinting at it in the pre-concert interviews and even at the start of your show which was, as usual and as expected, a breath-taker, an entirely new musical experience even if I’ve seen you perform several times in several other venues.

But when it finally happened, it was stunning. There Pops was on the giant TV screens at the PICC stage, bigger than life, and so were you on similar giant screens at the Old ULTRA, also bigger than life, the two of you swapping titillating jokes about yourselves (and the possibility of you getting back together again?) before you launched into a duet of Christmas Won’t Be the Same Without You and the heart-rending Kahit Isang Saglit.

The applause in both venues was so defeaning that, until now, my ears are still ringing from it. How dare you damage my eardrums!

It was like paying for one ticket and watching two shows – like, yes, "buy one, take one." Thanks to ABS-CBN (producer of Pops’ show) and Maxi-Media (of Martin’s show) for making it possible, a "first" on the local concert scene (and an occasional feature at the Oscars when an awardee can’t be physically present in L.A. because he’s somewhere else in the world tied up in another event).

Judging from that hook-up simulcast, Pops was a hit before a huge crowd at the Old ULTRA. On the PICC stage (as in any stage for that matter), Martin was pure energy in motion, hardly showing any trace of exhaustion, his enthusiasm mounting even if he was singing non-stop for more than two hours, resting only very briefly to take a swig from a bottled water resting on top of the piano of his musical director and bosom buddy Louie Ocampo.

I wonder, as I always have been wondering, where does Martin get all that (pure) energy, all that talent, all that exuberance, all that power to hold the audience captive (willingly, though) for the duration of his show, with everybody not minding if it was nearing midnight and Martin had already done three encores? This Martin is a superman, I tell you!

I guess what sets Martin apart from other singers is that, besides being a performer-entertainer, he really loves what he’s doing and it shows, infecting the audience with as much energy and enthusiasm. And he has a sense of humor, something sorely lacking in most performers. Thus, even a simple chore of introducing his back-up singers and the band members is done not in the usual drab "roll call" manner but with ditties he himself must have written, complete with funny descriptions matched by equally funny caricatures on the giant screens.

Who else but Martin can say "thank you" to the sponsors (The Philippine STAR included) through a song, this time done, in the spirit of the season, The Twelve Days of Christmas style?

Besides his hook-up duet with Pops, the two other portions of the show that I liked so much were Martin’s medley of Barry Manilow songs and his duet with his dad Bert Nievera (another "surprise") of, among others, heart-warming and nostalgic songs by Johnny Mathis (my favorite, A Certain Smile, among them). After all, didn’t Bert embark on his singing career as The Johnny Mathis of the Philippines, a "title" he won in a contest a few decades ago on Student Canteen?

I was baffled, though, why didn’t Bert acknowledge the presence of Martin’s mom, the charming Conchita Razon, who was seated third row from the stage with Martin’s twin sister Gina (who earlier did a duet of a Christmas song with Martin)? It would have added a touching note to that "surprise" number – for old time’s sake, you know.

The good news is that, as Martin and Pops announced during the hook-up portion, they will be doing a Valentine show together (same venue this time) in February next year, their first time to do so six years after the news of their impending break-up hit the headlines.

This early, I’m starting to hate you, Martin and Pops, for again daring me – and thousands of others, I’m sure – to again brave the Valentine traffic from Port Area (where The STAR office is) to the Araneta Coliseum and then to find a little parking space in an expectedly cramped area of that corner of the world just to catch your show on time.

How dare you, Martin!

How dare you, Pops!