Two days prior to the attack, Gary and the rest of the ASAP 05 family had to endure scorching temperatures that reached a high of 100 degrees, just so they could entertain the huge turnout of people who patiently waited in line starting as early as 6 a.m. (gates opened at 12 noon.)
Roads leading to the historic Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, on a sweltering Saturday were unusually busy. Even guests at the Marriott Hotel were wondering what was causing the sudden flux of cars! They just didn’t know that the Filipino equivalent of Live8 concert was about to happen in the city.
On a day when most Americans were busy reading their eagerly-anticipated copies of the sixth Harry Potter book, tens of thousands of Filipinos from all over Southern California to Pasadena to catch a glittering array of stars under a harsh California Summer afternoon.
July 16, 2005, ABS-CBN and The Filipino Channel attempted what had never been done on US shores before.It gathered some of the biggest, brightest and best singing talents in the Philippines in a musical concert inside one of the biggest concert arenas in the US.
Home to the perennial collegiate football champions, the USC Trojans and site of the annual rock festival called Wango Tango, the stadium has a capacity of 80,000. So the ambitious undertaking was admittedly, on paper, a Herculean task.
However, under the aegis of Tom Consunji, TFC general manager, and ABS-CBN big boss Charo Santos-Concio, the much awaited show did deliver its promise, gathering the biggest Filipino crowd ever. The stadium may not have been filled to capacity but the crowd still swelled to about 30,000 when the actual show started at 5 p.m.
Fe de los Reyes worked the crowd for a good two hours. She hosted the pre-show festivities, including the drawing of a Honda Civic GP to a lucky winner from Chino Hills.
Stalls were set up all over the stadium grounds and Fans were seen having a grand time scrambling for souvenirs and having their pictures taken with the stars in specially designated booths. Fans who are harboring showbiz ambitions were also invited to join an instant audition.
But the real event that people really looked forward to was the promised show.
"Music is universal and we don’t need to modify our act," Zsa Zsa Padilla told this writer during the press conference held a day before the event.
Martin Nievera added, "There are no colors nor races in music. There is no specific profiling of the audience."
Minutes before the start of the show, the indefatigable Fe requested the crowd to start rolling up their umbrellas. The announcement seemed to have re-invigorated the seemingly tired and exhausted crowd and a roar suddenly engulfed the stadium.
When the cast of ASAP started appearing one by one for their opening production number, all eyes and ears turned to the stage, which suddenly became alive with dancers gyrating wildly to Francis Magalona’s classic Mga Kababayan Ko.
Gary, Martin, Zsa Zsa, Vina Morales and Kuh Ledesma first appeared on stage and the crowd went absolutely crazy. But as soon as the Hunks came out, all reservations were thrown to the wind and wild shrieks almost drowned the audio system.
Piolo Pascual, Diether Ocampo, Carlos Agassi and Jericho Rosales pumped up the crowd with their retro production of Pinoy Rock. When Jericho took off his shirt, a good number in the crowd must have spent a roll of film to record the moment.
The show was conceptualized to feature a huge production number every 40 minutes and there was no letting up from the beginning.
Young stars like Nikki Gil and Toni Gonzaga held their own against more seasoned co-performers.
Even the tandem of Joross Gamboa and Roxanne Guinoo managed to steal some thunder from the popular Judy Ann Santos-Piolo Pascual love team.
Jasmine Trias wowed the crowd when she performed her current hit single Excuses. Her eponymous album was released only last July 12. Although she still needs to work on her rapport with the crowd, the American Idol finalist has shown a tremendous vocal improvement. Her get-up, however, seems to have been rehashed from her show last June 3 at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
While Jasmine did a trio with Gary and Martin, two of the most popular Cebuanas today gave Nora Aunor a moving tribute.
Vina and Sheryn Regis, who performed in L.A. last month, sang The Impossible Dream and The Greatest Performance of my Life. It was very heartening seeing Nora in person again. After a barrage of negative press, seeing her walk on stage was the show’s most emotional part – a true-blue Kapamilya Homecoming! Part of me wanted to cheer while another wanted to hold back tears.
Nora can still sing and what glorious voice she has! She sang her trademark song People and engaged the crowd in banter about her recent negative publicities. And as quietly as she came onstage, she slipped by into the night, leaving behind an emotional crowd. At the dinner gathering after the concert, she was nowhere to be seen. And we wanted to see more of her.
If Nora gave the event its emotional highlight, Lea Salonga gave class. Her repertoire included a selection of classic ballads andBroadway hits. She was unassuming as always but her voice was brimming with joy.
US-based and former GMA talent Antoinette Taus joined the show in one of its final numbers and the Kapamilya crowd warmly received her. Being a talent of the rival network, her appearance on the show was marked by a minor controversy.
The Kapamilya Caravan tour will next stop in San Francisco. This innovative promotional tour partly conceived by ABS-CBN wonder kid, Deo Endrinal, has also had traveled to Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Asia. The tour which started last March could very well earn the network another record title: Longest-running Summer Tour ever!