An instant love affair with Manila

The past six months saw a slew of foreign artists coming to Manila — from Baby Face to Ne-Yo; from Maroon 5 to Incubus. MTV Philippines alone brought in first-rate performers such as Beyoncé Knowles, Josh Groban and the most recent one, Harry Connick Jr.

First-time Manila visitor Connick Jr. did something that no other foreign artists have done in their visits to the Philippines. No, he didn't strip on stage, even if it would perhaps mean satisfying the illusion of thousands of adoring women in the audience who came swooning to his good looks, well-built physique and unmistakable charm. In his one-night concert at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) last March 15, the 40-year-old Harry dared to eat balut on stage, much to the delight of the crowd.

“This is a monumental moment for me,” said Harry to his amused audience before eating the whole fertilized duck egg, which he called “duck fetus.” In every step of his balut-eating schtick, which brought instant cultural interaction with his Filipino fans, the handsome New Orleans crooner had the audience in rapt attention. He cracked open the shell on the baby grand piano on stage. “What's good about this piano is that it's not mine,” he teased.

A woman whom he plucked out from the front row told him to suck the down soup then peel the rest of the shell. “You guys can’t make up your minds,” Harry entertainingly ranted. “Do you want a hard-boiled egg or do you want to wait five more days so you can have some duck?”

He downed the entire balut, including the stone, with a can of Coca-Cola and blurted out after eating, “That's so gross.” Yet, he instantly endeared himself to the crowd when he said, “Now, I feel I'm part of you.”

The rest of the balut on the tray were thrown to the audience by Harry and his musicians who became virtual pitchers from the stage. Moments later, a few lines into singing his next song number about his native New Orleans, Harry let out a loud burp, much to his own embarrassment. He had to pause, while the crowd roared with laughter. He also laughed at himself, but managed to proceed with his number.

The audience simply loved Harry — and how. He regaled the crowd with his music and flair in playing the piano, but it was his wit, spontaneity and charm that endeared him more to his Filipino fans. The PICC is such a huge concert venue, but Harry made it looked like an intimate concert even if the Plenary Hall was nearly filled to its 4,000 seating capacity. He punctuated his song numbers with “Sa-la-mat,” perhaps the first Tagalog word he learned after spending only two days in the country. Yet, he was profuse in saying “thank you” repeatedly throughout the entire show.

“I've only been here one and a half days,” said Harry. Yet, that was enough for him to be appreciated and loved by his audience with everything he learned about the Philippines. He gushed about the sweetness of our mangoes. “I've never seen mangoes so huge, so yellow and so sweet,” he excitedly said.

He also commended the beautiful women of the country. “I've been to Seoul, Beijing..., but I've never seen so many beautiful women per capita,” he jested.

His description about halo-halo was also hilarious, comparing our famous dessert with “snow cone,” something more familiar to him. “I was eating corn, then I saw red beans and I thought, 'Okay, someone must be playing a joke here. Is this lunch or dessert?' And what is the clear, cube thing? Seriously, I like corn and beans in gumbo, but I don’t eat them with sugar.” Whether or not he was taunting, he was simply downright funny.

Harry is on an Asian juggernaut to promote his latest album, Oh, My Nola, under Sony BMG Music. Before the Philippines, he did shows in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai and Seoul. The week after his Manila concert, he performed in Bangkok and Hong Kong. He will also do a four-city tour of Australia — Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Perth.

The most assuring that Harry told his Filipino fans that night was his instant love affair for the Philippines. “There is something about the Philippines that makes me want to come back,” he said. Then a girl from the audience hollered, “Stay forever.”

Harry's repertoire that night consisted mostly of mainstream jazz, to which he is heavily identified with. The tunes, in fact, focused on traditional jazz instrumental music, highlighting the talents of his 11-member back-up band that joins him in the Asian tour.

From the opening number alone which featured the rousing brass section, Harry allowed his band members to shine — from the drummer to the trombone player and even the sax artists. He also did brilliant, jazzed up versions of Jambalaya (On the Bayou), plus Hello, Dolly, which are both in his latest album.

Our first encounter with Harry as a singer was in the soundtrack of the Billy Crystal-Meg Ryan movie, When Harry Met Sally, way back in 1989. But Harry is not just a singer. He has successfully crossed over to acting, too, and is best remembered in such films as Hope Floats, Excess Baggage, Independence Day, Copycat (where he played a serial killer) and the more recent P.S. I Love You, a romantic-comedy with Hilary Swank.

The night was just not about jazz music, balut-eating, Harry's spontaneous jokes and stories about his growing up years in New Orleans. He also shook his bonbons on stage and wiggled his hips with his musicians. He was in his best element, every bit the entertainer that he is. And everyone who watched him that night at the PICC would certainly agree.