Oldies night in Hamburg

From an early age I understood that Filipinos are a happy people, always laughing and singing. My mom is half-Filipina, born and bred in Manila, and through her I often found myself in tight friendship groups of Titas who never missed an opportunity to be together. When living in Rome, there was a particular group of aunties (Maris Gavino, Chiqui Monzon, Monet Recio and Angela Fernandez) who were always in the car with us or at our place — or my family at theirs.

Their reaction to songs on the radio was particularly enthusiastic to anything from the ‘70s and so I learned the lyrics to many as I grew up!  

When we moved to London, Tito Quinito and Tita Menchu (Henson) were forever turning up and taking or talking to my parents about some revival concert or another so I was treated to them singing whatever most stuck for weeks afterwards! This obviously did not deter me from music, and to the contrary, my love for music continued and developed into other areas (pop on the radio, teenage angst soft rock, pumping dance music and now an eclectic mix which can’t really be defined). But I always kept a soft spot for those oldie classics…

Little did I suspect that one chilly October evening (while visiting my parents who now live in Germany) I’d find myself setting out with parents and Italian boyfriend to attend an Oldies Night concert at what the locals call  “the blue wonder” (the Color Line Arena) in Hamburg. We were seated directly opposite the stage, cheaper than those flanking the stage, but more comfortable than the standing-only room right in front of the action! When we arrived 10 minutes after the concert started, we were immediately plunged into Dave’s medley of classics including covers of Barbara Ann (The Beach Boys), Yellow Submarine (Beatles) and Let’s Twist Again (Chubby Checker).

After this initial whirlwind of clapping, singing along and finger-pointing, the fantastic Dave left us for a non-listed warm-up band: Matchbox who played for nearly an hour. Then, it was a beeline to the kiosks during the break for some traditional German pretzel, cheese-bread and apfel-shorle (apple juice mixed with fizzy water). Cue a darkened room and Close Encounters of the Third Kind music. Wondering what lay in store, we were treated to an energetic stage entrance by The Searchers who jumped on and launched into several of their classics including Sweets for my Sweet and their first USA No. 1 Love Potion No. 9.

After another break, The Shadows (featuring Bruce Welch) took the stage, immediately establishing rapport with the audience with the comment, “Hamburg, it’s great to be here. Well, at our age, it’s great to be anywhere!” Their set was mostly instrumental with hits such as Atlantis (responding to a catcall to sing Apache — a big hit in 1978 — with “I can’t, it’s an instrumental!” although they did play it later).  Someone requested The Young Ones but Bruce was quick to answer “no, we’re the old ones now!”

Reaching 10 p.m., the mega-marathon continued with The Hollies clad in white shirts and black ties. Chatting to the growing crowd, they delved into the more traditional with JenniferEccles, Bus Stop and Carrie Anne which, despite their age, still had everyone tapping their feet in a sea of smiles. My highlight (and probably my dad’s too) was a great rock ‘n roll version of Blowing in the Wind. A close second (and I think my mom’s favorite) was introduced with the comment that “If everyone lived by the words of this song the world would definitely be a better place” as they aired their self-professed anthem, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother followed by a simply beautiful, very vocal rendition dedicated to all those who love of The Air that I Breathe.

Later still, to an arena much fuller than at the start of this indoor, oldies Woodstock  it was flashing lights and Oh Suzi Q, I love you as Suzi Quatro and band took to the stage. Last but not least, came Boney M, the Caribbean group — striving to make the nation of their producer proud, playing on home ground.

So as it turns out, music lives on and now I am sure I will be singing these songs, at home in Milan, for the weeks to come as my mom has been for the last 20 or 30 years!

(The author, 27, was born in Copenhagen to French father Pierre Viarnaud and Filipina-Danish mother Janice Umali Berthelsen. She earned a joint Economics and Management degree at Oxford University in 2001. Tania works with the international strategy team of Barclays Bank in Milan. An enthusiastic traveler, she often visits Manila and her mother’s roots in Tiaong. She’s also an avid practitioner of ashtanga yoga and an aspiring photographer.)