'Unchained' evening with The Lettermen

Halfway into the trio’s SRO concert at the Big Dome Wednesday night, Mark Preston, the macho member of The Lettermen, asked the SRO audience composed mostly of Baby Boomers (among them Justice Secretary Renato Corona, US Ambassador Harry Thomas, Mike Enriquez, Vivian Sarabia, one-time Miss Philippines Joy Conde and election lawyer Romy Macalintal) before launching into his solo number, “Where were you in 1967?”

Perhaps even before anyone could start going 43 years back, Mark answered his own question: “I was watching Wowowee! Wowowee, Wowowee! Wherever I was and whenever I turned on my TV, I watched Wowowee, Wowowee!” And then he started singing…what a fitting song!…Going Out of My Head. Did Mark have any inkling that, for years until today when the ABS-CBN show fades out (for good or for the meantime?) Filipinos all over the world have been, that’s it, going out of their heads over Wowowee whose “suspended” host Willie Revillame must have been singled out from the audience by Mark and asked to sing along with him?

The guy Mark certainly knew how to touch a soft spot in the heart of the audience that reacted with a hearty applause and proceeded to sing-along with Mark, gently swaying on their seats as they relived the past half century made memorable by the songs of The Lettermen, only one original member of which, the durable Tony Butala, is active. The trio’s other new member is Donovan Tea whose good “vintage Lettermen voice” matched, like that of Mark, his good looks.

Like in their previous concerts in a span of five decades, the one on July 28 was an “unchained” one, a free-wheeling sing-along encouraged by the trio who doesn‘t seem to get tired singing their old hits, in response to insistent public demand, over and over and over again, like a refreshing refrain from a beautiful past, prompting Tony (who is a favorite of former First Lady Imelda Marcos) to joke before his own solo number from the classic West Side Story, “You know, I’ve been singing this song every night in every show for the past 50 years and I’m sick of it,” adding, “That’s a joke!”

Then, Tony went down the stage and looked for a lady named Maria in the audience and sang, yes, Maria to her as he escorted her to the front where he continued serenading her the way Richard Beymer did to Natalie Wood in a poignant scene from the Hollywood movie.

I loved the way Donovan introduced his solo number, “The really good songs will stand the test of time. But they don’t write songs the way they used to. Somehow, somewhere you can find good ones like…” The Big Dome reverberated with a deafening applause as Donovan sang Somewhere with so much passion and energy that Tony challenged Mark, “Can you match that?” Taking up the gauntlet, Mark did Copacabana while running around the Patron Section, shaking hands and blowing kisses, not missing a beat and not panting at all. Amazing! Back onstage, Mark sang Lady, the Lionel Richie hit, sounding so smoothly that he didn’t seem to have just done a semblance of his morning jog around the crowded Big Dome.

One of the enchanted evening’s most unforgettable numbers was Tony’s rendition of Unchained Melody (used as theme song of the Hollywood hit Ghost, starring Demi Moore with the late Patrick Swayze), with “unchained” defining the mood of the evening.

It was strictly “audience participation,” with most everybody singing along with every number, knowing every song by heart, word for word, stanza for stanza, from Our Day Will Come, Traces, Put Your Head On My Shoulder, Shangrila, Up Up and Away, The Wonder of You, Venus, I Only Have Eyes For You, The Way You Look Tonight, Symphony For Susan and the heart-tugging Graduation Day which never fails to draw buckets of tears when performed during commencement exercises.

At one point, The Lettermen as usual, invited members of the audience to a photo-op onstage while singing a medley of five songs, or even more if the line of souvenir-seekers gets longer and longer. Very accommodating!

Said Tony toward the end of the show, “We’ve been performing in the Philippines several times. Salamat po! We love you!”

And to show that love, The Lettermen did a medley of the enduring OPM songs Hindi Kita Malimot, Ikaw, Sapagkat Kami’y Tao Lamang and, but of course, Dahil Sa’yo, which they sang heavily-accented, conveying an even more genuine feeling than some homegrown singers ever could,

After singing MacArthur Park to a standing ovation, the trio once more said “Salamat po!” to an audience looking forward to another “unchained” evening with The Lettermen — “Same time, next year,” promised Tony.

Still and all, the audience didn’t want to let the trio go.

“Want more?” asked Mark.

Yes: More, more, more!

And as the night wore on, The Lettermen sang More! You know, more than the greatest love the world has known, this is the love I give to you alone…

(Note: For “more” of The Lettermen, those in Baguio may watch the trio at their show tomorrow night, July 31, at the University of Baguio. After the July 28 Big Dome show, the trio staged one last night at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu. For tickets to the Baguio show, call Ticketnet at 911-5555. The Lettermen concerts are produced by Renen de Guia’s Ovation Productions.)

Briefly noted

• Remember Josephine “Banig” Roberto, the 10-year-old Filipina who beat Christina Aguilera in the US TV talent show Star Search hosted, if memory serves, by Arsenio Hall? After making waves in the States, she simply disappeared as if into thin air. Funfare just got word that Banig has just released a new CD simply called Josephine Roberto with 14 tracks both in English and Tagalog written by Banig herself with her musical partner and younger sister Jhoanna Roberto. The Funfare source said that the CD is released in the US and is now available on iTunes and www.banigonline.com. Check it out.

• During the week of Cinemalaya Film Festival in the CCP, the undersigned and Eric Ramos, the team behind the award-winning Two Funerals were accused of a crime called plagiarism by a certain Bong Ramos (who claims to be an independent filmmaker) and someone who is the line producer of another Cinemalaya film (he is too insignificant to be mentioned). They were supported by some press people and the duo, to quote Portes, “ignited a senseless controversy. Why? Only God knows. The two of us spoke to Cinemalaya for clarification.” Below is their statement signed by Laurice Guillen, Chair, Cinemalaya Competition and Nestor Jardin, Festival Director of Cinemalaya:

In response to the clarification sought by Mr. Gil Portes and Mr. Eric Ramos, director and scriptwriter of the Cinemalaya film Two Funerals respectively, the Cinemalaya Organizing Commitee wishes to announce that upon careful deliberation, it found no plagiarism or copyright infringement involved in the script of said film.

Three Cinemalaya Screening Committee members have gone through the scripts of Two Funerals and Biyaheng Norte and have concluded that the two scripts are distinctly different from each other.

The Cinemalaya Organizing Committee hopes that this statement will put to rest any issue related to this matter.

• From reader Jacqueline Lontok:

 I read your article about Jon Foo who plays Jin Kazama in the Tekken movie. You might be interested to know that Gary Daniels, who plays Bryan Fury in the same movie is married to a Filipina who also happens to be my sister-in-law, Ma. Cynthia Lontok Daniels.  They are blessed with five children, Shane, Mailee, Kinshiro, Samji and Koji.  They are LA-based and are frequent Manila visitors.  Gary even filmed a movie here in the late ’80s whose title escapes my husband’s memory.  Just a little bit of trivia for your readers.

As Funfare reported last Monday, Jon Foo was invited to the Philippines by Pioneer Films producer Wilson Que to grace the movie’s premiere last Sunday, July 25. Jon is a cross between Orlando Bloom and Michael J. Fox. He won the hearts of the Philippine media with his warmth and friendliness. He’s half-Chinese and half-Irish.

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