Yeng & Bamboo in BY Request

MANILA, Philippines - Two mainstream rock royalties Bamboo (Mañalac) and Yeng Constantino may be regulars of Sunday noontime TV but that doesn’t mean they can no longer show something new to spectators come their joint concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. 

The highly-anticipated stage showdown dubbed BY Request is scheduled on Aug. 17, with the set list, as literally indicated, determined through fan requests via Twitter and online voting. 

“We’re gonna do a lot of ’90s stuff and other fan favorites we intend to perform in ways na hindi namin normally ginagawa,” stated the rock icon who used to be the frontman of Rivermaya and the now-defunct quartet named after him. 

Both Bamboo and Yeng gave a little picture of their intention when they performed a sweeping acoustic version of Maroon 5’s first big hit This Love during a recent gathering to promote the concert. It is likely that they’ll do some Rivermaya hits on concert night.

The idea of pairing the two in a major-scale indoor show originated from a duet number they performed on ABS-CBN’s ASAP, singing the ’80s classic Here Comes The Rain Again by Eurythmics. 

Yeng, recently named ambassadress by Singapore’s Academy of Rock, is honored to be sharing the bill with a rock superstar currently taking extra spotlight as coach in The Voice Of The Philippines.” She said of Bamboo, “Sobrang generous niya when it comes to great ideas. He’s an open book na worthy basahin.”

Bamboo already established himself as a solo act, recently releasing the single Carousel which he wrote himself. The song, final mastered in California, was part of his repackaged debut solo album No Water No Moon which reached gold status early this year. 

He was recognized at the 25th Awit Awards for Best Performance by a Male Recording Artist with his take on his game-changing single Questions. 

The Rock Maestro, as a nod to his concert partner acknowledged as today’s Rock Princess, shared, “Yeng is someone with a plan. She wants to do a different attack for every song she sings and I fall into the idea when I see her do that.”

Yeng, whose latest album Metamorphosis features the high-recall hit pop ditty Chinito, added, “Marami kaming hinahanda na bago sa paningin at panlasa ng mga tao. It’s very challenging for us both, especially first time namin pareho in a major concert sa Big Dome.” 

Amusing that both stars haven’t topbilled an Araneta show considering their track record. 

Director Paul Basinilio gave a short but crisp hint of what to be seen in BY Request, having described it as “very intriguing and fresh.”