MANILA, Philippines - “Mahal namin kayo!”
Thus said Alejandro Manzano of the American band Boyce Avenue during their Manila concert at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City yesterday, Valentine's Day.
READ: Why Boyce Avenue loves coming back
Boyce Avenue - a band of brothers composed of Alejandro (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Fabian Manzano (guitar, vocals) and Daniel Manzano (bass, percussion, vocals) - has been in the country a number of times in the past.
But Alejandro said their Araneta show is “officially the biggest show we have ever played among the headline shows that we’ve had.”
The band, which was formed during the mid-2000s and became famous for their cover of hit songs on YouTube, first performed in the Philippines in 2009.
“We’ve always hoped to come and play in Araneta one day. So thank you guys for being part of that,” Alejandro said.
The trio knew how to engage their audience, a crowd that’s mostly composed of couples out on their Valentine’s day dates. Aside from asking the crowd to sing with them in a number of songs and saying the requisite Filipino phrases, the band even picked a female fan from the audience to go on stage and take a photo with them in the middle of the concert.
Their set list is made up mostly of cover songs - from recent hits such as Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven” and Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” to adult contemporary songs such as Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Cars.” But they also performed original songs. For instance, they opened the concert with “Speed Limit,” an original song from their 2014 EP “No Limits.
Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest days in the country when it comes to concerts, with almost every concert venue holding a major show. So it’s a testament to the popularity of Boyce Avenue that they were able to almost fill Araneta, which has a seating capacity of almost 15,000.
“Thank you guys for sharing today with us. You could have been anywhere but you chose to be here with us,” Alejandro said. “We love you guys dearly for that. Happy Valentine’s Day!”
“You’ve been such an amazing crowd at such a special night,” Alejandro said as he ended the show. “We love you dearly, Philippines.”
Here are photos from the Boyce Avenue concert in Manila on Valentine’s Day: [Slideshow will load below]
Photo credit: Philstar.com/Jonathan Asuncion