The Frontmen delivered… and how!

MANILA, Philippines — The dreaded novel coronavirus scare didn’t taunt the Frontmen. Neither did their fans, who trooped to the Music Museum unfazed last Feb. 1, to watch Jett Pangan (The Dawn), Wency Cornejo (After Image), Basti Artadi (Wolfgang) and Dong Abay (Yano). The ’90s Frontmen Acousticized was the first time all-male singers of the popular bands in the ’90s shared the stage and performed together.

What was initially planned as a two-night concert turned out to be a really successful performance that will soon be reportedly turned into a nationwide tour and perhaps even another major show in a bigger venue or abroad.

Wency was one of the brains behind the ’90s Frontmen Acousticized concert. He was also among the undaunted producers ­— with Ayen Garcia and Jimmy Siybauco ­— who bankrolled the concert project under the production of Advantage International Marketing (AIM).

Ninety-five percent of the audience who watched at the Music Museum on the second night of ’90s Frontmen Acousticized were obviously long-time fans of the male artists. The fans were singing most of the songs the guys rendered onstage. They knew the lyrics. They excitedly sang along with the artists.

They amazingly stood, danced, jumped, clapped, shouted, even banged their heads in some of the ditties rendered. They laughed at the anecdotes. They appreciated the stories. They visibly enjoyed what they witnessed onstage.

It was a well-conceptualized concert production, from the artistic stage to the repertoire lined up to the acoustic musicians, everything gelled to deliver a highly successful and well-received performance.

The guys did not scrimp on delivering a well-thought-of repertoire. In all of three hours onstage, they sang their hits individually. They carried out production numbers. They did mash-ups of their original hits with popular songs. The turnout was impeccably great performance.

Even in the covers they did ­— as a group, like the opening number, Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit and their respective takes on certain hits (Wency’s Plush from Stone Temple Pilots, Basti’s Black Hole Sun of Soundgarden, Jett’s Alive by Pearl Jam and Dong’s Basket Case by Green Day) ­— they are perhaps the only local artists who could easily give justice to those songs.

“They are more than just Frontmen,” commented ABS-CBN’s Gian Carlo Vizcarra. “Calling them hitmakers also does not give them justice. They are true artists with unique messages, stories to tell, which are still relevant until now… not just in the ’90s!”

The guys got to render their solo spot numbers, post-band era. Basti did Last Goodbyes, which he wrote four years ago, after having been inspired by a documentary, Give Up Tomorrow, that became a driving force for him to pen a song. Jett sang Lipad, a love theme he did for a South Korean teleserye, Codename: Terrius, dubbed in Tagalog.

Dong rendered the love song, Perpekto, while Wency carried out the haunting Hanngan, a song originally offered to April Boy Regino and even to Luke Mejares, but for some reason, not one of them ended up recording it.

In his glittery, fringed scarves, which he described as his Kuya Germs (Moreno) accessory, Wency proudly acknowledged the arranger of the song, Alvin Nuñez, whose son, Jerome, was onstage that night playing the violin for the Frontmen. In the audience was Chuck Isidro, original lead and rhythm guitarist of After Image, whom Wency even hugged after he sang Hanggan.

Understandably, the guys rendered their signature hits and the audience was up on their feet. They didn’t have to sing the lyrics. The audience was doing it for them.

Jett brought the house down with Enveloped Ideas, Iisang Bangka and Salamat. Dong crooned Esem, Tsinelas, Banal na Aso and Santong Kabayo. Wency rendered the more familiar hits Habang May Buhay, Mangarap Ka and Next in Line. Basti gave the audience Arise, Mata ng Diyos and Halik ni Hudas.

The Frontmen also did their amusing, choreographed version of Backstreet Boys’ pop hit, I Want It That Way, complete with bright and shimmering jackets, with Paco Arespacochaga playing the drums on video. The latter also introduced the Frontmen and annotated parts of the concert. The three-hour show later wrapped up with the guys singing Kapayapaan.

With Gigi Arcay as pianist and musical director of a nine-piece band, ’90s Frontmen Acousticized was a long overdue concert and fans are undoubtedly screaming for a repeat this early.