Boyce Avenue serenades The Big Dome

By Patricia Taculao

FEBRUARY 14 is a significant global event where people celebrate love in all forms. But before Valentine’s Day came, Boyce Avenue serenaded its Filipino fans in a concert held on February 11 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Opening the event were three local acts, Nobita The Juans and Adie, whose hit songs stirred various emotions from listeners. First up on stage was Nobita, bringing melancholic vibes with their music. The slow, soothing music set the mood for the audience, hinting that it was a night that would appeal to their sentiments and bring a wave of nostalgia through music.

After Nobita, The Juans took the stage to delight the Araneta crowd with their lively performance. However, they took a different approach to celebrate love. Aside from performing love songs for the couples present, they also tugged on the heartstrings of attendees with complicated love lives. The Juans performed their song “Ihahatid Kita” while encouraging the audience to let go of things not meant for them, even if they hold them near and dear.

Singer-songwriter Adie took the stage last before giving way to Boyce Avenue, stirring up the crowd even further. He sang his latest piece, “G.K.Y.A.M.” (Gusto Kita ‘Yun Ang Mahalaga), giving waves of kilig to his fans in the crowd. Adie also performed his hit song, “Mahika,” with the audience singing along.

Even though the night was some days away from Valentine’s Day, the three local acts made the attendees feel heard and represented through their music. When Boyce Avenue took the stage, the crowd felt the emotions and music to enjoy the concert further.

Boyce Avenue is an American cover band formed in Sarasota, Florida, by brothers Alejandro Luis Manzano, Daniel Enrique Manzano, and Fabian Rafael Manzano

Throughout the night, they switched from singing their original compositions to popular covers and vice versa. Filipino fans couldn’t keep themselves from singing along to the band’s rendition of classics like “Every Breath You Take,” “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” and “Unchained Melody.” They also had their take on more recent pieces, including “Blinding Lights” and “Easy On Me.”

Since the concert is Boyce Avenue’s pre-Valentine offering, they didn’t pass up on singing several Ed Sheeran songs like “Castle On A Hill” and “Perfect,” Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years,” and Coldplay’s “Yellow.” The eager crowd couldn’t help but sing along and feel like the band was serenading them directly.

Boyce Avenue began in 2004 by posting song cover videos on YouTube in 2007, paving their career as professional musicians. They have over 4.8 billion YouTube views and over 16.2 million subscribers thanks to their acoustic take on popular songs. It’ll be their 11th time returning to the Philippines after carving out a niche among the local music scene’s favorite foreign artists. They began visiting the country in February 2009.

Besides their pre-Valentine concert in Manila, Boyce Avenue has two more shows in the Philippines, which continue on February 12 at the Waterfront Hotel Ballroom in Cebu and February 14 at the SMX Convention Center in Davao.

The two voices on “Passenger Seat” are not even harmonizing. They’re singing different melodies in the same way that John Lennon and Paul McCartney were toward the end of “I’ve Got A Feeling,” a nearly forgotten Beatles track that features the legendary songwriting tandem vocally collaborating on equal footing for the last time. The trick simply works.

Stephen Speaks turns out to be a rare foreign act that hit it big in the Philippines which, to say the least, is way bigger than anywhere else where their music is heard. To put that in context, Fra Lippo Lippi’s career is significantly marked by its huge popularity in the Philippines.

Checking the Wikipedia entry on Stephen Speaks shows that upon the Philippine release of their debut studio album “No More Doubt,” under Warner Music Philippines 20 years ago, it was declared platinum just 10 days after. It also noted that their songs “Passenger Seat” and “Out Of My League,” as expected, “received significant airplay atop Filipino radio stations.”

Small wonder that the Philippines has been quite a regular stop for Stephen Speaks, with its legacy carried on by singer-songwriter Rockwell Ryan Ripperger. The guy is currently in the country doing a series of shows, promoting a new single called “Tryin To Prove,” and working on the release of a greatest hits album on vinyl format. He shared, “I was last here in 2019 and I was planning on doing a few more things but it got interrupted by the pandemic. I came back as soon as I could. I love the Philippines and I am glad to be back.”

That the latest release dropped on Valentine’s Day featured his collaboration with TJ McCloud, their first since “Passenger Seat,” makes this particular visit extra thrilling.

Filipino fans have already seen Stephen Speaks face to face for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic. The act performed at Wish Radio’s event set in Solaire (February 12), the UP Fair (February 14), and Eastwood (February 15).

Today (February 16), the music goes to McKinley Hill, and then wraps it up in Ayala Bay (February 18) and Ayala Terraces (February 19).

“TJ McCloud is the co-writer of ‘Passenger Seat’ and I am excited about our new single. It is a preview of our new album that will be out either late this year or next year,” stressed Ripperger who’s working with local record label Eikon records for the vinyl release of Stephen Speaks’ best tracks.

The group’s other major hit “Out of My League” is one gentle piano piece that has made listeners “shiver but in a good way.” It also ensured they’re no one-hit wonder.

The album to be packed with hit songs should be available around October. A concert to coincide with its release is in the works.