Then & Now Massive Music Festival 2010

Since most of the orchestras are still in vacation leave, there haven’t been any performances lately. So what’s a music lover to do? As for me, I watched the Then & Now Massive Music Festival 2010 held at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds. Billed as the biggest music event of the year, this concert boasts of nine international artists: V Factory, TQ, PM Dawn, Diana King, Frankie J, Baby Bash, Jojo, All-4-One and SWV.

To warm things up, opening act and the only local artist in the show Myrus Ramirez started the night singing a bunch of covers. Then it was time for the music festival to begin. First to perform was V Factory. I never liked boybands and their performance didn’t make me like them more. But they were still greeted with screams from the women in the audience. The group has five members but only four were present to perform since one was busy shooting a Glee episode if I’m not mistaken.

Next on the stage was TQ who did a mix of new and old tracks. Obviously, his most applauded number was Westside. And his shedding off his clothes per number elicited more shrieks from the women in the audience.

PM Dawn next performed but this set felt very odd to me since on the stage was a man named Doc G who isn’t an original member of the group. DJ Minute Mix already left the group and Prince Be who is the voice behind the hits had a stroke and wasn’t able to travel. So it was indeed odd for me to see and hear someone else singing/rapping songs like Looking Through Patient Eyes, Die Without You and Set Adrift on Memory Bliss that I’ve loved years ago. But I had to give props to Doc G for dedicating his performance to the late FrancisM and also wearing a shirt bearing the three stars and the sun of the Philippine flag.

Doc G of PM Dawn

Following next was a very enthusiastic Diana King. Her set was one of the most well received of the night since she was just a bundle of energy and I was very impressed that her vocals still sounded the same after all these years. And it was during her performance that I found myself bouncing up and down to her tunes Ain’t Nobody and Shy Guy which other people might find appalling (not her tunes but with me bouncing up and down).

So I had to apologize to the next performer Frankie J since I had to rest a bit during his set. I felt a bit drained after Diana King so I just had to sit it out during most of his set. I do think that he does have a nice falsetto as he sang Don’t Wanna Try, More than Words and Obsession (No Es Amor) since although I was sitting down, I still listened to him.

Frankie J’s last song was Obsession and at this time, Baby Bash joined him. After this, it was his turn to pump up the crowd. Honestly, I was still trying to regain some energy so I still sat on the floor for this one. I’m not really familiar with a lot of Baby Bash’s music but I do know Suga Suga and that’s when Frankie J returned on stage to sing his part in it.

After this, JoJo had her set and it seemed that a lot of people present were really looking forward to her performance. The crowd really got pumped up when she appeared on stage and a lot were quite surprised with her black with a splash of glittery silver outfit that announced that she’s already a woman. Accompanied by a four man band, she really worked the stage singing her tunes Leave (Get Out), How to Touch a Girl, Too Little Too Late, Anything. She did have difficulty finding her key with Leave since there was a problem with her hearing the track from the stage. She also sang a couple of new tunes and she seemed very pleased by the positive response from the crowd for her new material. And because of this, she promised to be back when it’s time for her to promote her new album.

Immediately following JoJo was the group All-4-One. Now, this is one act that I was really looking forward to during that night since I used to sing their songs back then. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case for a lot of people who left after JoJo performed. I can’t blame them since the concert was already past the four hour mark when All-4-One had their set. Too bad since they missed the group sing their hits like I Can Love You Like That and a very nice a cappella rendition of So Much In Love. And as expected, they capped their set with a performance of their biggest hit, I Swear. They did really well although I did find their choreography a bit cheesy. I honestly thought that their vocals were more than enough to enliven the set.

Finally, it was the turn of SWV to perform. Right before the concert, I’ve been telling people from the Manila Blogger’s Network and Manila Concert Scene that SWV was my main reason for watching the concert. And finally that moment came just when I was really feeling the fatigue and the exhaustion that night. But I knew that I had to get into my energy reserves and enjoy this last set. And I really did enjoy their performance since they sang what I expected them to sing like Right Here/Human Nature and I’m So Into You. And it was quite fitting that they ended the concert with their biggest hit, Weak since it seemed that everybody in the audience was already weak from the five hour concert.

Overall, it was a nice concert especially if one likes all the artists who performed. For me, it was uneven since I liked some and some I never really cared for. With the exception of PM Dawn, it was nice to see the groups with the original members and also for still retaining their vocal chops even after all these years. But I did get very tired after the concert and felt really bad the day after. I guess that my aging body has yet to get used to five hour concerts without the benefit of cushioned seats and airconditioned concert halls.

Yes, the Then & Now Massive Music Festival 2010 was indeed a Massive music event. But it was also a Massive test of endurance, patience and dedication. And I am very glad that I was able to stay with it until the very end. Thanks to Azrael Coladilla for the ticket and it was nice meeting the rest of the bloggers and the peeps from the Manila Concert Scene as well.