Were you there with me at the concert? Did you dance and participate in the tremor that rocked the Basset Theatre? Absolutely certain that you, like me, swooned and sang back the chartbusters with Gary – di ba, word for word, with feelings? We were all willing captives of Gary, not wanting to unlock the cell. When he sighed, we gasped louder.
When he shook his hips, we aimed for better gyration. We were not just an audience – we rose collectively as one with him. The show was such a supreme hit! While I truly expected it to be incredibly goood, the show went beyond my expectations. SOBRA!
Right now, I am still swiftly flowing to the contagious beat of Hataw na! The iconic Gary V who has soared to new record highs is reaching a new peak. To say Congratulations is not enough. SANA MAULIT MULI.
Early was 5:30 pm, Oct 1, at the Metro Convention Ctr, particularly Basset Theatre. The queue thickened, lines grew longer – we knew the show would not get started exactly at 6, gates were still screwed tight. I chose to pause at a corner viewing from a vantage point, amazed at the milling crowd. Close to 7:00 – seats were all swiftly taken, no pushing and elbowing absent from a seemingly more behaved devotees who were there to recapture a part of their youth spent in our home country during the 80s-90s era. Gary was right when he asked in a pleased tone, “you’ve been with me for 40 yrs?” Aahh, isn’t it, Life does begin at 40!
When finally the lights hit Gary on the stage, all his moves began rhythmically attuned to each pulsating sound (either by a mere brush of the cymbals – crash, clang, dya-dyaaang) that’s why his first number, Mahal na Mahal Ko Siya connected him pronto to everyone in the audience. Hala-bira!
His Drama Medley: Each Passing Night, Reaching Out, Narito and Sana Maulit Muli drew emotions on a larger scale. For a while it hushed the crowd that easily turned to a frenetic frenzied pace as he did Shake it Off with his son Gab.
‘Twas like seeing double, father and son fused, merged. True, veritable fan-fulfilling moments. I knew this would even take us higher to the end. Soon enough the addictive chant of Gary! Gary! Gary! filled the air. All of us would stand at one point or another to express adulation and solid worship, certifying our I-love-you Gary pledge forever and a day. This very night, Gary’s music crossed and closed all the gaps of today’s time of splintered beliefs, opposing opinions and recently fueled wars – his brand conquers all.
When he did Be My Lady, the amused loving listeners felt his friendship with Martin N (if you recall, weeks earlier, Martin was at the Nathan square greeting his fans by saying, “Hi, I am Gary V”).
The inspirational song, the Warrior is a Child, which Gary first heard in 1985 and sang at the wake of Rico Yan was met first by a deafening silence that broke into a thunderous applause.
Gary V has calibrated his awesome evolution, how can you beat his being unbeatable? (I was seated with Tess Cusipag, this paper’s ed and publisher and oft-times she vocalized, “This is the best concert I have seen in Toronto! Do you hear me, BK?” I looked at Tess and stood up to clap until my hands turned red and Tess followed me doing the same, trying to clap louder than me).
When Gary asked “what other songs do you want to hear?”, the wild reaction was tower-of-babel like, but of course Growing Up from the film Bagets was a universal choice, the concert catapulted now in high gear. You scream out the lyrics in a cacophonous chorus I’m growing up, getting down, Putting my both feet on the ground, With all my friends behind me, How can I go wrong this time? Tripping back to an era we refused to get out of. Could we stay and freeze this one? Please?
I sensed the clock ticking off to closing time when the first notes of Hataw Na led the entire room to a nonstop dancing machine. Gary V, the relentless one! His stamina came from a deep well like an eternal reservoire. (I can’t believe he’s the same extremely shy guy I met in 1983 – Kuh Ledesma had twisted my arms and convinced me to “Help this new talent, believe me, he will be the next singing sensation!”)
The encore was soothing, How did you know I needed someone like you in my life? That there’s an empty space in my heart? You came at the right time in my life (theme song of All My Life starring Aga Muhlach and Kristine Hermosa).
Congratulations are in order – first to Belinda Reyes who line-produced this unforgettable event. To Gary V’s entire team, you are the ultimate! Take a bow especially musical director Mon Faustino, and everyone who did every detail – lights, sound, choreography – you all formed an incredible show. The unsung heroine? Maria Anna Elizabeth “Angeli” Pangilinan Valenciano, Gary’s other half that makes him whole.
P.S.: After the concert – like Angeli, I also felt the damp on my cheeks, so moving for me. And you know what Gary? When you did Wag Ka Nang Umiyak (theme from Probinsyano), I felt you and I were just alone in the sold-out venue. Like you were just singing to me, pure and simple. it brought me back to that wake of FPJ in 2004 when the three of us – you, Ate Sue (SUSAN ROCES) and me shared seats together. Salamat.
Jung Haein
Okay guyz, listen. Like me, you may not be able to pronounce his name right but I know you know him as well as I do. Just call him Jung.
We all started embracing the Korean telenovelas at the onset of the pandemic. We became Netflix fanatics – and our top favorite then was CLOY (Crash Landing On You) that had our full attention during our lockdown days. Remember this paragliding misadventure, and a love that crosses the divide between North and South.
Heartbreaking and hilarious, CLOY starred Yoon Se-ri (Son Ye-jin), a millionaire K-beauty entrepreneur and also a pro-am paraglider with her own lifestyle brand who gets sucked into a freak tornado and dumped into the demilitarised zone between South and North Korea. There, she’s discovered by an extremely dishy North Korean soldier (Captain Ri, played by dashing Hyun Bin) who tries to help her return south and some twists and turns let them end up happily ever after even in real life – we all saw their televised wedding.
But before CLOY, Son-Ye-jin was the leading lady of Jung Haein in Something in the Rain, a romcom that also stole our hearts. The soundtracks of this love story include Stand By Your Man performed by french/Italian singer Carla Bruni (in real life she married the former President of France Nicolas Sarkozy – but do you know that she was once rumored to be the girlfriend of Donald Trump?). The other popular song featured here – which we love to hear when Jung bikes around his ladylove Son-ye Jin is Save the Last Dance for Me (recorded by Bruce Willis, ex husband of Demi Moore and famous for his Die Hard films -who is currently diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia that impacts the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain.)
Now, Jung Haein is embarking on his first ever U.S. fanmeeting tour, “The 10th Season,” this November. To commemorate the past 10 years since his first major acting role, the actor will visit New Jersey, Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Toronto to greet his North American fans.
Jung landed his first TV role in 2014 with an appearance in the series, Bride of the Century. Since then, he’s acted in a variety of supporting and leading roles, including While You Were Sleeping and Prison Playbook.
In the past few years, the actor has gained even more recognition due to his lead role performance as Lim Sooho in the JTBC drama, Snowdrop, and as a military police officer in Netflix’s series D.P. Most recently, Jung starred in the Disney Plus drama, Connect, and is slated to return to his role for a second season on Netflix’s D.P. this year. But to us romcom fans, his Something in the Rain remains our favorite. There were rumors that Jung was attracted to Son Ye-Jin before Hyun Bin snatched her away.
Something In the Rain has every ingredient to make for a cult classic. But mastering the art of romancing Son Ye Jin was a tough nut to crack for Jung Hae In who once revealed how he was taken aback by her charm and felt nervous while filming for the drama.
During one of the promotional interviews of the show, both Ye Jin and Hae In were asked about their first impressions of each other. Replying to this, Jung Hae In revealed he was too nervous to witness the goddess that Son Ye Jin is. “I knew that she was very pretty as I had watched her in a lot of films. But seeing her in real life, I was totally startled. I thought she was such a goddess. My heart fluttered. I didn’t know where to look. So when I first saw her, I was a little like that.” He said – before adding, “I think that day I drank a lot of alcohol.” Later, Jung Hae-in said, “It has become better now as we got closer, but at first my eyes kept turning elsewhere, while looking at her.”
Talking about Jung Hae In, Son Ye Jin added, “I thought he looked better in real life too. His skin is really nice too.”
The former on-screen couple now shares a great camaraderie off-screen, and the CLOY star has even invited Jung Hae In to her wedding.
Here is the scheduled 2023 Fan meeting with JUNG
Nov. 17 — Jersey City, New Jersey — Margaret Williams Theatre
Nov. 19 —Los Angeles, CA — Saban Theatre
Nov. 24 — Vancouver, BC, Canada — Bell Performing Arts Centre
Nov. 26 — Toronto, Ontario, Canada — Global Kingdom Ministries Auditorium
The tickets are not cheap – ranging from 200+ to almost 400 per person. But already, fans have started buying. Are you going? I might! JUNG is so guapo but I like Hyun Bin better. How about you?
Dear Charo
Last October 4, some heartbreaking news about my dear friend Charo: Cesar Rafael M. Concio Jr., a prominent businessman and husband of actress-media executive Charo Santos-Concio, has sadly passed away at the age of 91, just weeks before his 92nd birthday.
Both Cesar and Charo are October-born – Cesar on the 24th and Charo on the 27th.
I was there at the Pebble Beach in Carmel, California when Cesar and Charo got married on November 7, 1982.
“I feel truly blessed to have found him and every day, I’m inspired to do what I can to prove worthy of the blessing that he is in my life,” Charo had said then. Charo recalled how her “different” love story and eventual marriage to a man some 20 years her senior shocked family, relatives and friends. The first time she was introduced to her husband was when she was presented as a print model for his company.
This was in the ‘80s and she was a fast-rising model-actress in her early 20s. “Cesar was in his 40s, highly accomplished, so we were eventually introduced and I found him to be very warm, respectful, gracious, a true gentleman of the old school. I called him Mr. Concio,” she said.
They became good friends that she was no longer surprised when he invited to join him and his friends to tour Europe after the screening of her then film, Mike de Leon’s Kisapmata, at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival in France.
She agreed because she needed a break and they were friends. “I felt safe, not knowing that he was going to Europe pala to propose to the girl he was in love with! But the odds were against him. I was half his age. He was separated with children. Our first stop was St. Peter’s Basilica (in the Vatican). I asked God to bless me with a good husband. I didn’t have the tiniest idea that it was going to be the man standing beside me.”
The rest is history…We are keeping Cesar in our prayers.
Joe Mari Chan
We are now feeling the cold breeze of the coming holidays. Meaning, Jose Mari Chan will be here to spend an early Christmas with us with The Company on November 19th at the Canada Center at Whitby.
See you after 2 weeks. Pasko na, sinta ko.****
