The concert was held in the historic Araneta Coliseum, the site of "Thrilla in Manila." It started at 8:30 pm as Belinda Carlisle’s name was announced. At this point, the coliseum was full… of empty seats. The audience at the VIP Patron , was thin. That may be a little overstatement. A handful might be a better description. It’s a good thing that the Lower Box , Upperbox A and the General Admission sections, already had an acceptable attendance. Fortunately, as the show went on, more people came in. Yes, majority of the audience came late. Maybe because of heavy traffic and/or more likely because it was Monday, they came from work.. By the time the Human League ( third act) was set to perform , I would describe the turnout as 'good.' (refer to the diagram )
The shaded (black) area represents the audience distribution as I saw it. The most populated sections are the Lower Box ( light blue) and Upper Box A (yellow). Both were packed except at the sides. Red (Center) = VIP; Red ( sides) = Patron; Green = Upper Box B; Grey = General Admissions
Belinda Carlisle took to the stage all by her lonesome singing in Karaoke style, ( minus one) "We Did The Same Thing," a minor hit from her third album in 1989. (Although unfamiliar in this part of the globe.) Afterwards she said in zest, that her band did not come but promised to bring them the next time. Seeing her all alone, wearing a simple black blouse and pants, amidst a dark stage with lots of empty sits in front, was a surrealistic site and initially hearbreaking to watch. Thankfully, the lively audience was supportive of her. After all, even without a backing band , she is still the same New Wave icon that Filipino fans adore. Belinda sang 6 more hit songs: "I Get Weak ", "Circle In The Sand " ; The Go Gos’, "We Got The Beat " and "Our Lips Are Sealed "; "Leave A Light On "; and lastly, "Heaven Is A Place On Earth." She still has her nice voice and even in her 50's, still has her charms and gorgeous looks. She was doing her signature dance moves while singing. Although I would rate her set as good, it was impossible not to get disappointed.
Next came Howard Jones, in a shiny blue blazer and glittering grey pants with matching dark shades. He had two electronic musicians with him. His performance, as well as his back-up, was absolutely brilliant. He sounds exactly the same as you would hear him on records. His distinct and strong voice easily reaching the high notes. The sound system was great and the huge LCD screen backdrop further enhanced his techno-music. Howard Jones sang thirteen songs. He started his set with the popular "Pearl In The Shell " to the delight of the audience . Afterwards the audience's interest and energy were waxing and waning as he sang a mixture of unfamiliar tunes ("Conditioning", "Equality", "Hide And Seek",and "Automaton") from his debut and sophomore albums, (Human's Lib and Dream Into Action) as well as popular songs such as "Look Mama." "Everlasting Love " and "No One Is To Blame." It was in the latter part of his set that all hell broke loose. It began with "Life In One Day" and was followed by a string of hit songs (which were all popular here in the 80s) such as "Like To Get To Know You Well", "Things Can Only Get Better", "What Is Love" and lastly, "New Song." The audience were up and dancing while singing along. Some were even dancing like there’s no tomorrow. It was frenzy...
The energy surge following Howard Jones' set was dampened a bit when it took a long while for the Human League to begin their show. They opened with "Never Let Me Go," the opening track of their latest cd, Credo. Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall did the lead vocals while Phil Oakey, his face hidden in his jacket’s hood, provided the backing vocals. Even though it was an unfamiliar track, they manage to entrall the audience with their performance. A fantastic show was delivered by the Human League!... complete with several wardrobe changes (which includes classy evening gowns), good lighting effects, entertaining backdrop, great backing band and most of all excellent singing. I read, Phil Oakey once said that they are a strange group, "the two ladies are pretty average singers", and he is a lead singer who doesn’t consider himself as a singer-- yet they still see themselves as a pop group." Perhaps Phil Oakey. was just being humble, because their voices were stunning. Phil Oakey has a rich baritone voice and sounded even better live as compared to his studio recordings. He was running frantically across the stage the whole time and but it did not affected his singing. His onstage energy not only belied his age but he actually looks a decade younger than 56. As for the two ladies, aside from their nice voices they certainly have class and elegance. They performed seventeen songs which included three from their latest cd. Although majority of the songs were likely unfamiliar to the audience , it was obvious that judging from their enthusiastic applause, they had a great time. The Human League's songs after all, are very catchy, infectious and melodic. I'm sure they won new fans (or renewed interest) that night. As expected their popular hits here earned the loudest cheers namely: "Lebanon," "Human," "(Keep Feeling) Fascination," "Don’t You Want Me" and the night closer, "Electric dreams." It is worth mentioning how very loud the audience sang along to the lines, "Don't you want me baby, don't you want me oohh", and "we'll always be together, together in electric dreams." Phil Oakey was in all smile as he was singing "Electric dreams." Perhaps fascinated by how loud the audience was singing along…
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| Susan Ann Sulley |
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| Joann Catherall |
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| some of the crowd at the upper box section |
Set list:
Never let me go ( new song)
Open your heart
The sound of the crowd
Heart like a wheel
Lebanon
Egomaniac (new song)
Empire state human
Night people ( new song)
Human
Love action
Tell me when
All I ever wanted
Mirror man
(Keep feellin') Fascination
Don't you want me
Being Boiled
Together in electric dreams
All in all, despite the Belinda Carlisle debacle, it was a great show and another memorable night of New Wave concert. I’m certain many would want to see them again… Next time though, I hope it will be on a weekend ( not Monday! ) and perhaps the organizer could sell some souvenirs and merchandises. It would have been much better if the new Human League CD, Credo was made available.
P.S. I would like to acknowledge and thank Gines Enriquez for the pictures.
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