Review: OMD Live in Manila - It's no secret... OMD is simply amazing

The New Wave synth-pop pioneer band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark held the one-night only Manila leg of their  History of Modern Tour  last March 12, 2012 at the famous Smart  Araneta Coliseum. The frantic bass-lines of the edgy "New babies: New toys", the opening track in their latest album,  History of Modern(2010),  kicked-off the high-energy concert. The audience  responded   to the call of the super-charged Andy McCluskey to stand up as he  appeared on the stage . However, they weren’t moving much or dancing enough to  his expectations. Perhaps surprised  by his  high-octane stage presence or they were just trying to decipher the tune that was sounding like a  classic OMD. After the song the witty McCluskey uttered, “ I know that was a new one, don't look so frightened, we're gonna play all the hits." The audience erupted in  cheers-- that broke the ice as from that  point, aside from the set of slow songs in the mid- part of the concert ,   the big-dome was like a gigantic dance floor as the audience danced, jumped, swayed and loudly sang along as the   OMD   went through their set consisting of their greatest hits peppered with  some tracks   from their latest album. .

Their first U.K. chart hit, the broodingly melodic “Messages” and the bouncy “Tesla Girls” followed, much to the audience's delight. A lesser known track “Radio Waves,” a gem from the 1983 experimental album, Dazzle Ships, came next   after which McClusky announced, “It’s bad dancing time”( a reference to his dancing style which on the contrary is actually good ) rousing the audience even more. After delivering the exhilarating “History of Modern Part 1” ( the 3rd  single from their latest album), two of their most popular hits came next; the sublime, "(Forever) Live and Die," sang by Paul Humphreys; and their  U.S.A. top 10   hit, the beautiful lament “If You Leave.” While  performing the latter, scenes from the 1986 movie Pretty in Pink, a teen-age  romance  classic which helped catapult the song into the charts and  OMD into global stardom, was  shown on the backdrop. Andy McCluskey once joked that they were actually an alternative band before this song. The audience swayed and swooned with much emotion on this one as if they were in  the '80’s again. 

The tempo was slowed down  as they performed the following set of   six songs: the  trio of U.K. top 5 hits from their critically acclaimed 1981 album, Architecture and Morality-- the lush and  lovely  “Souvenir,” OMD’s first single with  Paul Humphreys  on vocals; the atmospheric ethereal,  “Joan of Arc,” and the waltz-tinged, “Maid of Orleans,” their twin tribute to the Catholic saint;  the somber, “Statues,”  from their 1980 album ,Organisation. Although a song that is  likely unfamiliar to most in attendance , it managed to captivate them as well,  garnering  loud cheers of appreciation; the aching ballad, entitled  “Green” (from the History of Modern), wherein the stage lights and the backdrop turned green; and before performing the playful tune , “Talking loud clear,”  McCluskey reminded the audience to  “enjoy the last of the  slow songs" because after this ," it’s non-stop dancing time."

            Non-stop dancing time indeed, as the big-dome  turned into a huge dance floor as OMD delivered  the following   well-loved classics and  hits and a  final number from their latest album:  “So In Love,” their first song to chart in the U.S. top 40 in 1985, where McCluskey  delivered the falsetto superbly; the operatic “ Sister Marie Says”( the second single from History of Modern);  the upbeat “Locomotion,” a top 5  U.K. hit from their fourth album , Junk Culture;  the splendorous “Dreaming” where the audience  sang their hearts out  to  the chorus;  and after the pounding rhythm of  “Sailing on the Seven Seas,”  the set culminated in the New Wave genre classic , the gloriously uptempo, “Enola Gay” elevating the nostalgic exuberance even higher. McCluskey and Humphreys then  thank the audience for  the warm reception and after acknowledging the band members, exited the stage as the clamor for 'more'  reverberated in the arena.   

OMD returned for their 3 song encore after the deafening chants of “Secret”, “Secret,” ”Secret”… filled the big dome. Obviously, this has to be the favorite OMD song of Filipino New Wavers. The encore began with the soaring ”Walking on a Milky Way,”  proceeding with the crowd-pleaser of the night, the  gorgeous synth-ballad “Secret” sang by Humphreys and finally ending with the propulsive beats of “Electricity,”  the first song they(McCluskey and Humphreys) ever wrote.
 

All in all, for me  this was not just another night of memorable  and nostalgic  concert of one of my New Wave heroes, this has to be one of the best concerts I have ever  attended. Led by McCluskey, who kept the audience moving as he continuously danced, jumped , flailed, shook hands, and   exchanged high-fives ,  this 50-something  four-piece ensemble displayed an amazing  showmanship and  energy. "The kind of performance  that shows when band members are having fun together," as  Paul Humphreys said  in their  2010 tour  programme  book.