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At nearly 50, Gary V still owns the title Mr. Pure Energy
Photos by Ritchie Tongo/EPA
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On April 13, 1984, Gary Valenciano performed for the first time before a sold-out crowd in his show “A-Live” at the Araneta Coliseum.
Fast forward to 2014. The man who has since been known as Mr. Pure Energy returned to the Big Dome with “Arise: Gary V 3.0” to celebrate a career that spans 30 years, thrilling fans the world over and inspiring many artists like him.
Friends and colleagues from the industry like Martin Nievera and Lani Misalucha showed their support on Friday, April 11, the first of his two-night concert at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
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Tom Taus’s throwback opener
Tom Taus set the tone for the throwback performance.
The former child actor, who is now making waves in the US as a DJ, worked the crowd by mixing hard beats with a string of 90s hits, including Rivermaya’s “Kisapmata” and INOJ’s “My Boo.”
By the time Tom was done, the crowd, which was a good mix of young and old, was ready for Gary, who launched into a performance of one of his first hits in the 80s, “Di Bale Na Lang.”
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A nostalgic ride
Interspersed with videos of his performances back in the day, Gary took fans on a nostalgic ride filled with many of his well-loved songs such as “Di Na Natuto,” “Hang On,” “Reaching Out” and “Natutulog Ba ang Diyos?”
Gary, who’s turning 50 in August, also showed he still has the moves that earned him his nickname “Mr. Pure Energy” by performing songs like “Heto Na Naman” (with his son, Gab), and “Sayahweh” (with the Manoeuvres, whom Gary refers to as his “brothers”).
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Emotional family tributes
The concert was truly a family affair, marked by the singer’s emotional tributes to his loved ones. He sang “I Will Be Here” while a video of his late father, Vicente flashed on the big screen onstage.
He also performed the title track of his latest album, “With You” with his only daughter, Kiana.
He had composed the song especially for the wedding of his eldest son, Paolo, who served as his co-director for “Arise.”
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Star power
Guests added star power to the show, including Iya Villania whose gravity-defying performance opened the concert and Sam Concepcion, who got the “madlang people” on their feet along with the LSDC-Street with a rousing dance number.
Gary also performed a new song “Jesus Is Enough” with the group A.K.A. Jam, whom he mentored in the local edition of the talent show, “X Factor”.
Pop princess Sarah Geronimo joined Gary’s performance of “That’s Why” (but only for the first night of the concert) while Rico Blanco injected the look, feel and sound of his new album, “Galactik Fiestamatik” to Gary’s classic tribute to Filipino migrant workers, “Babalik Ka Rin”.
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Old hits, new beats
Fans may be happy to hear Gary singing his greatest hits in the same familiar way they have grown to love them but they may also be pleasantly surprised to hear the singer’s hits like “Hataw Na” and “Wag Mo Na Sanang Isipin” mixed with modern beats, thanks to a brilliant collaboration with DJ Papi.
The electrified crowd shouted for an encore and Gary obliged with no less than three songs: “Shout for Joy,” “The Warrior Is a Child” and “Take Me Out of the Dark.”
The songs were reminders of perhaps Gary’s greatest gift and legacy to his audience in all his years in the local music industry: singing openly and courageously about his faith when it wasn’t mainstream and making the sound not just hip and cool but also thoroughly Filipino.
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