(First of two parts) Taylor Sheesh: A challenge to fan stereotypes LIPA CITY—Dressed and accessorized as Taylor Swift, a Filipino drag queen entranced thousands of the American pop superstar’s fans who kept a symphony of screams going on a football field here on Aug. 12. On stage, Mac Coronel’s alter ego Taylor Sheesh, wearing a...
Category: Music
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Benefit concert will feature PNoy’s personal playlist
The Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF) is producing a concert featuring the songs that the late former president Noynoy “PNoy” Aquino loved for the benefit of the Benigno Simeon Aquino III Scholarship Endowment. “PNoy’s Playlist: The Concert” will be held on Aug. 11 starting at 8 p.m. at the Hyundai Hall, Areté, Ateneo de Manila University,...
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Memory machine
So Lyra up and did what she said she had long planned. One evening last week she came home laughing and gleeful from a jaunt with a friend, toting a shiny black box marked “Motorino” and daring her sister and me: “Guess what! Guess what!” But I was distracted and annoyed by breaking news on...
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Music sassy, raucous and tender
Strong women (from left) Skarlet, Celin Cristobal and Gou de Jesus sing of tough love and other quirks of the human condition to an overflow crowd at UP Diliman’s University Hotel on March 9, a day after International Women’s Day. Voices sharply honed despite the long pandemic lull, they keep the music playing and the...
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Peta’s ‘Walang Aray’ balances light drama with spectacular music
The sentiment that drives the Philippine Educational Theater Association’s (Peta) full production of “Walang Aray”—itself a comedic adaptation of Severino Reyes’ 19th-century zarzuela “Walang Sugat”—is a triumphant one. From its title to its celebratory tone, the production proudly announces itself as Peta’s return to live theater unscathed, emphasizing that nothing can replace the experience of...
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(There’s) always something to remind me of Burt
First things first. I am not a huge fan of Burt Bacharach, who died last Feb. 8 in his 90s, triggering a global wave of mourning. But I do have fond memories associated with him. So this is a love letter (sort of) to a pop icon in a non-fangirling way. It was the turbulent...
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The Dawn: new song asks the existential question
“Is love still a thing?”It seems like a line in a love song, but it’s a question raised by one of the country’s original rock bands, The Dawn, in a new song titled “Earth.” The band is known for its anthem songs like “Salamat” and “Iisang Bangka.” This time, it asks the existential question amid...
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The Jerks at 44: still raging, still dreaming
Editor’s Note: The following are the liner notes for the limited-edition vinyl release of “The Jerks Live” (Backspacer Records), which sold out almost immediately after it was issued last year. (A 45-rpm single of early original songs was also quickly snapped up by local analog addicts.) To celebrate the band’s 44th anniversary, a more affordable...
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Poor youths play band music in key of a better life
PANDAN, Antique—Rising on his toes, Juanito Maglunob moved his arms upward as though he were hanging laundry on a clothesline to reach and capture that climactic moment in the musical score of “Beauty and the Beast.” Satisfied with the response, he resumed his normal stance and continued to conduct 14 musicians barely out of their...
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After cryptic posts, Gary V celebrates Christmas with kin, attends E-Heads concert
Mr. Pure Energy is A-OK. After worrying fans and observers with cryptic messages on social media about his health, singer Gary Valenciano has emerged alive and kicking. It’s a known fact that Gary is afflicted with life-threatening diseases, such as diabetes, and has been confined in hospital due to dengue, tuberculosis, and other illnesses. He...
