Fra Lippo Lippi… live in CDO!
By Jigger
J. Jerusalem
HOW often do you get to
see an international act performing here in our humble city? Once in your lifetime? Twice? Thrice? If so, consider yourself
fortunate. But for us who haven’t yet seen a foreign band in the flesh, now is the time to be lucky. Breath easy now:
Fra Lippo Lippi, one of the 80’s revered pop bands, will be in Cagayan de Oro for a rare one-night concert. Now, isn’t
that something?
Presented by Sandy 101.5
(Who Your Radio Should Be) with Fwendz.com, Radio One Productions, Koresco Hotel, Mindanao Gold Star Daily, and Auto Planet,
in cooperation with Magnet Advertising, HBC and Parasat Cable TV, Fra Lippo Lippi Live in CDO is gonna happen on May 20, 2006,
8:00 PM, at the Limketkai Atrium.
Featuring vocalist Per
Sorensen, Fra Lippo Lippi’s Philippine Tour kicked off in Manila last May 13; the band will also visit Cebu (May 15) and Davao
(May 17). And on the 20th it will be our turn.
Those who grew up in the
‘80s (like me) are those that are most familiar with FLL’s music. Gaining popularity alongside mainstream new
wave bands like Depeche Mode, New Order, The Cure, among others, Fra Lippo Lippi churned out hits after pop hits that dominated
the airwaves then—and even now: “Everytime I See You,” “Come Summer,” Shouldn’t Have To
Be Like That,” “Light And Shade,” “The Distance Between Us,” “Beauty And Madness,”
“Mother’s Little Soldier,” “Stitches And Burns,” “Some People,” “Angel,”
“Love Is A Lonely Harbor,” “Regret,” and many more. I bet my Alternative Press and Revolver magazine
collection you readers are dying to hear those songs live.
And it’s indeed
a momentous event for Cagayanons that Fra Lippo Lippi has finally visited our little town to play even for just one night,
and, for countless times, we have Sandy 101 to thank for that. “After years
and years of waiting, we are glad to bring Fra Lippo Lippi to this City, and this is just the first in the long line of international
artists that will perform here,” says Sandy’s Sgt. Stan, adding that in the coming months we shall see more of
these world-renowned musicians. “But for now, let’s be thankful that Fra Lippo Lippi is finally gonna be here.”
If you’re serious
about seeing Fra Lippo Lippi live, I suggest you run to these ticket outlets: Philtown, Boz Coffee (Big R & Velez), Domain
Internet Café (Liceo & Limketkai), Bigby’s Café (Big R & Velez), EXQ Factory Store (Divisoria & LKK), Biz
Depot, Candy’s Café, Zen Travel & Tours, Beezee Phonetech, and Blur Rock Beer & Grill. You can also get it for
free by tuning in to Sandy 101 for a chance to win a ticket.
For folks from Iligan
City, score your tickets at 69th Street,
Loy’s Pharmacy and El Centro, and in Malaybalay
City at Plateau and Mindy’s. Fra Lippo Lippi Live in CDO is also brought
to you by John Offset Press, Hot Bikes, Star Ads, and The Force Proudctions.
Got something on your
mind? E-mail me: jigger_71@yahoo.com. Nope sorry, I’m not giving away any Fra Lippo Lippi concert tickets, and it’s
yet Christmas time so I can’t play Santa right now.
An acquaintance with
pop heartrob Mark ‘Mak-Mak’ Bautista
By City Spy
DID you know department:
At last weekend's PBA frenzy at the Xavier Gym, Provincial Capitol (where a very happening street party was held on Thursday
night), and elsewhere (Marco Polo Hotel, etc.), most everyone tried to get a glimpse of James Yap, the man himself. But did
you know that one resident of Cagayan de Oro was able to get his hands on the guy, purportedly in his intimate splendor? A
professional masseur, dearie, whose number is an openly traded secret among Park Cafe habitues...
But the more interesting
question you should ask is, who was the V.I.P. who made arrangements for the one-hour massage? But, really, dahling, who cares!
Just shoot that ball...
You should know department:
You should start saving up for the Fra Lippo Lippi concert this May at Limketkai Mall's very chi-chi Atrium. (Now you know
that City Spy grew up in the 1980s!) The front row tickets are almost at P3,000 per seat. But that's still a steal, considering
a concert ticket in the U.S. sells at least US$100.
And speaking of concerts,
one of City Spy's spies has a first-person account of Mark Bautista's first solo concert. Here goes...
At 8 p.m. on March 24
at the Aliw Theater at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Complex, Cagayan de Oro's pride had his moment onstage
in VIVA CONCERTS PRESENTS: MARK BAUTISTA… POP HEARTROB!
The P800 tickets were
sold out, but a few would-be concert-goers were lucky enough to snap up some P500 tickets.
It was a gamey audience
mix: the big bosses at ABS-CBN, artists like Piolo Pascual and his mom, Jean Garcia, Kuya Germs, Kris Laurence, Christian
Bautista, Cristy Fermin, Jobert Sucaldito. Of course, Vic del Rsario and other big bosses of Viva Entertainment were there.
And then a horde of Mak-mak's (that's Mark B. to his kababata) fans, friends, and relatives.
Mak-mak's guests included
Sarah Geronimo, Juris of MYMP, Rufa Mae Quinto, Ogie Alcasid, and even the SIAM
finalists Vino, Jimmy, and Jay.
Easily the most-applauded
number was his duet with Sarah, but of course. T hen the one with Ogie. Mak-mak had a comedy number with Rufa Mae. But the
best treat of the evening was when his surprise guest joined him onstage---Mr. Pure Energy himself, Gary V. Their dance number
together was a blast. And to think, as Mak-mak told us later, "wala to na practice… on the spot tanan."
As for the songs, Mak-mak
started with dance numbers from Ricky Martin. Then he belted out songs that harked way back to his "banda" days. Together
with the SIAM finalists, he did songs from his first album,
like "Ngayon at kailanman," which was his winning piece at the Star for a Night. He also paired up with Juris, then with Rufa
Mae, then with Sarah… ogie… then gary V. Finally, he sang songs from
his new album, "You win the game." His last song was the hit na hit "I Need You!"
After the concert…
Mak-mak invited us to his cast party, but we didn't feel like going. We instead had a late dinner at North Park Noodle House
at Ayala Center in Makati.
After a while, Mak-mak texted us that we was waiting for us at Dusit Hotel, where he was staying for the night. So we went
there and met him at the hotel's restaurant. You know, chika-chika… pictorials… autograph-signing of his album.
At past 3 am, Mak-mak suggested we sleep over at his hotel room, but we felt he needed
to rest.
But since we flew in all
the way to Manila just to be with him on his big day, he promised we'd meet up
the next day for gimik time.
And so we met up the following
day at Rep's Globe theatre at Onstage, at the second floor of Greenbelt Mall 1 to watch "7 ng Umaga" (in English), a Repertory
Philippines production. After all, we all started our friendship during our thespian days at Pasundayag Community Theatre
in Cagayan de Oro.
Mak-mak came with his
brother Turbo. We talked about our Pasundayag days: "Adios, Papa!" and "Kaaway sa Sulod" … and the various editions
of "The Vagina Monologues." We just missed the stage!
Then we headed to Greenbelt
for gimik time, choosing SEGAFREDO ZANETTI ESPRESSO. We consumed four bottles of butterfly red wine, pizza, calamares, hot
beancurd, carbonara, Al formaggi, nachos, and the like.
As of what we talked about,
we promised him that all will be kept a secret. Basta all about Mak-mak: his work, talent fee, love life, his life nowadays,
and his plans.
He said he would be busy
in the coming months with his concert tours. Like, right now, he's in Canada.
He invited us to ASAP
the next day, but we were flying back to our lives in the province. At two-ish in the am, someone came over to tell him he
had to call it a day because he still had a TV show the following day.
And so we called it a
day.
