July 16, 2023
The very first concert I had ever seen was an Apo Hiking Society concert when I was still in high school and they performed in our school. That was 40 years ago, and tonight, they are already celebrating their golden year as an musical act. Like me, the whole Hyundai Hall of Arete in Ateneo was abuzz with excitement. At 8 pm, the concert began with an overture of familiar Apo Hiking Society tunes played by musical director Bond Samson and the 50 Years band, while a humorous history of the band was being flashed on the big screen onstage.
Boboy Garovillo and Jim Paredes made their entrance on wheelchairs, pushed by nurses wearing bunny suits. Their first song was an upbeat new song about their 50 years together. Halfway though the song, Boboy and Jim changed into black Chinese-collared shirts with gold baybayin characters embroidered on the left side than meant "limampu" or "fifty. Meanwhile their "nurses" had stripped off their PPDs and were gyrating in skimpy tops and shorts.
The first hit song they sang was "Ewan" followed by "Love is for Singing". Then they stepped up the energy and sang the theme song of their first movie "Blue Jeans," letting the audience sing the "Whoo!" part. After this, they performed their first comedy song number, singing classic songs like "Yesterday" and "Do, Re, Mi" with all the skipping, pitch changes and various other sound effects of a scratched up vinyl record.
Boboy then sang a song he wrote entitled "Paano" which they said was their last major hit, and this was all of 15 years ago. The next song was "Yakap sa Dilim" which they naughtily branded as an "immoral" song. The guy who played the sax solo nailed his featured part and the audience appreciated that. This was followed by the novelty pop song "Syotang Pa-Class," with sexy back-up dancers and the giggling care of the female backup singer Camille Johnson.
Jim introduced their next song which was from their "latest" album, which they then told us was released 13 years ago. This was "Boboy, Jim and Danny" which was the 27th album they had recorded. The song was a ballad entitled "Giliw," which Jim submitted to the soundtrack of a movie starring Regine Velasquez and Robin Padilla. Even if it was the first time many of us heard it, we still clapped and cheered.
The next three numbers were sung with a guest music ministry choir of Ateneo students called Hangad. They backed the Apo up when they sang "Wala Nang Hahanapin," a song they've dedicated to wives. When Boboy and Jim left the stage for a break, Hangad sang an Apo song (said to be inspired by a Pan-Am commercial) called "Minsan sa Buhay." The Apo guys came back out for another comedy number -- "Salawikain" sung in operatic style.
When Apo sang "Awit ng Barkada" and "Tuyo ng Damdamin," fans knew this was a tribute dedicated to their late friend and collaborator Danny Javier, who passed away last October 31, 2022. The two guys sang with Danny's voice and video on songs like "One, Two, Three" and "Batang-bata Ka Pa." However, to sing the second verse of "Batang-bata", out came Danny's son Jobim Javier in a most touching surprise guest appearance.
They then played a video of Danny singing the last song he ever wrote, a serio-comic song about dying called "Lahat Tayo". Despite its rather morbid lyrics, like "Lahat tayo'y mamamatay, gusto bang makisabay?" or "Sige akong mauuna, pangako susunod ka, ha? Malungkot ang nag-iisa, mas masayang kasama ka." In this new arrangement by Lorrie Illustre, Boboy and Jim comically responded with a vigorous "Ayoko pa!"
Boboy and Jim proudly shared that the first local artist to coin the word "OPM" or Original Pilipino Music was Danny Javier. From there, they went on to perform "Pip-T," a elaborate medley of folk songs and kundimans mashed up with foreign pop songs. Some of the notable ones are "Magtanim ay Di Biro" with EWF's "September", "Waray Waray" with Van Halen's "Jump," Diomedes Maturan's "Bulong-bulungan" with the "Voltes V" opening theme, and "Penpen de Sarapen" with the "Ting Ting Tang Tang" viral Tiktok dance craze.
They shared an anecdote about an extravagant man who hired them to deliver a Valentine morning serenade of a single song in an effort to win back his ex-wife, then sang the song itself "Panalangin." This was followed by another one of their popular love songs "When I Met You." After they they argued about the definition of "medley," they sang their "Tagalog Medley" with "Lumang Tugtugin," "Pag-Ibig," "Araw" and the beautiful "Nakapagtataka."
They could not resist to crack a political joke before singing "Tanggapin Mo Kung Gusto Mo" (from their 1996 album "Dating Alternatib") in a limbo rock rhythm. They then sang the rousing and hopeful "Kung Gusto Mo, Gusto Ko Pa" (from their 1991 album "Songbuk"), introducing their band, dancers and backup singers (one of whom was stage actor Juliene Mendoza!), which turned out to be the final song of their main set.
Of course, the audience clamored for more. So for their encore, they obliged to return onstage and sing three more of their most popular hits "Pumapatak ang Ulan," "Mahirap Magmahal ng Syota ng Iba" and finally "Show Me a Smile." Everybody in the 900-strong audience that night was standing up, singing and swaying along up to the very last note. The rain was pouring very hard outside the Arete, but everyone's mood and energy was definitely happy and positive from their healthy dose of Apo Hiking Society music that night.
Congratulations to Boboy and Jim, as well director Leo Rialp and his crew, for the success of this concert.
