Martin Nievera makes merry music at the Metro

Martin Nievera makes merry music at the Metro

TORONTO–Filipinos love to laugh.

That’s why when Martin Nievera came to this city recently for a one-night show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre’s John Bassett Theatre, hundreds came to watch the Philippine concert king. And much of the reason was because Martin could easily put on a really amusing show.

It doesn’t take much to tickle the fancies of these Nievera followers. The mere mention of his estranged wife, Pops Fernandez, was enough to keep the audience interested. After all, part of what drew Nievera close to the people’s hearts was his love affair with the concert queen, which the Philippine public was a witness to – from the beginning of the relationship to the bitter end of their marriage. Joking comments about the break-up, little hints of a possible reconciliation were part of what kept the audience captivated throughout the three-hour show.

Another part of what kept the people on their seats was, of course, Nievera’s famous vocal flair. Unlike his contemporary, Gary Valenciano, Nievera is not much of a dancer on stage. His strength is in his range. Give the guy a microphone and a piano, and he’ll give you a heck of a show.

And that’s just what he did at his recent Toronto gig titled, I Sing For You. No usual orchestra-level accompaniment. No back-up singers. No fancy stage lighting.

For this show, produced by Maxi-Media Canada, all Nievera needed was his musician friend Lory Illustre on the piano, as his musical accompaniment. The format allowed Nievera to be more intimate with his audience. He also had a Korean guest singer, Genevieve Bac, a fellow performer in Las Vegas, Nevada, who performed a couple of classic jazz hits.

Nievera started off the show with some great classic ballads from Johnny Mathis – even impersonating him with his rendition of When I Fall in Love – followed by a series of hit songs from the Carpenters.

Once he got started with some popular original Filipino music like Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin and Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin, the crowd began singing along. It is a true testament of the fact that no matter how long they have been in Canada, Filipino music would remain in the their hearts.

What this writer found pleasantly striking was the fact that Nievera’s performance was not just song and laughter. Throughout the show, Nievera expressed messages that conveyed his sentiments on certain issues that plague the Philippines and the world.

“There is no winner in any war,” he says, as a prelude to a series of songs – some are his original compositions and the others are renditions from Josh Groban – that spoke about the perils of war and related to the people’s spiritual side.

Nievera also paid tribute to the men and women of the army who are now fighting in many fronts all over the world, with some even “fighting for a cause they’re not even sure of.”

Canada being a country of many Filipino migrants, Nievera also spoke of the Filipino workers and professionals who, he says, are recognized all over the world for their skills and hard work.

He says the hard life in the Philippines has honed Filipinos to be resilient and ready to face any challenge that confronts them.

Though he did not elaborate, Nievera also briefly touched on the issue of music piracy, which has become rampant over the last couple of years with the advent of the Internet and file sharing networks. Instead, Nievera chose to tackle the issue with light humour.

And no Nievera show would ever be complete without the famous impersonation of his friend Gary V., which never fails to make the audience ache with laughter. The famous Gary V. exhale, which Nievera has somehow mastered throughout the years, became the focus of amusement. Nievera challenged the audience to actually count the number of times Gary V. would exhale during a concert the next time he performs in Toronto.

All in all, Nievera’s show was enlightening and entertaining – two adjectives that rarely go together, but somehow the concert king pulled it off.