Ely Buendia
Watching Ely Buendia’s concert at PETA Theater Center was like seeing an old friend who has all the stories or in this case, the songs everybody wants to hear anew.
The singer-songwriter opened with “Higante,” a song memorable for its connection to Ely’s late comrade, Francis M. Then the former E-head leader jumped right into his classics. A crafty revision here and there on a signature riff kept the crowd guessing, but it didn’t take long before they recognized the well-loved song.
The reggae-inflected “Maling Akala,” and the thumping, horn-decked version of “Ligaya” were winners. Ely has taken on some mileage over the years and the same can be said of his songs. Thankfully, both have aged well.
Ely kept spiels to a minimum. “It’s my first time to play in this beautiful theater,” or else something simple like “never felt more like an actor,” still referring to the venue usually reserved for plays.
Performance wise, Ely wasn’t in a rush, which reflected his easy, subdued reading of the songs. Ely even took to a bit of ribbing at “Magasin,” singing ‘Ngunit pangit ka pa no’n, hanggang ngayon,’ to everyone’s delight. The arrangement for both was spot on, to the band and orchestra’s credit.
The crowd sing-along ran smoothly with Ely remarking ‘ang galing n’yong magmura!’ during a spirited go at “Pare Ko.” He kept hammering out the hits before knocking it out the theater with a rousing version of “Ang Huling El Bimbo.”
When it comes to this guy and his songs, everybody’s just eager to listen.
All ears for Ely at PETA
Source: Mb.com.ph (September 28, 2013 at 01:57PM)
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