home for an evening with Ogie A & his music

[ Note : Sorry for the very ordinary pic, the seats we got were way up in the nosebleed section, the overflow crowd after the concert also prevented us from both an impromptu interview or even a snapshot with Mr Singer-Songwriter! 🙁 ] IMAGINE A situation where you entered your favorite pizza place for the first time in five years; for added realism let’s select one, Shakey’s.  You know exactly what to order : Manager’s Choice Pizza, with all the trimmings and specials, cooked on traditional thin crust, and four-piece Chick N Chips for you and your companion, chicken thigh and breast cooked just the way you like, with mojo potatoes.  The hunger pangs caused by waiting for the treats is dulled by ice-cold San Miguel Pale Pilsen, and the waitress brings the pizza and chicken with a flourish, just after your last gulp of cerveza and just when you thought your dinner would never arrive. The combination of tastes and smells is just what you expected : slightly salty, slightly tangy, slightly sweet, and intensely delicious.  You don’t care that your tongue gets slightly burned by the first few bites, even this slightly stinging sensation is part of the package, and what a package it is.  Uniquely Pinoy, uniquely memorable and worth coming back for. It’s this above experience that comes to mind when I recall the recent concert we attended in Auckland last Saturday with a great musical and entertainment talent that made many in the Pinoy community in NZ nostalgic for the homeland. Mr Ogie Alcasid, also known as Ogie the Pogi, sang not only his signature Nandito Ako, Kung Mawawala Ka and Sa Kanya, he also sang songs he wrote that were popularized by other artists like Freestyle (Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang), Martin Nievera (Ikaw Ang Pangarap/Lobo theme song), Gary Valenciano (sorry, I can’t remember the title) and Piolo Pascual (Kailangan Kita).  He also sang OPM standards throughout his short but exciting concert. No less than six Kiwinoys sang before the main act, but the more memorable entertainment was provided by singer-comedians Joffrey and Russell who impersonated various OPM artists like Jaya, Nora Aunor and Yeng Constantino and kept the audience laughing until it was time for Ogie to make his entrance. Like the Shakey’s dinner, the Ogie concert was too good to last, and I had to remind myself that until my next homecoming, Mr Alcasid’s evening of songs would have to replenish my store of memories of my Inang Bayan and her music.  Thanks for bringing us home, if only for an evening Ogie!

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