Concert Review X Class is a class act

MANILA, Philippines - Back in the days when the resto/music bar Dish still existed, Carlo Orosa approached EJ Litton and myself, proposing that we hold one special night for a mini-concert of his new talent Christian Bautista.

This would be the first time he would sing publicly in the form of a one-hour set, and Carlo assured us that Christian’s then recent participation in a singing talent show would mean his fans would show up for this proverbial “baptism of fire.”

EJ and I readily agreed to the “gig.” I had just begun working at ABS-CBN that year so I was aware of Christian’s impact on the TV show in spite of his not winning.

So being one of those who has witnessed Christian’s meteoric rise, and how he has sustained his popularity, I was happy to join him at the Meralco Theater for the first show of his X Class concert series (there are three more dates — Oct. 12, 13 and 14), which celebrates his 10 years in the industry.

Like those of most Filipino pop artists, most of Christian’s hits are ballads, so the effort was made to start the concert with a bang with up-tempo songs from Jon Bon Jovi and Adele. His own song of Unphotographable was remixed into a techno/dance version.

The first of his guests were his friends from Akafellas, and they brought the house down with a version of Gotye’s recent hit (yes, the song we love to hate, but we all know the chorus by heart), which surprisingly segued into a full production dance number, Gangnam Style!

A medley of Jose Mari Chan songs followed, with the singer-composer himself in the house. Second guest Zia Quizon came on next, proving that she really is a singing force to reckon with and one to look out for.

A Donna Summer cover was my personal show-stopper. We had been impressed with the production values of the show so far, but this number really brought out the association Christian has with the stage, with theatrical illusions making the number a sheer visual delight.

A Josh Groban tribute was followed by the appearance of third guest MiG Ayesa, with their duet of More Than Words really showing off the vocal range of these two fine singers. MiG then treated us to the song he composed after he saw how Ondoy devastated Manila.

Christian as an action hero came via the James Bond number, Live and Let Die. Christian reminiscing about the Meralco Theater and how before his solo career, he had worked in the theater scene as a ghoul in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, led to the numbers Invincible, and then his Color Everywhere hit. Christian’s encore was naturally his first hit, the ballad The Way You Look At Me. 

More than just a musical concert, X Class was also an impressive merging of stagecraft, theater set designs and optical tricks on one hand, with straightforward singing and performing on the other hand. More importantly, it was Christian looking back on his musical decade, and saying “thank you” to all who had been there along the way — fans, friends, associates and partners. X Class is a class act, and if you want to take pride in a Filipino artist staging a concert with high production values, catch the last weekend of “classes.”