(Still not over with) Alicia Keys in Manila

got this from http://clickthecity.com/around_the_city/?p=20041012

An excerpt from The Keys to Alicia's Diary by Ann Vicente.
The writer totally nailed it. I soo agree!


The Keys to Alicia's Diary
By Ann Vicente

October 12, 2004

...

I thought Saturday--the concert night--would never come.

When it finally did, Araneta Coliseum was packed. The concert venue was almost full by the time my best friend and I arrived. I had a few celebrity sightings because our spot was on the sponsors' reserved seats, so famous and not-that-famous people kept passing in front of us like there was a parade. I even got seated beside this male commercial model that used to be in a TV ad for a telephone company.

Starstruck? Who, me? Nah, I just felt like one of them. We were rubbing elbows, you know? Ha!

If actors, singers, directors, fashion icons and basketball players added glitz to the event, there were also commoners who didn't look any less glamorous, as they were dressed to the nines. They looked like celebrities, too! It was a fashionista event if I'd ever gone on one.

I saw that a lot of Alicia Keys wannabes were present. They sported dreadlocks or simpler braids under hats and caps, donned faux fur jackets, and had on big pairs of sunglasses (which I didn't see the purpose of, except for strictly fashion-related reasons, as sundown was long past at 7 o'clock in the evening).

The groovy mood was palpable as local artists Luke Mijares and Kyla opened the show with popular R&B songs. These two front acts served like a prologue that gives a peek into the main story, enticing readers to watch for the main character in the plot.

And was the main character anticipated! When the lights dimmed and somebody's hands on the piano were flashed on the projector screen, the coliseum went wild. Soon, Ms Alicia Keys appeared like an apparition with only a cane and a microphone in hand, looking all dolled up in an orange corset, a tight pair of pants and the signature hat. And the audience roared their welcome.

Alicia Keys first worked the crowd with upbeat R&B cuts. And there was a revelation that night: she can sing and dance! She can do both simultaneously! Her moves were as smooth as they were sexy, hinting of salsa. It's like dirty dancing that isn't tasteless.

With her lead, the fans got up from their seats and began dancing. Some threw their hands in the air, some bobbed their heads to the catchy beats, some hollered and howled like hyenas. Me, I'd never forget that butt shake she did. She could seriously give J.Lo a run for her money in that department.

An hour into the event and Alicia Keys had already turned the Big Dome into a fun hiphop party place. The concert was a party in itself but it would never have been complete without the R&B singer's soulful ballads, which she was generous enough to dish out. All the funky dancing gave way to a more laid-back mood as the first strains of You Don't Know My Name filled the dome.

Hearing her songs being rendered live is simply incomparable to hearing them on the radio. I don't think I'd ever hear her music on the airwaves the same way again...I think I would always hear her singing live in that great voice of hers, even just in my head.

Aside from the strong presence that she had while performing, her specially arranged songs How Come You Don't Call Me and A Woman's Worth added to the vibe. The inventive arrangements proved that jazz and old school genres are her major musical influences.

The concert's highlight came when she sang If I Ain't Got You, a radio staple nowadays. When Alicia (at this point we're already on a first-name basis) started to play the initial notes on the piano, people just screamed while those with their significant others couldn't resist sweet-dancing. The song spelled "M-U-S-H" but it's natural for Filipinos to love it, we being hopeless romantics. It's obviously everybody's favorite.

All eyes and lights were on her as her fingers moved across the grand piano to produce a few classical, instrumental pieces--no words to sing, no high notes to hit. Just Alicia Keys and her grand piano. The darkness had a chilling effect as she held her fans captive for quite some time. It was haunting, I tell you.

The concert was largely unadorned; there were no fireworks or frenzied costume changes. It was a no-frills showcase of sheer talent. And you just had to admire Alicia because she hardly talked in between numbers, perhaps wanting to let the songs speak for themselves.

The event's mood was far from being intimate. Nevertheless, there was a degree of intimacy in the fact that Alicia Keys let her fans get a peek into her diary through the power of her beautiful musical compositions. Listening to her songs was really like being let in on her deepest, darkest secrets.

Like what I've said, this is one diary that I would not regret reading (or hearing) and telling people about. It may not contain conventional, everyday topics such as crushes, wild activities or improper behavior that would surely raise an eyebrow or two. There may be no juicy gossip that I can share with my friends after knowing what's inside the Diary of Alicia Keys. Except...is it true about her and Usher? So there's gossip after all! (Haha, enough of that--you know I'm just being silly.)

Big-artist concerts can sometimes be so loud and rowdy. The Alicia Keys 2004 World Tour was riotous, but only in that it was such a resounding success. It offered something different: a combination of melodic ingenuity and emotional connection. And how many artists command such presence and create such a stir? Only someone like Ms Alicia Keys, a musical diarist nonpareil.

Amen!