AS the lights dimmed in the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Tuesday night to signal the start of the show, the live band took their positions onstage while the fans let out deafening shrieks that have been held back for nearly two decades.
Playing in background was the main draw’s fellow Irish band, the 1970s rock group Thin Lizzy with their catchy hit “The Boys Are Back In Town.” But, when Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and Ronan Keating took the stage for the first time in 18 years in Manila, it might as well that Boyzone had never left.
The concert, part of The BZ20 Tour that pertains to the boyband’s fifth studio album released in late 2013, doubles as their 20th anniversary celebration. As such, the show was a two-way street of a trip to nostalgia and a tour to the future of the famed group.
“Tonight is a celebration of the last 22 years,” the youthful-looking 38-year-old Keating declared during their Manila concert, which was the final stop of their world tour’s Asian leg. “But it’s also about the future because we’re back. We’re back!”
The foursome opened the concert with their 2010 single “Love Is A Hurricane”, complete with dance moves that delighted the crowd.
In the follow-up song, the Irishmen turned it way back and gave the fans the Boyzone they came to know and still love with the 1997 hit “Picture of You.”
Just as the song’s intro rolled out, the crowd went into frenzy. Keating, overwhelmed by the warm welcome, simply shook his head and smiled in a mix of surprise and awe.
Following the performance of “Love You Anyway”, the band’s 2008 song before they took on separate paths for almost a decade, Duffy apologized to the adoring Filipino crowd for the long absence of Boyzone in the country. “It’s been 18 years since we’ve been here. Thank you for allowing us to sing on your stage once again. We’re very sorry for having taken so long.”
REMEMBERING ‘STEO’
In 2009 Stephen Gately, one of the boy band’s original member and lead vocal, passed away due to pulmonary edema resulting from an undiagnosed heart condition. Since then, the group has been allocating a portion of their lives shows to honor him.
After the song “When The Going Gets Tough,” the boys ran backstage as a video tribute to Gately was shown. The group made its way back to the stage moments later and sang “Gave It All Away” from their fourth studio album Brother, named in memory of their fallen member. In the emotionally charged performance, Gately’s recorded voice sang the first and the last line of the song.
“It’s incredible how alive he is when the four of us are all together,” Keating said after the song. “He’s on this stage tonight, so thank you for allowing us to come back and do this.”
Then, the boys explained there are a lot of Boyzone hits that they don’t do anymore because they miss Stephen’s vocals so much. However, Duffy explained, “Sometimes, we try to relive those songs, we try to bring back the magic, to bring Stephen back in.”
He added, “We asked all of you that of all the songs Stephen sang lead vocals on, which would be your favorite for us to perform tonight, and the winner, for Steo [Gatley’s nickname], is ‘Every Day I Love You.’”
The song, which was the band’s final single before they split at the turn of the millennium, peaked at No. 3 on the UK singles chart.
In the performance, Keating alternated verses with Gately’s recorded vocals in the stirring number that left not a few fans wiping their tears.
MANILA SPECIAL
After the heart-rending set, the mood was lit up again when Keating said they have something in store exclusively for the Manila crowd. During a guest appearance on a local late-night talk show the day before, they were asked if they’re going to perform the 1998 favorite “Love The Way You Love Me”.
Keating shared during the concert that the song wasn’t originally part of the set list but they had coordinated with their musical director earlier that day to make it happen. “Manila, we love you so much that we needed to do this,” he said to the roaring crowd, which roared their approval even more as the band performed the hit.
The songs rolled on from that point on, from new ones such as “If We Try” and “Love Will Save The Day” that got everyone on the feet dancing, to timeless classics ,such as “Love Me For A Reason,” that had everybody singing and reminiscing.
Never mind Boyzone’s long hiatus in the mid aughts or the challenges they faced together and apart. Their songs, old and new, still have plenty of the infectious charm that brought them here in the first place.
Definitely, the boys are back in town and they’re not going anywhere anytime soon.
Image credits: Stephanie Tumampos