| Arnel Pineda
joins Lani Misalucha U.S. Tour for a Cause
By Jay Fermin (FMG)
Feb. 8, 2009
 Anaheim, California: It
was the Nightingale teaming up with the Journeyman! Lani Misalucha was joined
onstage by Journey's Arnel Pineda. And the house was packed for the Friday
Concert at Heritage Forum last January 30, 2009. Excitement was in the air
as close to a full house SRO crowd filled the theatre-in-the round as it
is popularly referred to - the stage being in the middle of the venue.
Close to near capacity crowd
of 2500 slowly took their seats as Season 3 American Idol Finalist Jasmine
Trias opened the evening with intimate renditions of pop and R&B favorites
at a little past 8 pm.
However, the excitement of
the evening was Journeyman Arnel Pineda himself who for the first time joined
the multi-awarded nightingale Lani Misalucha on this her 2009 multi-city
U.S. Concert Tour.
Arriving at Burbank Airport
shortly before noon, just the day after the U.S. tour opening night in San
Jose Auditorium, Arnel Pineda took a quick rest at the hotel and proceeded
to Heritage Forum for soundcheck. Tonight will be different from the rest
of the U.S.Tour. Arnel will be performing in the first part of the concert
and catch a flight to Tampa, Florida, where he will join his band Journey
to perform on Superbowl Sunday Pre-Game show February 1, 2009.
Lani Misalucha, lovely as
ever, opened the show with a couple of fast paced songs, circling the round
stage in her white mini skirt to the delight of the packed crowd. However,
what brought the house down was when Journeyman Arnel Pineda joined her onstage;
the energy of the crowd, especially the ladies, was overpowering, testing
the limits of stage security!
Arnel thanked the crowd's
overwhelming response by saying "Salamat po sa pag tangap ninyo sa akin!"
(Thank you for accepting me!). He opened his set of seven songs with Journey's
own 'Faithfully.' The crowd pushed forward as he belted the opening lines
"Highway run / into the midnight sun / wheels go round and round / you're
on my mind…" echoing with the guitar lead of the popular Journey anthem
song.
Lani and Arnel however reminded
the crowd before their duet that the greater purpose of their U.S. Tour is
ABS-CBN's Bantay Bata 163, a social welfare program which protects children
in the Philippines from abuse. Part of the proceeds of the tour will go to
the Children's Crisis Center and the Children's Village.
Going back to business, Journeyman
Arnel completed his set with classic rock selections and capped his performance
with another Journey favorite - "Open Arms." The crowd now are pushing forward
to touch Arnel's hand as he rounds the stage singing "Lying beside you /
here in the dark/ Feeling your heart beat with mine / Softly you whisper,
you're so sincere / How could our love be so blind…." The crowd rendered
Arnel a standing ovation as he belted out the last line "So here I am with
open arms / Hoping you'll see / What your love means to me / Open arms."
He was rushed by security down the circular stage thru the pushing crowd
into the safety of backstage. Tonight's reverse format with Arnel singing
earlier than their other concert venue of the U.S. Tour, took Lani a few
minutes to bring the crowd back to her sweet rendition of heartwarming blend
of pop, rock, jazz, soul, R&B, and opera!
The Nightingale again has
caught the heart of America with Journeyman himself, with shows in Chicago,
New Jersey, San Diego (February 8) and capping the tour in Guam (February
12). As promised, they have delivered something different, a fusion of the
Diva and the Rock Star! Just in time before the Rock Star rejoins the band
Journey for their 2009 World Tour.
'NAMETS', a film
of Life, Love and Food comes to L.A.
By Jay Fermin (FMG)
January 30, 2009
 Everyone
with a heartbeat has experienced the depth and passion of a good movie. You
are not only sitting and watching - but you are intertwined in the story,
smiling, with a flood of memories of the place, the culture, the love, and
of course the food.
'Namets' (an Ilonggo term
which means delicious) is a film by celebrated Director Jay Abello that was
shot entirely in Bacolod City in Central Philippines and was one of the finalists
at Cinemalaya 2008. He has worked with other directors including Erik Matti,
Yam Laranas, Laurice Guillen, and Peque Gallaga (Oro, Plata, Mata) who hails
from Bacolod himself. Jay's cinematographic and photography background gave
the film the mood and framing needed to seam together the playful snippets
of the script into a heartwarming and sometimes bittersweet love story.
Making a movie about a place
and its culinary culture is indeed a challenge. The key, Director Jay Abello
confides, is in the casting. 'Namets' stars Christian Vasquez and Angel Jacob,
two dueling chefs in the heartwarming romantic comedy. The story revolves
around the character of Jacko Teves (Christian Vasquez) who tries to save
his Italian restaurant from being garnished by Big Boss Dolpo (Peque Gallaga)
due to a gambling debt.
The plot thickens when Cassie
Labayen (Angel Jacob), another chef, is hired as a consultant to transform
Jacko's Italian restaurant into a place where traditional Negrense food is
served with a unique twist. The script (written by multi-awarded Ilonggo
Vicente Garcia Groyon) follows the adversarial flirting of the two chefs
as they try to grasp the vast scope of the Ilonggo culinary sphere and rekindling
along the way the love they had lost during their high school years.
The film is amazingly appealing
inspite of the challenges of being an independent production. Shot in its
entirety in Bacolod, home to all of the characters of the movie, except for
Angel Jacob who is from Manila, it showcased the amazing talent that the
province has contributed to Philippine Cinema including actor Joel Torre
(who plays a small part in the opening scene), Director Peque Gallaga who
for a change, has an acting role as Boss Dolpo in the film for a change.
With the dialogue set in
'Hiligaynon', the dialect of Ilonggos, Angel Jacob had to download her lines
into her Ipod and listen in; and although at times her punctuations and
punch-lines were not true to form, she delivers a believable rendition of
the script by her superb acting, creating a building up of love chemistry
between her and 'Jacko' (Christian Vasquez).
Through their search for the
best culinary delights, and interspaced with snippets of the Ilonggo way
of dining, from the simple but world famous 'Inasal' (chicken barbeque) to
the complex recipes handed down from generations past, 'Namets' lets you
peek into the unique cultural mix that is Bacolod, not only thru its food
but also thru its people. The movie is a must see light-hearted but heart
warming love comedy which is quite different from most movies. You will not
only be watching after all. The movie will swoon you and you will be craving
for more…. More love. More laughter. And most of all, you will be craving
for Ilonggo food!!
The only U.S. screening will
on February 7, 2009 at the historic Rialto Theatre, 1023 Fair Oaks Avenue
in South Pasadena, California at 6 p.m.. Advance tickets can be purchased
by calling the Babes of Bacolod at 818-636-3939 or email at
babesofbacolod@aol.com.
(Namets is subtitled in English)
Bon Appetit. See you at the
movie.
Jay Fermin is a photographer
/ writer based in Pasadena, California. He covers Celebrity and Fil-am events
and his articles and photos are published by Fil-am newspapers in Los Angeles,
California and Las Vegas, Nevada as well as a number of glossy magazines
based in the Philippines and distributed worldwide. He has worked with a
lot of Filipino celebrities in the U.S. as well as in the Philippines. He
also writes for
www.philippinepressclub.com
and www.pinoywired.com
on the internet. For further contact, please email him at:
jayfermin@charter.net
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