OPM's best salute #Brave44 with jammin' to remember

Unlike most concerts, "Jammin' for the Brave" began quietly.

 

The curtains parted to reveal a simple stage set-up — two platforms with a number of chairs on either side, an area for the band in the middle with two electric keyboards in front. The maestros, Ryan Cayabyab and Gerard Salonga, were first to take their place.

 

Music began, a hum inside The Theatre at Solaire. Stage lights were dim, but the stars came out one by one, in shirts and jeans. Each of them approached the microphone stand, reciting a names from a small piece of paper before walking back in the dark.

 

Forty-four names rang in the near-silence of the theater. The names of the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) officers killed in a clash against Moro Islamic Liberation Front members in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25, to be exact.

 

The stars had gathered for them, the families they left behind, and the comrades that were wounded alongside them. These stars, some of the best in the local music industry, were going to honor their memories the best way they knew how.

 

'Celebrate their lives'

 

While that Monday night started on a serious note, the mood quickly picked up thanks to Concert King Martin Nievera, the official "jester" who facilitated the gig alongside international theater star Lea Salonga.

 

There were a lot of light moments and a lot of laughter. Early on, Martin established that they were not going to refer to the SAF commandos as "fallen," opting to call them the "Brave 44." The crowd agreed, and agreed again when he said everyone in the theater was going to celebrate the heroes' lives through good music.

In exchange, the Brave 44's kin, as well as their wounded commandos, were going to get the proceeds, "directly, no middle man." Everyone had offered services for free, from the performers to the host venue to the ticketing system and the production outfit.

 

Everything would go to help.

 

"Coordination was done through Facebook. Every artist said yes immediately, so we just had to find a date," Ebe Dancel said.

 

Martin added: "After a couple of dinners, a couple of lunches for meetings? The actual preparation for the show, with all the participating artists, was an hour before the show."

 

"We're dealing with a bunch of professionals, but one thing was there were no rules, so when there are no rules, it's easy to let professionals do their thing, just let them loose," he said in an interview.

 

Jammin'

 

The "Jammin'" session was laidback, its performers candid. They sang back-up vocals, took photos and videos of each other, and inevitably became the loudest cheerleaders of the night.

 

As loose as they may have been allowed to be, they gave no less than stellar performances for the benefit show.

 

 

Lea's crystal-clear voice cut through her renditions of Sara Bareilles' "Brave" and "Back to Before" from the musical Ragtime. Martin sang "This is the Moment" with Erik Santos.

 

The Dawn's Jett Pangan asked the crowd to stand up, jump, and sing "Salamat" with him. Apl.de.ap had the audience grooving as he asked "Where is the Love?" with his proteges Janice Javier and Bradley Holmes. Gloc-9 and Ebe went with their hit, "Sirena."

 

And then there were performances that tugged at the heartstrings the most.

 

Aiza, Noel Cabangon, and Bayang Barrios sang Joey Ayala's "Walang Hanggang Paalam" to honor the story of PO1 Joseph Sagonoy, who had three stems of roses in his backpack at the time of the operations. He was planning to run to an internet cafe afterwards and propose to his Dubai-based girlfriend.

 

In honor of love, Aiza then introduced "asawa ko" Liza Diño-Seguerra, the lone performer who did not sing, instead offering an impassioned dance number as her life partner sang Sugarfree's "Makita Kang Muli."

 

At some point during the show, Aiza asked the families of the Brave 44 who were there to stand up. They were met by loud applause, the stars and some of the audience members on their feet.

 

"Alam po namin na may mga pinagdadaanan po kayo ngayon, pero sana po sa ginagawa namin ngayon, mabigyan namin kayo nang kaunting kasiyahan. Maraming salamat po sa inyo," she said.

Later, as everyone jammed along to Francis Magalona's "Kaleidoscope World," Lea turned on the flashlight of her phone. The audience followed suit, swaying their gadgets whose lights looked like stars.

 

'Hindi po kayo nag-iisa'

 

The show was for them, indeed, and artists interviewed by GMA News Online said they wanted to let the families know they were not alone.

 

"They are not alone in the dark. They are not alone in doubts and in frustration and in tears. They are not alone in their questions," Martin said. "Though we didn't lose anyone, their loss is our loss."

 

For Moy, the show was a way to let the families "know of our appreciation for the sacrifices."

 

Ebe said he even "wanted to hug each and every one of them" when they stood up to be recognized during the program.

 

He wanted to tell them, "Hindi po kayo nag-iisa. Merong isang buong bansa na nakikiramay sa inyo."

 

United as fellowmen the artists and the audience were, particularly at the end of the show, when Ogie Alcasid led the all-star roster with his rendition of the Cayabyab masterpiece "O Bayan Ko."

 

Everyone stood, hand over heart, as the song reached its part laced with the Philippine National Anthem.

 

All in memory of the 44 men who lived and died for the promise, "Ang mamatay nang dahil sa'yo."



—JST/VC, GMA News