Zild, with his fiery orange hair and royal blue and gray outfit, unexpectedly emerged from the audience as Rico Blanco was performing Nagbabalikduring the latter’s solo concert at the Araneta Coliseum last September 11. As soon as the crowd had realized that Zild was with them, screams pierced the air and cameras pointed towards his direction, stealing the attention from Blanco, who was then slightly blanketed in the dark. “Sino ‘yun?” my companion asked as we both craned our necks to check out this man looking like a young Billy Armstrong. “Si Zild,” I replied. His name—and just his first name—was the only thing I knew about the guy.
Well, actually, I did know a few more things about this young musician. It was just that they were too few that my knowledge of him was practically zero. Technically speaking, it was not my first time to watch Zild. In 2018, I caught him, along with his IV of SPADES (IVOS) bandmates, Blaster Silonga and Badjao de Castro, at the Summer Noise music festival a day after their vocalist, Unique Salonga, officially left the group. I got to watch the band only a few minutes before they ended their last song, so there was no chance for me to appreciate their performance. Despite IVOS being hugely popular around that time and instantly liking their hit single Mundo—it sounded so familiar to me the first time I heard it—I just ignored them. I gave their other singles and their debut album, Clapclapclap, a listen, but nothing stuck, unfortunately.
The same thing happened when I first checked out his second solo effort, Huminga: I partially listened to the first track, found it too slow, and didn’t bother to check out the rest of the album. But you know music—it has a way of making someone listen one way or another… eventually. In his case, it was Rico Blanco’s Araneta Coliseum show. Zild performed three songs that night: Sinungaling, Kyusi, and Isang Anghel. Of the three, Isang Anghel caught my ear the most. It was full of energy and sounded a bit Rico Blanco-ish to me, so there was an immediate pull. Still recovering from a post-concert high the following day, I decided to give Isang Anghel and Kyusi a proper listen. Isang Anghel might have hooked me, but it was these two beautifully written lines from Kyusi’s bridge that made me stay:
Ang pag-ibig ay tahimik Hindi kailangan ng nambubuyong lakas
Realizing that I might have been too impatient with his music before, I decided to buckle down and start my journey of rediscovery. What I did next was something I had not done in quite a while: I forced myself to listen to his songs—and no other artists’ music—repeatedly for several days. I just wanted to be able to absorb the songs the way I used to consume music when online streaming didn’t exist yet. I also wanted to be able to get to know a new breed of OPM talent to the point that I could really say to myself that I know their work and follow them, and not only be aware of a few singles here and there. Finally, after listening to both Homework Machine and Huminga in a loop for days, I was able to see the sparkle where previously I had seen none. A line from Huminga has even captured me eventually:
Laman at buto, naramdaman ko Ngayo’y tatakbo pabalik sa ‘yo.
I haven’t memorized everything down to the last detail, but my knowledge of his work now is certainly more substantial than before. I have also already begun following him on social media and have played his third album Medisina numerous times since its release last October. And surprise, surprise, he even landed the top spot on my Spotify Wrapped!
In 2022, I have come across so many new artists and Zild Benitez for sure is one of the best I’ve (re)discovered so far. Yes, now I know his last name too.
“’Wag magpaloko sa Araneta. Ako pa rin ‘to… Ayusin natin ‘to. Minsan lang ‘to…,” said Rico Blanco as he briefly tuned his guitar right before launching into 214, a song he made with his former band Rivermaya (RM), which, even after almost 30 years since its release, could still make people go full karaoke mode. It was indeed an event that doesn’t happen often: Rico may already have staged hundreds of shows here and abroad during his lengthy musical career, but it was his first time doing so in front of thousands as a solo artist at the historic Araneta Coliseum.
And that was actually my primary reason for attending it despite the date falling on a lazy holy Sunday and the venue being indoor. Normally, I go to a show to enjoy myself, but this time I went there mostly because I wanted to show my support and celebrate this milestone he has achieved. Additionally, it had been ages since I last saw him in person—he was still with RM when I did—so, it was also the perfect opportunity for me to see how he does things as a solo artist. It would have been a crime not to be there.
This was my first time to attend a physical concert in three years (my last pre-COVID show was Mike Shinoda’s, held coincidentally in September at the New Frontier Theater, in Cubao as well), and my first time to see Rico again after more than a decade. Well, I was able to watch his short, audience-less mall gig (it was during a lockdown) in 2021, but it was only live streamed.
I had very few expectations of the show. One of them was hearing new arrangements of RM classics to spice things up. Tweaking their songs a bit was something that RM would usually do anyway whenever they had gigs, so it wouldn’t be surprising to hear him play them differently especially that night. More than that, however, I anticipated hearing more of his own songs, and honestly, preferred them to dominate his setlist. After all, it was his solo show, so it was only right to hear more of his own material. I particularly looked forward to hearing Yugto, which never fails to give me goosebumps whenever I listen to it. And you know what, that night, it did not disappoint!
The green strobe lights moving across the venue gave a hint of what the opener was going to be: Antukin mashed with Isang Bandila, kicked everything off. It was then followed by Elesi, which had to be repeated midway since his guitar strap got loose, making it impossible for him to hold it. “Second song pa lang, nagkagulu-gulo na,” he said with a laugh while waiting for his crew to fix it. The show went on, though, with him engaging with the audience and even singing bits of Ulan’s chorus just to make sure there was no lull.
Rico had some guests—Ebe Dancel, Wishcovery 2021 Grand Prizewinner Peniel Roxas, and Zild Benitez—who made the night more colorful. Dancel and Roxas were the first ones to perform and gave the audience some nostalgic hits and pieces of their solo efforts: Dancel played ‘Wag Mong Aminin (a duet with Rico), Huling Unang Sayaw, and a Sugarfree classic, Burnout; Roxas, on the other hand, played Kitchie Nadal’s SameGround,Moon’s Offer (an original), and Imago’s Sundo. Benitez performed much later than they did and played three original songs from his debut and sophomore albums. While the guest artists brought a special touch to the show, I would have preferred a different order for them particularly for Dancel and Roxas. Letting them play one after the other kind of brought a halt to the momentum of the show especially since all of the songs they performed were slow. Immediately after their performances, Rico played Happy Feelin’, which despite its ultra-bouncy vibe as well as the energetic back-up dancers, did little to quickly re-invigorate the mood. Things did start to pick up after that when Pinoy Tayo was played, though.
The concert ran for about three and a half hours—the longest stand-alone concert I’ve ever attended—which had both an advantage and a drawback. The positive side was that the length made up for all the concert time lost during the pandemic, which allowed me to get my money’s worth in the process. However, since the following day was the start of a new work week, a small part of me wanted him to wrap it up already. Other people actually slowly started to sneak out, leaving patches of the venue with rows of empty seats. Perhaps if the guests sang only a couple of songs instead of three or if Rico had not thanked his numerous (!) sponsors, the show would have been tighter.
Another thing that would have made the concert better was if the setlist contained more of his solo work. Majority of the songs performed were the ones he made with Rivermaya. Songs such as Neon Lights, Ngayon, Lipat Bahay, or even Ayuz, which became quite popular didn’t even make the cut. I know it’s hard to separate Rico from Rivermaya and those Rivermaya tunes are definite crowd favorites, but songs such as Awit ng Kabataan, Himala or Kisapmata, can be played by former vocalists Bamboo or even Jason Fernandez anytime they want to. And of course, let’s not forget that Rivermaya themselves can perform these as they are still around. But songs such as Amats, This Too Shall Pass, or Burado can be played only by Rico alone. His solo works should have been given a bigger share of the spotlight that night.
There were two surprises that night: the debut of his new song Palibot-libot and the appearance of Rico’s girlfriend, singer/actress Maris Racal, who joined Rico in performing their collaborative track, Abot Langit.
Despite these, I still enjoyed the show. Songs were stitched seamlessly whenever he did the mash-ups and the medleys as what he did, for instance, with Kisapmata x Awit ng Kabataan x Everybody Wants to Rule the World x Time After Time and 214 x Balisong x You’ll Be Safe Here (YBSH). The extended solo part after 214 and the Tagalog bits of YBSH were particularly special. I know I had already seen him perform YBSH in the past, but if memory serves me, that night was the first time ever that I heard the version with the Tagalog lines. I still remember watching RM perform it live on MTV Asia Awards in Thailand in 2006 and thought that I would love to experience it live someday too. It may have been several years delayed, but at least I still got what I had wished for that night. Panahon also stood out because it reminded me of the time I saw Rivermaya for the first time at UP Fair, where they performed this as well.
But perhaps the most memorable parts for me were Yugto, which was both a sonic and visual delight, and the closing song Your Universe. Yugto was an almost 8-minute performance, which started with a video clip of Rico doing various poses and finally entering some sort of a doorway in the end. Four other percussionists accompanied Rico throughout the performance later on, which lent additional strength to the song. Pyrotechnic effects and smoke made the intense song even more so visually. When it came to Your Universe though, it wasn’t only the song itself that made a lasting impression, but rather the part where he got a bit emotional prior to playing it. He said that his younger self used to be only a part of the audience too, watching basketball games in the upper boxes. All he ever dreamt of when he started his career in music was for people to listen to his songs; never in his life had he thought he could perform at the Big Dome. And yet there he was on that stage, with thousands of people singing his songs back to him. “You hold me like I’m the one who’s precious / I hate to break it to you, but it’s just the other way around / You can thank your stars all you want / But I’ll always be the lucky one” sang Rico as he ended the show, a fitting expression of gratitude to everyone present that September evening.
The concert was filled with nostalgia, no doubt about that. But more than just a trip down memory lane, it was a celebration not only of Rico’s music but also of OPM as a whole. It served as a major sign, a reminder that despite the unbelievable challenges that people have experienced these past couple of years (and are still experiencing until now) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, live music, life, and hope still march on. Being there that night—still being here after all the drastic events that have transpired—is in itself something to be celebrated and grateful for indeed.
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