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by Philipina A. Marcelo
Tears for Fears Live in Manila!!
After more than a quarter of a century since I first heard them hit the airwaves and saw them sing their hit songs via music video, I finally saw them perform –
LIVE - last May 2, 2010 in a soldout concert at the Araneta Coliseum... yes, in Manila… and with my sisters, too! :) It was the most eventful 2010 evening for me so far - awesome! Straight from memory lane, it seemed, Tears for Fears, or simply TFF to their fans, burst into the Philippine sky and fell right on the centerstage of Araneta Coliseum in front of a TFF-hungry "80's Manila crowd"! As soon as the first note sounded from the keyboard, everybody knew TFF didn't come to Manila just to talk about the weather... or did they??
They didn't run in circles, they hit the ground sprinting with 'Mad World'... naturally the crowd went TOTALLY
MAD! And then they followed it up with 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' without leaving a breather... and the breathless crowd almost brought Araneta Coliseum down to the ground! And, there was no turning back after that!Roland Orzabal then slowed the phase down to say hello to the screaming Manila crowd... and his greeting drowned completely in the thundering noise in the Big Dome. Curt Smith took his turn, greeting Manila with "Mabuhay", and the crowd went wild... all I heard were my sisters screaming, "I love you, too!" Er, huh?? Yeah, both sisters are married - and their husbands were left at home! =)
With one foot in the past, the duo treated their fans with 'comforting and familiar' as well as brand new TFF songs. Roland and Curt each played songs from their solo ventures as well... you can totally hear the distinct boldness and metaphor
in Roland's music and the melancholy quality of Curt's, wrapped in an endearingly soothing voice... and the crowd can't get enough of both! By the time they played the intro to 'Sowing the Seeds of Love', Araneta Coliseum was roaring, and it totally shook the Big Dome. Roland Orzabal did the slow version of 'Billie Jean', as in Billie.Jean of Michael.Jackson, in his signature booming angry voice. That drove one sister crazy! And she's always composed, so you can just imagine how that went! =) Something happened... and I think I COMPLETELY DIED somewhere between 'Pale Shelter' and 'Head Over Heels'... yeah, they sang those two hallmark TFF songs, one after another - relentless! Curt and Roland didn't have to sing much in 'Shout' or 'Woman in Chains' - we did most of the shouting, er, singing! =) We completely let it all out! The crowd was INCREDIBLE... the bottled up excitement for TFF music 
that got unleashed with a vangeance after more than a quarter of a century was dizzying - in a good way!! So worth the wait! =) Naturally, Curt and Roland were overwhelmed by the response. Roland wondered aloud why on earth haven't they traveled earlier to Manila when they traveled so many times to the Americas and countless European cities to perform, and here was this mob of TFF fans waiting for them to give some love, but getting only pale shelter for nearly three decades! But that evening of May 2, 2010, the performers and the audience were 
lost in admiration for each other - and no heart was broken either!My 20-year old niece who just saw Justin Timberlake perform at the Mall of Asia arena went to watch the TFF concert with us and she was rendered completely speechless by the crazed crowd of mostly thirty- to forty-something, with tears fillin' up their glasses, singing with TFF with absolutely flawless lyrics! Her mouth fell open and stayed like that the whole time, shaking her head, not understanding. She's a music enthusiast, too... but I don't know... maybe one has to be an 80's person to have a real appreciation of the profound lyrics and unique sound of songs in that glorious era - TFF's lyrics are, without a doubt, among the most brilliant and thought-provoking in the 80's. The danceable tempo of TFF sound and the unique moves that went with it are simply one of a kind (check out the video of 'Mad World' for instance). In fact, I yelled their songs a lot and danced a lot in their concert - can't help myself there... I tried, but no dice! But hey... 300,000 calories spent and 6 lbs. gone in two hours... maybe more - nope, not complaining!!! =)
Before going to the concert, a friend of mine warned me about how one entertainment writer called a recent concert by TFF in the Bay Area as "disappointing". So, I
didn't have great expectations. My sisters and I were just too keen to see two of our music heroes in the 80's, and we didn't really care if they faltered and messed up a few notes here and there. But surprise, surprise! They sounded almost exactly the same as we remembered after more than 20 years of absence - just AWESOME! I can't imagine 'disappointing' and 'TFF' in the same sentence after seeing them perform like that! :) Pure fun - absolutely unbelievable! :) We went to grab smoothies in our favorite coffee shop after the concert to cool down and rehydrate. It was like coming out of the gym from an exhilarating workout... only that one had our brains working out as well... what with TFF's timeless metaphor - no need for gentle persuasion. And, because Roland and Curt taught us a long time ago that nothing ever lasts forever, we made the most of our momentary freedom from grown-up responsibilities, and allowed ourselves to get totally eightyfied! And, it felt good! Oh, sooo good! :)
Photo credits: Photos 1, 3, 4, 5, 6: Janzen Poala Marie Marcelo (the niece...she's not in any of the photos, of course! Hehe...); Photo 2: Grace Marcelo-Go
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