FANnebisyosa!

“FANnebisyosa!”

Sun.Star Davao, Aug. 18, 2012

“It is not just a concert, it’s a fashion show!”, proudly declared the Princess of All Media Anne Curtis as she excused herself for another fabulous costume change during her most anticipated “Annebisyosa : No Other Concert” in Davao held at the University of Southeastern Philippines gym last Saturday.

The Davao concert, which was staged during the busy Kadayawan weekend, was Anne’s latest “Annebisyosa : No Other Concert” after her blockbuster Manila, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod and General Santos City leg.

Admittedly, I was not really there as a gushing fan of Anne but as the official and more than willing chaperone of the ‘FANanebisyosas’, my daughter Anicka and niece Zoe, who incidentally was celebrating her 14^th birthday the following day.

Thanks to Anne’s provincial concert organizer Gatchi Gatchalian (who is Zoe’s baptismal godfather and our close family friend), we enjoyed super VIP seats which gave us the rare opportunity to sit front and center, just six feet away from the stage.  This made the kids so ecstatic!

Singing well-loved hits from Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Rhianna, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Whitney Houston, Anne gamely entertained the Dabawenyos with her stellar performance. The platinum recording artist may not have the best voice, which she candidly admits, but Anne exceeded my personal expectations in terms of her singing prowess. Honestly, she was not that bad.

For those unavoidable moments when she would sound off-key, Anne would just giggle and not take herself too seriously. With her charm, beauty and dancing skills, you can’t help but forgive and forget the minor singing blunders.

As promised, the show was a visual feast with Anne changing from one spectacular costume to another. Her versatility as a performer was manifested in her variety of looks and moods. From playful, sweet, sporty, seductive and glam, the multi-awarded chameleon exuded confidence and carried herself with grace.

Guesting in the Twitter Queen’s Davao concert was one of my favorite comedians Jon Santos whose spot-on impersonations of Armida Siguion-Reyna, Vilma Santos, Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Pres. Joseph Estrada brought the house down.

Meanwhile, Anne’s best friend, Luis Manzano, danced and sang a special duet, ”Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang”, with his enchanting ‘partner in crime’. The BFFs’ admirable rapport on stage is a testament to their many years of friendship on and off cam.

On the other hand, Rachelle Ann Go and Anne’s powerful rendition of “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” received thunderous applause from the audience as the two ladies belted the challenging high notes.

G-Force, dubbed as the youngest dance company to invade the concert and television scene in the Philippines, served as Anne’s back-up dancers.

During the show, Luis announced that one of the G-Force dancers that night was a Dabawenyo named Ritz Charles Beltran. Ritz is a product of the city’s LCB Performing Arts Center.

The impressive two-hour concert culminated with the turnover of the P50,000 donation of Gatchi to the tables and chairs project of the Magtuod High School, Maa National High School Annex. The kind-hearted Anne matched this amount with her own generous donation.

To celebrate the success of the Davao concert, Anne with her production team, and selected guests had an exclusive afterparty at Marco Polo’s function room which was tastefully transformed into ‘Club Smith’ (in honor of Anne Curtis Smith).

After witnessing the concert and meeting the charismatic Anne along with her supportive lawyer-dad James at the afterparty, I became a convert. Just like the kids, I am now a full-fledged ‘FANnebisyosa’!

E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit www.momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com.