‘#LoveThrowback 2 The Repeat’ set for May 27 at the PICC

THE LEADS. Royale Chimes Concerts and Events Inc. will soon roll out a big, beautiful and breathtaking event for the BPO industry!... G Diaries, a new travel series hosted by environment hero Gina Lopez, will take you on an exciting trip to discover our country’s hidden tourist gems, intertwined with inspiring stories about caring for our environment. It premieres this May 28, Sunday, before ASAP on ABS-CBN!... The team of Jodilerks de la Cruz, Employee of the Month led by Angeli Bayani, Carlo Francisco Manatad, Mikko Quizon Llan Pesigan left for Cannes last May 16 to fulfill Joji Alonso’s grand aim to be Cannes-bound!... In his forthcoming concert in Manila, Justin Bieber is demanding two hotels to billet his 180 cast and crew!... Megastar Sharon Cuneta returned on Wednesday to start shooting her Cinemalaya film entitled Ang Pamilyang ‘di Lumuluha today!... Cannes Best Director Brillante Ma Mendoza will direct Derek Ramsey for the upcoming TV5 series entitled Amo!
#LOVETHROWBACK2 THE REPEAT. During this year’s Valentine celebration period, there were three kinds of shows love-struck partygoers could choose from based on ticket price: one mass-priced, four mid-priced and one high-priced.
Directed by Calvin Neria, the pioneering success of “#LoveThrowback2’s” hugot format placed it as the highest grosser in the mid-scale price range that even before the concert was over, a repeat was announced for May 27, 8:30 p.m. in the same high-end venue at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Plenary Hall.
Another two of the six shows had repeats, which gives it a 50 percentage that proves OPM is very much alive. Out of six concerts in abovestated period, there was only one foreign act, ‘80s alternative-rock band, Goo Goo Dolls. Given a great concept and excellent timing, OPM can stand on its own.
It also shows that you can never go wrong with timeless songs that has become the soundtrack of most Filipino’s love story. “#LoveThrowback2 The Repeat” stars OPM royalties Ariel Rivera, Christian Bautista, Joey G., Jinky Vidal, Nina and Hajji Alejandro.
As before, the concert promises a powerhouse line-up that represents different genres in the music and concert scene. Who wouldn’t want to listen to “Sana Kahit Minsan” by Ariel, “The Way You Look At Me” by Christian, “Forevermore” by Joey, “So Slow” by Jinky, “Someday” by Nina and “May Minamahal” by Hajji, and more of their hit songs?
The great thing about this is that instead of competing with each other, the “#LoveThrowback2” artists are inspired by each other, as they admitted during the recent media launch of The Repeat at Luxent Hotel Quezon City. The younger performers take the mature singers as templates to learn from, and the latter looks to the former to stay fresh by drawing energy from them.
The show also draws a mix of audiences from the so-called millennials to the young at heart. As Ariel Riversa notes, everyone shares the same emotions and reactions when they hear their favorite songs performed by the featured performers. They also laugh and nod their heads when they read the “hugot” lines after each song, a part of the show which is not to be missed as well.
Neria first used the “hugot” device in Jennylyn Mercado’s 2014 Valentine concert with Antoniette Jadaone as writer, followed up by the original “#LoveThrowback” in 2016, Rico Puno, Marco Sison, Raymond Lauchengco, Gino Padilla, Chad Borja, Roselle Nava and Nina also at the PICC.
The insistent public demand for a repeat of #LoveThrowback2 also shows that this kind of concert is not only meant to be watched on Valentine’s Day. It can be seen all over again at any time as it talks about a universal feeling that everyone at some point in their lives has lost, accepted and/or given another chance.
“#LoveThrowback2 The Repeat” is a production of Royale Chimes Concerts and Events Inc., the entertainment company founded by wife and husband team of Yuri and Beth Mercado. Beth used to work with Viva Entertainment until they decided to organize Royale Chimes Concerts and Events Inc. that brought Jack Jones, Boy George and Culture Club, Bootleg Beatles and Hello Kitty, among others, to the country.
Tickets are available at SM Tickets, Ticket net and Ticketworld outlets. Follow RoyaleChimesConcerts on Facebook and Instagram and RoyaleChimes on Twitter for more info and updates.

150TH ANNIVERSARY OF DALI’S ILLUSTRATION OF ALICE IN WONDERLAND. A visionary editor at Random House commissioned surrealist Salvador Dalí (May 11, 1904 to January 23, 1989) in 1969 to illustrate the Lewis Carroll classic for a small, exclusive edition of their book-of-the-month series. Dalí created 12 heliogravures — a frontispiece, which he signed in every copy from the edition, and one illustration for each chapter of the book.
To mark the 150th anniversary of the beloved book, Princeton University Press brought back to life the Dalí-illustrated Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (public library) — a crowning achievement among the greatest illustrations of the Carroll masterpiece from the century and a half since its inception, featuring new introductions by Mark Burstein, president of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America, and mathematician Thomas Banchoff, who knew and collaborated with Dalí.
Dalí himself applied a number of surrealist techniques to his interpretation of the story. To represent Alice — the sole character who appears in every chapter — he reused an image of a girl skipping rope that he had first painted more than 30 years earlier. He placed this strange, static, mid-motion figure, almost an icon, in each of the 12 illustration — a choice that was part automatism, part cut-up technique, as if echoing Carroll’s incantation from the first page: “The rest next time — ” “It is next time!”

TWO ASIAN AWARDS FOR TOFARM FILM. Zig Dulay’s Paglipay, grand prize winner of the first Tofarm Film Festival, won in two festivals in Bali, Indonesia. It received the Platinum World Award for International Feature Film at the World Film Awards. It also brought home the International Award of Excellence at the International Film Festival for Environment, Health, Culture.

NYOY VOLANTE AT HARD ROCK CAFÉ. Nyoy Volante is set to perform live at Hard Rock Café (HRC) on May 20 (Saturday, 9 p.m.). Hard rockers can come and see the show as Nyoy dishes out his greatest hits as culled from his impressive catalogue of multi-platinum full-length studio albums. Fans and music buffs can look forward to an evening to beautiful music as Nyoy performs his show stopping original songs such as “Nasaan Ka Na,” “You’re My You,” “Pikit,” “Someday” and “You’re Not Mine.”
Also sample today’s hottest chart-toppers paired with party anthems and homegrown favorites. This intimate show is part of HRC’s on-going live series for 2017, which is a series of live performances featuring the country’s best artists. Other featured artists this May at HRC are Part 3 (Sundays and Fridays), Kudos Love 80s (Mondays and Wednesdays), Silk (Tuesdays), Red Picasso (Thursdays) and Arpie and The Multivitamins (May 27 and 29). All shows start at 9 p.m.