Nievera concert draws 3,000-plus fans

More than 3,000 people packed Hopwood Junior High School’s football field to watch Martin Nievera’s “A Night to Remember” Sunday evening in what was billed as Saipan’s concert event of the year.

Hundreds of cars filled the allotted parking space inside and outside the venue. There was also a long queue of people at both gates as early as 5pm, with traffic along the road slowing down to a crawl to accommodate the hundreds of people streaming into Hopwood. Fans said they wanted to get the best seats possible for a close look at Manila’s concert king.

Concertgoers also came prepared with beach mats, still cameras—and umbrellas, which came in handy when a sudden downpour punctured the night toward the end of the concert. That didn’t stop the concert, though, nor did it deter people from their places in front of the stage, preferring to get wet rather than lose out on the best seats.

The crowd clapped lustily when Nievera’s eight-piece band, led by veteran musical director Louie Ocampo, went onstage, signaling the start of the concert, and roared when Manila’s concert king himself finally showed up on stage, opening his act with a rendition of Moondance, originally sang by Michael Buble.

Nievera serenaded the crowd with his classic hits such as No Way to Treat a Heart, You and Be My Lady; his own compositions such as Miracle (which he wrote when his first son was born), Stay With Me (which he wrote for his estranged wife, Pops Fernandez); and a medley of Barry Manilow hits starting off with Weekend in New England (which he did on a dare by KZMI general manager Harry Blalock). He also sang the Filipino love song Nasaan Ka? (Where Are You?), a song composed by the late Philippine National Artist George Canseco.

Nievera punctuated his performance by talking of what he has been doing on the island since arriving on Saturday. He said organizers brought him to the island’s beautiful golf courses. An avid golfer, he showed pictures of his game on giant screens, boasting of having played with Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente himself that morning.

Nievera also asked Saipan Rotary Club’s Citizen of the Year David M. Sablan up on stage and gave him a “crash course” on belting it all out on stage.

Nievera also did some impressions of good friend, Gary Valenciano, another Filipino singer, doing some of Valenciano’s trademark dance moves and mannerisms, to the laughter of the crowd.

During his last set, the light drizzle turned into heavy rain but the audience remained in the field with their umbrellas, though some of them stood in the torrent still listening to Nievera, who in turn didn’t mind the downpour as he gamely sang You Are My Song. His final song for the evening was his ‘80s upbeat hit On the Right Track but, with a roar of “More! More! More!” the crowd chanted for an encore until Nievera and his crew went back on stage and sang Kahit Isang Saglit (Even For Just a Moment).

The emcees of the concert were Eliezer “DJ Myk Kayo” Alinas of Magic 100.3 and Tan Holdings Corp.’s corporate communications officer Teri Flores.

Last Sunday’s concert was a fundraising event for the Northern Marianas College Foundation. All proceeds will go to the foundation for its numerous cause-oriented activities.