'a new day' one night

THE OLD MAN CAME TO OUR PLACE AGAIN. the neighborhood knew him as mang vic. he always comes here to repack ‘kasoy’ seeds that he sells in the market. he don’t have a convenient place to do it, i guess and maybe because there’s generous people here that could help him (not me though. hehe!). in spite of the old age, as evidenced by his white hair and slowed, limping gait, i could say that he’s an intelligent and wise man. he talks about a lot of things, especially about foreign stuff. i wonder if he’s ever gone abroad. i was watching the television when he entered the sitting room, and out of thin air, talked about celine dion, or at least one her concerts. he talked about how prestigious the concert was and how he never failed to play celine’s dvd on his component. i was surprised but rather amused. old people have a very curious way of sharing their thoughts. it’s like listening to a very familiar fairy tale.

celine dion has been one of my favorite artists ever (gosh. that is so gay. hehe!), but i set her aside from my playlist for a long time now, since i got acquainted with alternative music. alternative music owned my ears and i love it. it dominated celine’s and all those songs in pop genre. my craving for it intensified when i got addicted to american tv series, especially one tree hill (my all-time favorite!), the o.c., and smallville.

anyway, mang vic offered to bring the dvd for us to watch, with a gleam of enthusiasm on his wrinkled face. i nodded, but in the back of my mind, i couldn’t care less if he brings it or not for the fact that it’s celine…duh?! (hehe!)

the next day, when i got home, later that evening, from...(somewhere i’d rather talk about next time)…i chilled in the sitting room till i felt that i sat on something flat on the sofa. and there she was—celine on stride, wearing a short, sparkly dress, with her small mouth wide open, and raising an arm in attempt to seduce people with her flawless pit. (haha!). her concert dvd was entitled ‘a new day’. the concert took place in caesar’s palace, the infamous performing arts theatre in las vegas, nevada. i dreamed of going there sometime and watch the ‘cirque du soleil’ perform their stunning and jaw dropping acrobatic acts! (haha!). four years, celine conquered the palace. four years. that’s a very long time. and a part of me hopes if i could just sit on one of its comfy seats, and watch the show. just one show of all the nights she performed there for four years…

i already watched the dvd…twice. and you can’t blame me, for i consider it as the best concert i have ever witnessed, either live or on the television... i’ll tell you why…:)

celine’s vocal masterclass. her voice never failed to amuse me. her voice just soared. even though she had a cold, the way she controlled her voice was really incredible. i noticed that her voice wasn’t that powerful as before (age factor i guess) but the way she attacks the notes, is simply superb. she used her vocal techniques very well. she could make them soft and tender to freaking high and powerful. she’s the ultimate performer, with her unique body movements and humor every performance became emotional for what the songs require.

the graceful dancers. i am quite familiar with some types of dancing because i have been watching the reality show ‘so you think you can dance?’ and during the auditions, there were a lot of contemporary dancers. but i have never watched that kind of dancing performed in such immense scale. contemporary dancing is very curious thing to watch mainly because of the unusual movements. but the dancers were successful to support celine's voice. they move in a very theatrical way. i applaud their acting and how they got into character for each numbers. i they are not just dancers. i consider them as brilliant actors as well. i enjoyed watching the 'white guy' and 'the butler'. they supported the performences very well.

the stunning visuals. perhaps this one is what mesmerize me the most. the background projected on a wide wide screen created the magic. the background visual was able to transport the audience to what the song's concept offers. my favorite parts were when there were performers suspended in mid air. imagine a piano floating in midair carried by two men, giant portraits with dancing occupants suspended high above the stage, flying lamposts, winged girls on swings, giant chandeliers and musical instruments, a bride floating across a very big moon, and my favorite, a guy riding a bicycle slowly acrooss the stage, suspended in midair, lights on against a starry background, while a lampost is lifted towards the sky. (wee!) reminds me of the iconic scene in e.t. the lighting was flawless and everything is perfectly coordinated. This is one of my favorite numbers entitled 'if i could'. watch out for the guy on the bicycle...(hehe)



the great music. the songs were artistically arranged. they were arranged to have a quite lengthy introduction while the dancers perform (and give time for celine to change her costume and do her make-up. gosh. celine was 'toxic' backstage! hehe!). the live music was fantastic. i could imagine myself hearing from inside the caesar's palace's undoubtedly wicked acoustics! i loved the violin and the flute! it sounded perfect up until the last note in the credits.

the perfect venue. celine dion singing with brilliant dancers, stunning visuals, great music, on a giant stage in one of the most prestigious theater in world. whew! caesar's palace is so big. the balconies were very high, reaching up to the ceiling. the seats are in velvety red color. it reminded me of the paris opera house, with red seats and gold statues and decorations everywhere. and the stage--one of the biggest stage i've seen. where could you get 60 or more dancers to perform? (hehe)

it was a magical night and i give credits to franco dragone who created the whole thing...and the guys behind the camera. i did an awesome job! hope you could watch it... even if you're not a celine fan. hehe! i still can't believe that my dad enjoyed watching it too! (hehe!)

I hope I could watch her live though…(hays)