Bruno Major performed an enthralling set at the New Frontier Theater as part of his Tour of Planet Earth. Presented by Karpos Multimedia, the sold-out show gave the Filipino crowd a strange kind of beautiful evening (yes, just like his song).

As it was in his recently released album Columbo, the introductory song for the concert was “The Show Must Go On”, setting the soft mood for the evening. As the lyrics go, “If you’re always putting on a show / you’ll lose yourself before you know / as easy lovers come, and easy go”. There was that tinge of melancholy, and maybe a memory of a heartbreak, but there was that soothing feel to it.

The 35-year-old British singer-songwriter is no stranger to our country. In 2018, he played as part of Karpos Live Mix 3 line-up. “Manila, I came here a long time ago, before lockdown. I can’t believe I got to come back five years later,” he recounted.

Since 2019, this is Bruno Major’s step to touring the world again. His sophomore album A Song for Every Moon was released in the midst of the global pandemic in 2020. A month ago, he also released his third album, Columbo. This tour is his first time performing the songs from the two albums live.

Listening to Bruno Major perform his songs one after another, anyone in that theater could tell the concert was of a different kind. He was backed up by a live band (with keyboards, drums, and guitars), yet sitting there as part of the audience felt a bit like witnessing a classical music performance.

It wasn’t one where people sang along to every word, where they hoot and dance gleefully all throughout. Instead, it thrived on silence, solemnity even. It was the kind of concert where you listen and let the music and the poetry of the lyrics sink into you. Even in the moments when people sang, it was still done with the utmost respect.

“I woke up this morning and I couldn’t talk. I was so scared. I’ve never canceled a show,” he revealed to the crowd midway. He took some medicines (a thousand lozenges according to him) and he was relieved when he was able to sing again. “I’m so honored to be able to perform across the world”.

Each Bruno Major song has a characteristic imprint, a distinct concoction of feelings that clings to you. There was the passive-aggressive jealousy in“Fair-Weather Friend”, the extensive ode to love in “Wouldn’t Mean a Thing” and “Home”, the wistful romance in “Regent’s Park” and “The Most Beautiful Thing”, the discrete catharsis of “Just the Same”.

When it was time for him to perform “Nothing”, his most-streamed track (and one that went viral on Tiktok), he requested that people light up their phones because “there’s a light at the end of it about stars”.

“I love you very much. You’re f*cking awesome and I feel like I’m home,” Bruno Major said. He promised to come back and play in a bigger venue. For the encore, he performed “Easily” and “The End”.

Special thanks to Karpos Multimedia!

by Sandra Mae Laureano