So we were at Starbucks in The Columns, Makati, decompressing after having virtually gone through the wringer--i.e., a date with Atlantis Productions' heart-wrenching Next to Normal in the afternoon (which is to say you have to see it!), and a hospital visit to a sick friend afterwards. It had been a long day, and we were drained.
I was just out of the bathroom and going up to our second-floor table when I heard beautiful a capella singing. Who's that on the radio, I thought. Then I realized it was live music--the group of men and women around a table beside ours were the ones singing! They would do that for at least twice more during the evening--the musical moments always bringing a lull to our conversation as we tuned in to the soothing sounds instead.
The group, I found out, were members of a choral ensemble called A Cappella Manila. They were out relaxing, but singing apparently remained their main bonding ingredient and source of collective pleasure. And so they sang--and never had a half-empty coffeeshop felt cozier, more intimate. There was no way I'd leave without catching the group on video--along with McVie's moonwalking across the screen as the choir sang Man in the Mirror. Thank you, A Capella Manila, for the unexpected dose of beautiful music on a weary Sunday evening.
[Video taken with an HTC Desire HD--I was breaking it in and didn't know any better yet, so you could hear me ask in the first few seconds why the video looked blurry. A touch of the finger on the screen, and voila! Hi-def na!]
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