Dionne Warwick One Last Time in Manila

I just watched Dionne Warwick's One Last Time in Manila concert at the New Frontier Theater. And oh what a magical and memorable evening it was!

Dionne Warwick One Last Time in Manila

Dionne is a musical legend with a sublime and exceptionally distinct and recognizable voice. A lot of her songs have stood the test of time, many of which I love. So when my Mom learned about her concert and asked me to get her a ticket, I decided to watch along with her.

Dionne's concert was held at the New Frontier Theater in Cubao

Dionne is known to be the muse of legendary composer Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David. As such, most of the songs that she performed that evening were songs written by Bacharach and David. This was her set list that evening:

• Walk on by
• Anyone who had a heart
• You'll never get to heaven (if you break my heart)
• I'll never fall in love again
• Message to Michael
• This girl's in love with you
• I say a little prayer
• Alfie
• Do you know the way to San Jose
• If I want to
• I'll never love this way again
• 99 Miles from LA
• What the world needs now is love
• That's what friends are for

Her voice may not be as pristine as it was in her prime - after all, she is 84! - but it was still magnificent! And she is still such a force. She continues to have that gorgeously husky and unique tone that is both sophisticated and soulful. Her incredible and expressive phrasing makes it feel as if she was a storyteller sharing something deeply personal with the audience. While her range is no longer as consistently wide as it was in her younger years, she was still able to showcase her power. It really was such a privilege to be part of the audience that night.

I was probably the biggest fan of Alfie in the entire audience that night so I was really happy when she sang it and I cheered loudly when she was done. During Do you know the way to San Jose, she introduced the members of her band. I can't remember if it was in that same song or another one but each musician in the band had a moment to shine during an extended instrumental. Another highlight was the audience participation part of What the world needs now is love that had us all singing back-up for Dionne.

As she got ready to close her concert, she told us that our paths may not cross again - after all, her concert tour is called One Last Time - and that actually kind of made me a bit sad. She then went into her final song of the night, That's what friends are for, and the audience sang along with her. Before she got off the stage, it looked like she hugged herself and I took that to mean that she felt the love from the audience as we all stood to give her a very well-deserved standing ovation.

As she slowly walked off stage, she signed some autographs for the people in the front rows. It kinda made me wish I was there too.

Thank you, Ms Dionne Warwick, for coming to Manila and entertaining your Philippine fans one last time!