The Moffatts Farewell Tour: A happy reunion of sorts

Ni Len Armea

 

Sina Scott, Bob, at Clint Moffatt sa kanilang
Farewell Tour concert na ginanap kamakailan
sa The Big Dome. (Kuha ni Jovy Bajo)

Isang masayang reunion ng 90’s Canadian pop rock band na The Moffatts at kanilang libu-libong fans ang naganap sa The Farewell Tour concert kamakailan sa SMART Araneta Coliseum. Pagpasok na pagpasok pa lamang nina Scott (vocals, guitars), Clint (vocals, bass guitar), at Bob Moffatt (drums) ay hindi na magkamayaw sa pagtili ang mga fans na noo’y mga teenager pa lamang kagaya ng tatlo.

Kaya naman ng nag-umpisa nang tumugtog ang tatlo ay dumagundong ang The Big Dome nang kantahin nila ang dalawa sa kanilang mga kanta na “Crazy” at “I’ll Be There For You” na mula sa kanilang album na “Chapter 1: A New Beginning.”

“Hello, Manila! It feels great to be back!” Bungad ni Clint pagkatapos ng dalawang kanta.

“Who here loves Clint? How about Bob? Who do you love, guys?” Biro naman ng panganay sa grupo na si Scott bilang intro sa susunod nilang kanta na “Who Do You Love” na mula naman sa kanilang “Submodalities” album, na huli nilang ginawa bago mag-disband noong 2001.

Nagkaroon naman ng solo spot si Scott nang kantahin niya ang kanyang mga bagong awitin na kinabibilangan ng “Distract Me,” “Tell Me,” “I Won’t Call,” at “Whenever Not Ever” na nagpapakita ng kakaiba at mas distinct na tunog kumpara sa kanyang lumang awitin.

Bumalik muli ang tatlo para kantahin ang “Bang Bang Boom,” “Call the Doctor,” “Just Another Phase,” at “Girl of My Dreams” na kahit na hindi nakasama ang kanilang nakababatang kapatid na si Dave na siyang keyboardist ay todo hataw pa rin sa entablado.

“This crowd is amazing. You guys are making this an amazing experience for us,” saad ni Clint.

Kinuha naman nina Clint at Bob, ang identical twins sa banda, at ngayon ay isa nang duo sa pamamagitan ng Endless Summer na kantahin ang kanilang cover ng “When You Say Nothing At All” ay kanilang original singles na “Broke” at “I Will.”

Ilan pa sa kanilang kinanta ay ang “Amen for Women,” “Without You,” “Love Isn’t,” “Rainy Afternoon,” “Girls of the World,” at “Love You More.”

Tumayo at sinabayan naman ng buong Big Dome ang The Moffatts ng kantahin nila ang huling apat at pinakapopular na kanta na kinabibilangan ng “Misery,” “If Life is so Short,” “Love,” at “Miss You Like Crazy.”

“Thank you for giving us something and we hope we gave something back. Thank you for making this an amazing experience for us,” pahayag ni Bob bago nila kantahin ang Miss You Like Crazy.

Coming back after 16 years

Hindi ikinaila ng The Moffatts na malaki ang nagawa sa kanilang karera ng tagumpay nila rito sa Pilipinas kaya naman espesyal ang tingin nila sa kanilang mga tagasuporta na sa pagdaan ng taon ay hindi nawalan ng komunikasyon sa kanila.

“The Philippines has been a great place for us. We came here, we didn’t know what to expect. We’ve been living in Germany for a couple of years, and somebody came and just said ‘you guys have the number one record in Southeast Asia in the Philippines’…

“We didn’t really know anything about it. And we got on the plane, came here, and landed, and from that day on, it was like a huge impact on our lives. We played at the Araneta Coliseum, and then it was like we thought we were the Beatles. It was the first time in our career that kind of thing happened, and so it was always an amazing experience coming back [to the Philippines],” pahayag ni Scott sa presscon na ginanap sa Marco Polo Hotel na dinaluhan ng Pinoy Gazette.

Kaya naman ng alukin sila na mag-concert dito sa Pilipinas ay hindi sila nagdalawang-isip na tanggapin ito dahil sabik din silang tumugtog para sa kanilang fans dito sa Pilipinas.

“When the idea was proposed to us, we just thought, ‘You know what? Let’s do this! In 1999, that's probably the last year we were here as The Moffatts, and so we were here, we sold our records. Our stuff is on the radio and all of a sudden, we were done, we kind of split up,” pahayag ni Bob.

“We just thought it would be cool to be back over here because we have so many people who have followed us through the years on Facebook. They kept in touch and let us know that our music is still important to them.

“So we thought, ‘Why don’t we come back over here and do a show and have all these people who have been so supportive to us for 16 years.’”

Beautiful memories in Manila

Sikat na sikat ang The Moffatts sa Pilipinas noong huling mga taon noong 1990s kung saan dinumog ng 40,000 fans ang kanilang mall show at halos magkaroon ng stampede sa Hard Rock Café.

“We’ve never seen anything like that!” There’s so many people there! There were these rafters that you kinda put up and they’re holding speakers and the girls just climbing on them. It was crazy!” Pahayag ni Bob.

Hindi naman makakalimutan ni Clint ang mainit na pagtanggap ng Filipino fans sa kanila at magagandang ngiti sa kanilang mga mukha.

I’ll always remember, flying in for the first time and the Philippines is actually one of our first stops on our Southeast Asian tour, and when the plane landed, I looked out the window and the guy who was waving the plane into the slot where we park just have the biggest smile on his face. And I thought, you'd never see that in the States.

“That visual is always stuck on me and I thought it's just a great trait and I see that a lot with Filipino people.”