The Name is Bond...

...the girl band Bond, that is.

I've wanted to see the string quartet Bond in concert ever since I learned that they will be performing live in Manila. After months of teasing, I never thought that Major Silver, my boss' aide de camp, would actually make good on my cajoling and give me a ticket to see them live. I am not particularly fond of classical music, since I usually listen to classical music when I am in elevators, watching impossibly tall and white models make pouty faces on watch and liquor ads on TV, or when I watch old Loony Toons cartoons.

But there is the case of their beautiful English-Korean cellist, Gay-Yee. I had a crush on her. Looking at her sure beats looking at Yo-yo Ma (no offense to his fans).

Looking at Maj. Silver, you would never figure him out as a Bond fan. Surprisingly, I learned months before that he has all their albums, videos. Die hard, baby. He's this gruff military dude who I discovered last night was actually a soft romantic at heart, and surprisingly given the reputations of men in the service, undyingly faithful to his wife, who is working in Taiwan.

He bought the tickets just as the ticket counter was closing, and of course, I was pleasantly surprised when he sent me a text message to meet him at the venue.

There were a disproportionate number of young men apparently into classical music, or so it seems as I observed the concert-goers.

I have always thought the violin, especially the cello, was a very sensual instrument. As the hidden romantic in Maj. Silver revealed himself to me, I realized why he was so attracted to Bond. Well, there was also of course his huge crush on Haylie, on first violin. He bought the P500 cd/vcd set being sold and was exeptionally stiff during the concert. He even called his wife on his cellphone before the concert. In a conspiratorial tone, he admitted that he told his wife that he was going to the concert alone. Heh. I guess I had extraordinary persuasive powers, then. I made a point to tell him during my relentless campaign to see them in concert that it was my birthday, and he HAD to take me to watch Bond :p. It is no bother, anyway, since we saw the concert as friends.

The girls came out in cotton-candy tutu skirts and sleeveless tank tops. MY GAWD GAY-YEE WAS HOOOOT! Haylie was her usual sun-shiney presence. Tania was a bit bloated, probably still trying to shed off post-pregnancy pounds. Eos just glowed, with her very shiny blond hair.

They played the usual repertoire of classical songs, you know, the ones you frequently hear on the aforementioned cartoons and watch ads but don't know the names to except to say "theme from the Lone Ranger" and "Theme from the Night before Christmas." Unusual was the somewhat different arrangement, and their great back-up rock band, who really punked up the staid classical collections.

They even played a couple of disco numbers--on violin! It was great! This was what music is really about--to make you dance, to make you cry, to make you laugh, to make you recall. I may not have known the titles to the songs, but I knew what the music made me feel. It made me feel that I was the figurehead of a mighty ship, crusing on calm waters in sunny weather. The next song made me feel what it was like to wake up next to my beloved on an easy Sunday morning.

Their unusual selection of songs were also a riot! They played on acoustic strings the theme song of the movie Psycho--brilliant!

Of course they played their hits Shine and Victory at the last part. By this time Gay-Yee was wild! Despite her instrument, the biggest and most cumbersome in relation to her Bondmates (pardon the pun), she was shaking her bon-bon in a very delightful way! Jumping around, she played up to the audience, readily posing for their camera-phones, vamping it up to the old gentlemen in front. Of course when they played Victory I just had to stand up and dance along! My hands were sore because of clapping by the end of the night. They even returned for an encore with more disco!

This was not just a concert. It was an experience! Haylie, who adressed the audience at the beggining of the show, was right. Thank you, Bond, for allowing your music to "transport [me] to a strange, exotic paradise. "