Joe and Jane.

We felt old.  Like when folks start addressing us as Sir, or Tito, or Manong.

Last night we were at the San Andres Apostol Parish fundraising concert which featured Bamboo and the Bloomfields.

But we didn't know who Bamboo was. We didn't even know if Bamboo was the name of the lead singer or the name of the band. 

It was our first time to see Bloomfields, too,  and liked what we saw and heard. Their selection was mostly revivals and danceable.  They had tunes from the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's which radio disk jockeys would call the "oldies."

Bloomfields started off with a hit from the Moonstrucks, a band of the 60's and ended with My Sharona, a hit of the 80's but was recorded in 1979. The group also sang Beatles (Hey Jude) and Elvis Presley songs (House Jail Rock).

Then Bamboo came.  Unfortunately, we didn't know any of their songs which made the youngish among the crowd roared.

But to be forgiven is in order; we'd been away from the local scene for ages. When we left Manila, the airwaves were playing " Wake me up before you go go." Yes, that long ago.

When we came back for a long visit, we found out that the local soap stars are singers, too.  They sing and dance every Sunday at two noontime shows, ASAP and Party Pilipinas.

Then there are rock bands of varying hues. Pepe Smith of the Juan de la Cruz band is still around.

Ever durable Pepe Smith of the Juan de la Cruz Band

Then there are foreign acts that dominate the Manila hotel and casino entertainment venues.  Jennifer Lopez just finished her performance last November and Elton John performed at the Araneta last Dec. 8th.

No wonder local acts are howling foul. They're losing the audience and the business.

Fortunately, more and more local acts are discovering gold mine by bringing their show overseas, in cities in Canada, USA, Australia, in Milan and Abu Dhabi, where thousands of OFWs can afford to buy the tickets which are usually pegged from $45 to $90.

In Toronto couple of years ago, we paid $90 to see Lani Misalucha, and $45 for Side A band.

Last night was proof that oldies and newbies can be gathered in one concert after all.

We remember seeing the show Jersey Boys in Toronto a couple of years ago; the jukebox show re-introduced to the young the music of the highly successful 60's rock n' roll band, The Four Seasons.

Songs of yesterday can kick the youth back into our lives. And the new tunes can add a kick into our dance steps like what gangnam did.

Being called just Joe and for females, Jane, without those unnecessary tags, can give us back our real age.