IV of Spades thrills fans with reunion concert

When the time the lights dimmed at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Dec. 12, the first day of a two-day affair, it was already clear this wasn't just another concert; it was an event the kind where people keep glancing around as if to confirm that yes, this is really happening.

- By IAN URETA

IV of Spades (Images courtesy of Facebook)

(Images courtesy of Facebook)

IV of Spades was back on stage together after five years apart, ready to perform for a sold-out crowd. The air was filled with a mixture of hope, nostalgia, and a hint of anxiety about whether they could meet the high expectations. However, they were sure they could. Much of their confidence stemmed from the knowledge that Karpos was in charge of the show.

Multimedia has a track record in mounting large-scale yet thoughtfully curated concerts that have reshaped the local live music landscape.

When Unique Salonga, Zild Benitez, Blaster Silonga, and Badjao de Castro finally took the stage and opened with “Monster” from their new album, the reaction felt less like applause and more like a collective emotional reset. This was the full lineup; no qualifiers, no nostalgia goggles required, and from the opening riffs onward, it became clear the band wasn’t interested in pretending time hadn’t passed. Instead, they leaned into it.

The setlist unfolded like a natural progression of their past work. Statement. Staples such as “Sentimental” and “Hey Barbara” landed with the gravity of shared memory. Still, the newer material from Andalucia, including “Konsensya” and “Nanaman” didn’t feel like an interruption or a sales pitch. They were received with the same enthusiasm, sung back by a crowd that seemed to accept, almost instinctively, that this chapter belonged here too.