Fans of Filipino rock band, Rivermaya were given a treat better than a million chocolate Easter bunnies put together. On Easter Sunday, Apr 8, they certainly gave the crowd a reason to go wild alongside other bands such as The Great Spy Experiment, Flybar, Addiction, John Molina & Kreuger.

The concert sponsored by Western Union saw an excitable crowd (made up of mostly Filipino women) contained in D’Marquee at Downtown East.

Spotted amongst the VIP crowd were Singapore Idol finalists, Paul Twohill, Joakim Gomez and the 3 babes Emilee Kang, Gayle Nerva, Nurul Maideen who were dressed in a themed red and black getup. Also, Levan, frontman of Ronin was also seen walking around.

Flybar, winners of World Battle of the Bands gave the audience an adrenaline filled kick-start to the event with impressive self-composed songs such as “Lose Control” and “She’s So Lazy”. Following that, DXO’s resident band, Addiction, cranked up the energy level with covers such as “Get This Party Started” by Black Eyed Peas. The 2 hot and voluptuous ladies of the band totally did their thang by shaking their booty and sending the crowd into delirium.

Following this, The Great Spy Experiment, Power 98FM’s Favourite Breakout Band and John Molina & Krueger, who were voted Best Rock Band in Singapore 2006 sang a variety of popular rock songs consisting of “Kryptonite” by Three Doors Down and the current hottest hit, “Lips of an Angel” by Hinder.

Well, even the hottest covers were unable to cover the highlight of the evening. After 2 (long and excruciating) hours, Rivermaya finally made its elusive appearance onstage with vocalist Rico Blanco, guitarist Mike Elgar, bassist Japs Sergio and drummer Mark Escueta.

Even after the smashing performances by the opening acts and much head banging, the crowd still had a huge wave of energy to scream at the top of their lungs and wriggle their longish yellow balloons to show their excitement the moment Rivermaya stepped onto the stage.

And it was definitely a well-deserved wait as Rivermaya immediately started with “241(My Favourite Song)”, coincidentally the favourite song of many, evident by the hysterical screams that broke out just before the song was played.

Apart from playing songs from their hit album, “You’ll Be Safe Here”, Rico crooned his smooth vocals to a song, which he claimed was a love letter that was never sent out. Besides that, fans were also given an additional treat when Rico showed his abilities and sang from the bottom of his heart while strumming his guitar (and also UrbanWire’s heartstrings) whilst the rest of the band took a break.

Rivermaya paid homage to the many Filipino fans in the crowd by singing a couple of Tagalog songs. Rico, who sounded a tad shy to be singing in Tagalog, said with a sheepish grin, “We’ll sing 1 or 2 Tagalog songs…”

As the crowd returned their gratitude with hysterical shrieks and incomprehensible phrases which UrbanWire thinks means,”We love Rivermaya” in Tagalog, Rico shook his smiling face and said with a wave of his hand, “Well, we’ll sing a couple.”

24-year-old Amelia, a Filipino domestic worker, was so touched that all she could do was sniffle and say “I love Rivermaya” as she wiped glistening tears from her eyes. Rodel, also 24, a self-professed Rivermaya fan came up to us and gushed, “Rivermaya is good, good.” He showed us 2 thumbs up, then directed them towards the stage and shouted the incomprehensible Tagalog phrase (which we still think means “We love Rivermaya”).

The evidence is there, the screaming fans and the sheer presence of players from the local music scene. The verdict is beyond reasonable doubt. Rivermaya has left an indelible mark with its electrifying performance that proves that Asian rock bands are indeed, capable of cutting it among the best.