As the electromaniacs played their last few songs Thursday night at Merk?s Bar Bistro, a woman stood up and hollered, ??Jesus Christ Superstar? naman!?

We couldn?t tell if she was tipsy or just thrilled at the sight of Boy Camara onstage. The woman continued to talk loudly to her friends, waiting for her request to be granted.

No dice. Maybe Camara didn?t hear her. Or he simply couldn?t imagine doing rock opera that night.

Instead he lent his sweet, nasal tenor to Chicago?s ?Colour My World,? with the band?s keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Lenny de Jesus on flute.

?He?s starting to enjoy it... again,? De Jesus told us during intermission, explaining that it was important for Camara to again feel comfortable performing, after deciding to ?shy away? from the limelight more than 30 years ago.

Former top draw

For us who never saw Camara sing live in the ?70s?as lead vocalist of the bands Chosen Few, Afterbirth and Birth of the Cool, or in the lead role of a local production of ?Jesus Christ Superstar??it was good enough to catch him covering Elton John, James Taylor and Billy Joel.

Those were probably the stuff he sang in nightclub row on Roxas Boulevard, where he was one of the top attractions.

At Merk?s, Camara played percussion while singing ?Daniel,? at times quivering, but generally sounding fine.

Mistakenly introducing ?How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)? as a James Taylor original (the composers were actually Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier of Motown fame) was a minor gaffe, considering how good Camara?s rendition turned out.

In the middle of ?Just the Way You Are,? we started appreciating Camara?s holding on to the notes, stretching them the way jazz singers do.

It was surprising as well to hear him cover Spandau Ballet?s ?Gold,? since the evening?s repertoire was mostly soft-rock.

It should be noted that The Electromaniacs are no longer a purely instrumental band, having added many Beatles, among other pop classics, to their live gig lineup.

Another surprise that night was bassist/vocalist Rolly Roldan interpreting Paul McCartney?s ?Let ?Em In,? with De Jesus filling in the song?s horn section ad libs on keyboards, with amusing results.

Delgado?s solo

But the band sounded off in its bossa nova version of ?Copacabana??Ernie Delgado?s distinct solo on acoustic guitar saved it from ruin.

Again the band flubbed its cover of ?If You Leave Me Now??making us wonder if it was just jamming on a request from the audience at that point, or it really needed more practice.

Playing all these retro hits should not necessarily mean that The Electromaniacs have become just another cover band. As De Jesus explained in her spiel, the members are just having fun and not doing it for the money.

Originals, please

That said, it would be wonderful if Delgado could write more originals to add to his previous masterpieces, among them ?I Miss You So? and ?Picador,? which he also performed at the Merk?s gig.

And with Camara now in the band, adding original vocal pieces in their next CD would be great.

(The Electromaniacs perform again at Merk?s on March 11.)