David Tao Concert – This is no block of wood!

Amidst the glossy and fickle Chinese music industry, a few truly talented and well-marketed artists stand out, one of them is David Tao. His well-known signature R & B tunes have come to be the genre in the Mandopop industry. Well, he is also one my favourite singers, so called me biased if you want.

The Capacity Crowd

Towards show time, the capacity crowd streamed into the venue almost like those time lapse videos. Like all concerts outside Esplanade, this concert didn’t start punctually. But the waiting definitely helped to build up the anticipation. As soon as the light dimmed to signal the start of the concert, the crowds were already all well warmed up and cheering for David Tao to appear.

The overture started with chants of “1, 2, 3″ in Mandarin and then in various languages which pleasantly amused the audience. Then David Tao rose from below the stage to appear before the excited audience.

David with the quintessential guitar

Within the first 3 up tempo songs, he had already had the extremely responsive crowd standing and waving their arms to the rhythm of the music.

After the fourth song, David took time to interact with the audience. Momentarily, it seemed rather awkward that he conversed predominantly in English for a concert consisting of Mandarin songs. It was later that I realised that there would be a number of band members as well as audiences that only understood English or not as familiar with Mandarin.

One of the main visual surprises at this concert has got to be the use of laser lights for the heavier up-tempo numbers. The first time it came on for the song “鬼”, plenty of oohs, aahs and howls complimented the stunning effects. It was clear that plenty of effort and heart was put in for this concert.

It seems that there has been a trend of Easternisation in Mandarin pop. First there was Jay Chou’s “千里之外”, soon there would one from Jeff Chang’s new album. Under David’s belt would be “Susan 说”. This live version was preluded with a pipa recital accompanied by a modernised opera dance, giving it a very strong Chinese flavour.

Before his next song, “爱我还是他”, David took time to introduce one of the many local talents in his crew. On the keyboards was Goh Kheng Loong, the music director whom he has worked with for 8 years. More amazingly, there had never been any arguments between them, something he attributed to God. That got a rather muted applause from the audience. If you didn’t know, David Tao is very upfront about his Christian faith and is unapologetic about sharing it with the audience at his concert.

Next was the jazzed up version of Teresa Teng’s “月亮代表我的心” which I felt was a little over-sang. He then followed up with “10:30的飞机场”. For “今天要回家” “今天没回家”, David got the audience to sing-along for the easier parts of the song. But when he challenged them to sing the following faster stanza, the audience stumbled. Nonetheless, the crowd enjoyed every moment of it.

“小镇姑娘” was definitely one of the more refreshingly rearranged songs. Originally a very light, country and folk sounding number, this live version was heavier and really rocked the house and had the audience on their feet and arms in the air.

A significantly slower “寂寞的季节” was then performed to lead up to his unplugged number, “普通朋友” which he shared the stage with his guitarist on tour, Jamie Wilson who surprised the audience when he replied to David’s questions in Mandarin. This would be just one of the numerous occasions in the concert where he showcases his band of talented musicians.

One of the things that set David Tao apart is how he uses his music for positive change in the world. The next song “Dear God” was one he wrote in response to the tragedies that had happened around the world in recent times as a cry out for change. It had a video prelude with the accompanying crew introducing themselves, their role in the band, their different nationalities and racial diversity. Then they introduced themselves in common as human to drive the point that the fighting that is happening around the world needs to stop and that we should recognise that our most effective weapon is love instead.

“今天你要嫁给我” is a duet which he wrote and sang with Jolin Tsai. Of course Jolin wasn’t around. So Singapore’s very own Tay Kewei sang her part as David flirted with her on stage as always in every of his concert. It is a pity her talent is not as recognised locally, judging from the somewhat awkward audience response when David referred her as the pride of Singapore. But hey, it’s just a few more songs before her debut album rocks our air waves, but if you are curious, visit her blog for her demo tracks and support local talent!

Producing a concert is always a team effort, so David took ample time after the song to introduce everyone that made this concert possible, on and off stage. Notably, there were many musicians that hail from Singapore and Malaysia. I was darn impressed that every musician on stage could sing and play at least one instrument! A special mention for Alisa Elisa, the multi-talented Taiwanese back up vocal who can also play the flute, trombone and violin. Not to mention that she quite gorgeous as well.

David then shared a little secret – he is a closet dancer, but a bad one at it. That’s why he remains a closet dancer. But still he wanted the audience to have some fun, he included a dance medley so that everyone can get on their feet to shake it up little. Interestingly, during the dance medley, David took the role of the back up vocals for John Tan David Tan (back up vocals and guitar) to take centre stage.

Halfway through “就是爱你”, David decided to get off the stage and get cozy with the audience. The ladies screamed with delight as they flooded towards the barrier for a hug, handshake or even just a touch of their idol. The fans loved it tremendously. Due to the local concert regulations, he could only access a limited area of the crowd. Returning to stage at the end of the song, David even thanked the security for their hard work in making that up-close and personal experience possible and safe for everyone.

The lady in red gets her tickets’ worth with a full embrace

Near the end of the concert he shared that he was considering a move to Singapore, because it was one of the few places where there is racial and religious tolerance. On a lighter note, he said that said that contrary to what people said, Singapore is actually a fun place, with the latest attraction being the Singapore Flyer, which is really slow and expensive.

For those who remembered his comments on desperately anxiously seeking a life partner at his press conference, David picked out a lady in the audience to serenade with the song “沙滩”, on stage. Darn lucky girl. Hmm… Isn’t he awfully transparent laying out plans to get a Singapore PR, don’t you think? I could almost hear some of the audience chanting, “PR! PR! PR!” Or maybe David’s already aiming for Singapore citizenship?

For the last song of the night, David sang his break out hit, “爱很简单”. With it he thanked the audience, the crew and especially God, sharing his testimony of miracle healing of tonsillitis on the morning of the concert. Yup, that too got a rather awkward reaction from the audience. But that didn’t affect the concert experience one bit. It was undoubtedly a great concert that would be remembered for a long time.

The Year of Jacky Cheung World Tour ‘07

This post was written for Youth.sg.
http://www.youth.sg/content/view/4162/54/

I’m an eighties kid. I was born in that decade. And growing up, people around me would listen to the music on the radio. There would be a powerful voice singing the some of the most popular songs on air. That voice is none other than Jacky Cheung’s and he was easily the most popular Chinese singer around.

It is pretty safe to say that Jacky Cheung is a name well-known in every Chinese community in the world. His voice has captured the attention of countless audiences the everywhere and in this world tour, it was no exception.

The Indoor Stadium was packed to the brim. The atmosphere built up with the audiences’ anticipation with every passing second. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the appearance of Jackie Cheung on stage. Sure enough, the crowd cheered as the dancers appeared to perform to the overture. Then he appeared…

…and he kicked off his concerts with a medley of sexy, sensual, high energy dance songs. He danced and sang non-stop with amazing vigour as the ecstatic audience cheered him on. It is hard to believe that the man on stage is already 46 years old and outdoing people 20 years younger.

The medley of dance songs ended with some stage pyrotechnics. Then he began chatting with the audience. This was the 92nd concert in his world tour and he admitted that it was hard work to be dancing and singing at his age. Knowing how to please his fans, he runs through his repertoire for the night. It would be impossible to perform all his hits in this concert, (it would probably last for at least 8 hours if it were to include everything) so a number of his classic hits in Mandarin and Cantonese were selected. There would also be less of his newer songs as audiences in his previous concerts had lukewarm reactions. There would also be songs from his musicals, “Snow Wolf Lake” and the more recent “Perhaps, Love”.

Jacky Cheung is perhaps best remembered for his sentimental love songs. It was common (and probably still is) to serenade girlfriends and wives with his songs. While most would probably suck at the difficult vocals, the green faces and/or constipated look (out of breath from singing) tend to convince the serenaded ones that they mean every word in the lyrics.

Despite singing for 23 years and a throat complication a few years back, his vocals remains strong and robust yet extremely versatile. In this concert, he effectively displays his showmanship, performing songs of vastly different genres, from sentimental love songs to rock to dance and musicals. He truly lived up to the title: “God of Songs”.

Referring to the rock-styled pieces performed, he reasoned that it was one rare channel where he could transform into something more animalistic, and thus the screaming during some of the pieces. While he explained that he doesn’t behave that way usually, he engaged the audiences in a brief screaming match to encourage the behaviour within the Indoor Stadium at his concert.

In this concert, Jacky would also share his with the audience his personal life. In fact, the concert could be considered as his autobiography. In his 23 year career, he has released over 70 albums, sung over 1000 songs and won about 300 awards. Yet his greatest pride and joy is his family. Behind all the glitz and glamour belies a humble family man. And he shared a little embarrassingly that despite having sang so many songs, he hardly had any songs specially dedicated to his wife and daughters. So in a recent album, he had a song written each for his daughter and wife. He joked that he was somewhat disappointed by his wife’s “not bad” statement as he had expected a bit of tears in her reaction.

He also shared snippets about his childhood. He lived in a large family where all the men were sailors. They only returned every three years. He joked that he only knew the difference between a man and a woman when he was three because that was when his mum introduced him to his father! He also shared that he got seasick, which was why he never followed the traditional sailor’s path of the men in his family. That would have been a blessing in disguise.

Relating how he entered the entertainment industry, re-enacted the singing competition which he participated in and won. It was no doubt his life altering moment which he shared in the most vivid and animated manner.

True to his observation from previous concerts, the audience reaction was lukewarm during some of his songs. They seem to only react in a more appreciative manner when he sang his more familiar songs. They cheered and sang along.

With a quick change of costumes, the concert progressed to the section where he performed songs from his musicals, “Snow Wolf Lake” and “Perhaps, Love”. On stage, Jacky Cheung and his dancers played out the excerpts for each song performed. It was a unique and more stylised presentation which joined the songs of two different musicals together. If my memory serves me, “Snow Wolf Lake” was the first Cantonese and Mandarin musical ever produced.

Once the musical songs were over, Jackie left the stage for another costume change for the encore. The thunderous applause beckoned him back to stage where he would the last series of songs for the night. Encores must have been an idea stemming from Singapore’s kiasu mentality, must always get more from a concert. Performing more classic hits, he got the ever ecstatic audience to their feet. The crowd went wild and the live cameras recorded every instance of fans waving their hands and light batons while singing along to his songs.

As Jacky Cheung introduced his last song for the night, audience gave their most appreciative cheer. While it was sad that this concert had to come to an end, they were probably also extremely appreciative of the he had made Singapore one of his world tour’s stops.

In retrospect, compared to other concerts, Jacky Cheung hardly did the mic-to-the-audience-partly-because-I-forgot-the-lyrics trick. It is no doubt that he continually works hard to produce quality works and performances. This three and a half hour concert was a fantastic visual spectacle and absolute audial enjoyment. The set, lighting, sound and pyrotechnics all synchronised perfectly with Jacky Cheung’s flawless vocals and showmanship. The concert was definitely worth every cent.One thing’s for sure, I feel more complete as a Chinese having watched Jacky Cheung live in concert.

Eric Moo’s Concert

Then he picked up his guitar, and you’ll know that you’re in on an intimate musical journey.

I’m on Youth.sg assignment again. This time, I got the chance to cover Eric Moo’s (巫启贤) concert. Who’s Eric Moo? Here’s my personal take: Without him, Singapore might have less of successful Chinese singers to boast today. We might not have successes like Kit Chan, Stefanie Sun, Tanya Chua, A-do and Lin Junjie. Eric Moo was one of the pioneers of Singaporean artists that broke into the ultra-competitive Chinese music market in Taiwan.

Of course some may argue that he isn’t really Singaporean (he was born in Malaysia), but most of his music was produced in Singapore and along with a few like-minded songwriters, they brought about the era of Xinyao (新谣). At the peak of his career in Singapore, Eric was literally the most well-known Singer in Singapore and Malaysia, every house also know his name (巫启贤的名字家喻户晓。). Even non-Chinese knew him, listened and sang to his songs and one even translated his song to English! I was in primary school then. Almost every week he would appear on television as a guest.

Certainly, Eric has come along way since the Xinyao era, him breaking into the Taiwan market and sustaining for so long. I could tell that by the demographics of the audience, mostly 30’s to 50’s. Their courtship years probably spanned from the late eighties to the early nineties, the same time when his music was everywhere. For me, this concert brought back fond childhood memories.

First starting out in a standard black blazer, Eric was accompanied by his band of musicians as he belted out familiar songs in his repertoire. However, it did take a while before the audience warmed up and started participating in a sing-along session. Well, I guess the audience aren’t as energetic.

He paid tribute to many of his friends in the music industries, with appreciative mentions of local songwriters like Liang Wenfu and Li Feihui, for 想着你的感觉 and 等你等到我心痛. Oddly enough, Liang Wenfu was seated far behind as opposed to Li Feihui seated second row from the front. But no matter, the audience didn’t scrimp their applause for him as he was the prominent songwriter behind our Xinyao era who never failed to create Uniquely Singapore songs, even before you could brand anything Uniquely Singapore.

His first guest, Qiu Haizheng came on stage for her song before he went off to change. Having not sang for so long, she did sound off-key as she sang her signature song. Then Eric returned to stage in a get-up of jeans, red t-shirt and vest, along with a cap, reminiscing younger days. Qiu didn’t miss the opportunity to poke fun at the futile attempt to look younger. I have to agree that the package was rather orbid. But then he picked up the guitar for his unplugged section of concert, and you know you will be in for an intimate musical journey.

Eric is probably best known for singing with his guitar. It was an image he started with right in the beginning of his entertainment career, strumming his way to the radio stations, television and into our hearts. It is also this simplicity that breaks down any barrier between him and his audience. This was definitely one of the highlights of his concert. Not only that, it was probably the easiest section of the concert for him, because just about everyone in the audience knew the lyrics to his songs by heart. And that I feel speaks much of how well-remembered his works were.

Near the end of the segment, he jokingly complained that the audience should have mentioned earlier that he only needed guitar as the hiring of the band members cost extra money.

His second guest was Fang Wenling, another partner from his earlier days, whom he referred to as an ageless legend (不老的传说). After a solo and a duet with Eric, Qiu Haizheng joined them on stage for a short chat, remembering their good ol’ days. The ladies then sang their signature song with Eric before leaving the stage.

The concert concluded with another seven songs. But still the audience wanted more, so they swarmed forward for another glimpse of Eric and started chanting, cheering for him to come back on stage for another encore…

And more followed…

Many climbed on to the chairs, despite their age and/or size. And you thought only youngsters do that…
Finally, he returned to stage…

Much to the delight of fans…

While he would love to stay for more, it would risk an overrun. So he could only lead the audience to sing another 2 songs, run to their delight.

So, don’t think because people are older that they can’t behave like crazy fans ok? Hell, these are mild compared to Chan Poh Chu fans you see today…

Anyway, to round off, the concert was really well-done even though simple. As Eric said it best, the audience weren’t there to watch him dance or see fancy stage sets. And he delivered a quality performance which connected intimately with the audience, despite such a large capacity venue. While the lighting was occasionally too harsh and the music overly loud, these were merely technical flaws which were well-compensated with Eric’s heartfelt performance.