It had been the concert I had been waiting for since he released “Shi Nian” a few years back. I almost couldn’t believe my luck last September that tickets were on sale for this upcoming performance today!
That made me one of the first to book a ticket.
That early move paid off handsomely as I was rewarded with a pretty decent seat in my area. It was a blessing in disguise to have bought the $68 (the cheapest) one because those were the only elevated seats in the whole expo. For people like me who would be there to appreciate music and not jostle with the crowd, a seat that did not require me to tilt my head up to the stage and kept me away from the fanatics was everything I could ask for.
His opening number, “Bu Ru Zhe Yang” was spectacularly choreographed to usher his introduction. It began with just a spot light shone on the stage, with the silhouette of a man holding a guitar singing the beginning of the song. We didn’t even know that was a translucent curtain until it fell off emphatically upon the first word of the chorus!
And guess what? He was there all along with his band behind the curtains.
There he was, singing and playing to a guitar slung to his shoulder. So cool! I was very impressed with the quality of the sound reproduction. His voice was flawlessly reproduced on the speakers, crystal clear. That alone already made up for the also good lightings and lack of dancers (as compared to his Hong Kong version.)
Perhaps since this was the opening number, the lighting effects were more varied and spectacular than the rest of the songs. (Except for Lonely Christmas. That was song with the most effects in the entire concert.) But it was ok. I was very impressed with the introduction!
As with most concerts, the first few songs would be dominated by higher tempo ones while the singer was still fresh and had the energy to hop and dance. Although Eason did not win his accolades by his quick numbers, his notorious bubbly personality did not make those songs seem like making up the number. In fact, it livened up the whole atmosphere. As he admitted it later,
“I am going to lose 2 pounds after all these jumping.”
He was also a born joker.
“Lei dei hou mou? Ngoh yi ga zam see zong OK lah.”
(How are you guys doing? I’m still doing fine now.)
“My daughter looks like me? Of course man. If not look like you meh?”
I bet none of us paid just to listen to his more obscure songs. WE WANT HIS GREATEST HITS LIVE ON THE STAGE!
I think whoever planned the sequence of the songs was smart. There were no two great ballads in a row. Every ballad was sandwiched either by an obscure song or some Cantonese ding dong which I could not make sense of (with my limited Cantonese). Nonetheless with the quality of his voice, even Ma-ri-ki-ta would sound like a #1 hit on radio.
That’s the magic of a great singer. Their vocals alone can even make you enjoy songs that you don’t understand.
As I waited the whole night for its arrival, it came with the most subtle hint from the singer himself.
“The composers and I had this in mind when we came up with this song. We hoped that whoever listened to it will try to communicate better with his or her family and friends.”
What else could that song be? It was none other than SHALL WE TALK!!!
This was taken at the moment he began the song.
Sigh, by the time two great ballads DID come in a row, they were the last two songs of the concert. “Sheng Dan Jie and Ming Nian Jing Ri.”
“I am one of the few privileged singers to have my own Christmas song. I hope you will enjoy it.”
Just by listening to that song in my car could put me into a trance. Now you want me to witness it sung live by the MAN himself in the midst of blown pieces of streamers simulating snow?
His final number was one of my favourite which I happened to catch Tweety singing it secretly in his room back in RH days. I seriously hope next year this time he will be back again for another concert. That will be confined to my day dreams though…
Unless I am willing to pay $6.8M for a ticket instead of $68.
Although he had disappeared from the stage, everyone knew that was an encore call. The crowd didn’t disappoint though, everyone crammed the front of the stage instead of leaving. Eason was back after a short rest.
To sum up the night, while his lesser known songs were able to generate a sense of respect from the audience out of his superb vocals, it were his hits that kept the audience captivated and mesmerized time and again. That surreal feeling that kept resurfacing time and again from “Bu Ru Zhe Yang”, “Ni De Bei Bao”, “Shall We Talk”, “Sheng Dan Jie”, “Ming Nian Jing Ri”, “Dui Bu Qi Xie Xie” and many more was testament to an unique aura that only an accomplished singer like him could command. While he was going through those songs, I could only watch in awe at the quality of the performance. Every cent of the $68 paid was more than worth it. I will regret not spending that money.
Nonetheless all good things have to come to an end. This time, he made sure he bade a perfect farewell.
“You are beautiful! Thank you SINGAPORE!”
Thank you Eason for this wonderful night too.
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