Cantopop Concerts, Part 1: Leon Lai

So one of the main things I was looking forward to during my stay in Hong Kong was the abundance of Cantopop concerts...yet for some strange reason, they were surprisingly lacking during the fall of 2008. I later found out this was partially due to the renovation of the quintessential HK concert venue, HK Coliseum (affectionately called Hung Hom, where it is located). Nonetheless, I managed to attend a few Canto-pop concerts in my first few months in Hong Kong...Here's a recap of the first one...

Click here for some crappy pics, courtesy of my crappy cell-cam.

And here's a crappy video, courtesy of my crappy cell-cam:


Leon Lai Charity Concert, November 10, 2008.
This was a one-night only affair held at the HITEC Star Hall in Kowloon Bay, which is a fairly new exhibition center. Leon Lai is best known as the "Pretty One" of the HK Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings (along with Jacky Cheung, "the Voice", Andy Lau, "the Nice Guy", Aaron Kwok, "the Dancer"), whose heyday was the 1992 - 1999. At his peak, Leon sported a tall, slim physique that looked good in nearly anything he wore (though the denim shortalls he sported in 1992 sorely tested that statement...), glossy lustrous hair, clean-cut good looks, and eyes that are teasingly called "electric". Fast forward to 2008. Currently in his early 40s, Leon is still quite attractive, but he shows a little wear and tear. Still tall, perhaps not as slim. Hair still glossy, perhaps with a sliiiightly receding hairline? Still pretty, but with more laugh lines. Eyes? Still electric, baby! I swear, the man has the talent of being able to make his audience feel he is singing directly to each individual...making electric eye contact with thousands of people.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me set the stage, so to speak. The venue was large, but felt surprisingly intimate...I think due to the length of the stage, which jutted out in a very wide catwalk. This allowed the performer to move back and forth along the length of the catwalk, and this gave more opportunities for people to see better. Seats were placed around the catwalk, with the pricier seats on the ground, and the budget seats behind them, raised and staggered in your standard stadium-style. I had a pricey ticket (HK$400, or approx. US$50), so was on the ground, but unfortunately, near the back of the section. I still had a good view, though, so wasn't too bummed.

What did bum me out, though, was that on every seat there was a packet containing those hellish plastic inflatable thundersticks. I'm not even going to pretend to be an outraged tree hugger. I hate those sticks because they are bloody annoying. Besides being obnoxiously loud, they are also obnoxiously shaped. No, I don't care about the slightly phallic connotations...I am referring to the fact that they disturb one's visual enjoyment of the concert when waved enthusiastically in front of one. Which brings me to another gripe. WHY DO PEOPLE WAVE THOSE BLOODY STICKS IN THE DARK? They aren't lit, like glowsticks or neon signs. The performer doesn't actually see them being waved in the pitch black. So why disturb fellow concert goers, especially those with short fuses due to a fever and stomach flu, by not only obstructing their view (glaring at idiots waving thundersticks in front of me), but invading their personal space and causing an uncomfortable breeze to an already chilly venue? (Glaring at idiot waving thunderstick next to me.) Sidebar: The peeps in front of me stopped waving their thundersticks when they pulled out their glowsticks. The chick next to me though...kept waving. And waving. And waving. Not making noise, mind you. Waving. Like the thing was an illuminated light sabre. So yeah, when the stick came dangerously close to smacking me in the head, I grabbed her bony wrist and said "Dude, please." Or the equivalent in Cantonese. But at least she stopped. And this allowed me to enjoy the Magic of Mr. Lai in peace.

He was very mellow, came out in an immaculately cut charcoal suit (hmmm, tall, slim men in suits...), and was very congenial with the audience. His voice, while not the best, was still good, and he went through most of his greatest hits. As he excels in ballads, those were the bulk of the songs he did, and here he sparkled, making all the ladies in the house feel all tingly, I suspect, since he has that uncanny ability of making it seem like he is singing directly to you. He did do a few upbeat songs, but he did not attempt any dancing in his dignified suit. Since it was a concert for charity, he did not have the usual HK concert accoutrement of theatrical choreography, costumes, etc. It was just Leon in his suit, a set list, and a couple of celebrity stars dropping by to croon with him. Speaking of his guests, they included a Taiwan star named Michael Wong who had a concert benefiting the same charity the night before, and a new pop princess named Janice, who is one of Leon's proteges, and who will do concert benefiting the same charity the next night. Michael gave a lovely, low-key performance of a popular ballad that he wrote, while Janice....she performed a highly stylized fast song in a sexy fur get up, accompanied by gorgeous male models dressed in fabulous ladies lingerie. Yep, gorgeous, cross-dressing men. Fabulous.

The one surprise guest was the gorgeous Vivian Chow, the "good girl" iconic pop princess of the 1990s. (Picture a 1990s era, Chinese Hillary Duff). She has been out of the limelight, performance-wise, at least, for quite a while, but she still looks lovely, and innocent, even while pushing 40. She performed a duet she recorded with Leon in the '90s, and managed to not suck. (Her voice has always been woefully weak...) She was gracious, and confessed to being terrified at performing after so long an absence, and was generally adorable. Leon doted on her, escorting her backstage, etc, etc.

The audience loved Leon, generally squealing his name, singing long, applauding enthusiastically. Many also wanted to show their love by giving him presents. They would sidle up the stage, and present flowers, stuffies, home-made collages of devotion, etc, and he would graciously accept them, then shake their hand. The pattern became so apparent, that soon, peeps started presenting him with packets of tissue, packets of candy, wallet photos, bottles of water...basically stuff from their purses...just for the chance to shake his hand! This scam lasted for a few minutes until the straw that broke Leon's patience: Someone presented him with a glowstick. Um yeah. While he laughed at that, he did put a stop to the "gift" accepting. Another example of the audience's Leon Love (or celebra-whoring) is the fact that they completely rushed the stage when he attempted to leave the stage to press the flesh with the lucky front-row peeps. It got so chaotic that an elderly lady (who was part of the crowd rushing the stage to get her a piece of the Leon) actually got knocked over, and had to be escorted out by medics. (They later reported that she was ok, and felt better after getting water and fresh air.)

All in all, the concert was enjoyable, and certainly worth the price of the ticket and all the annoying thunderstick-related aggravation!