The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
| Posted: The Opus Jay 2013 World Tour in Malaysia was filled with thrills and spills. If you are planning to catch Jay Chou's Opus Jay 2013 World Tour series, don't blink or you'll miss out on a multi-million dollar visual feast. The King of Mandopop really aims to knock his fans out with his latest concert tour, which made a three-night stop in Kuala Lumpur last week. The Taiwanese pop star/actor brought on an epic night for the fans at his Opus stop at the Putra Indoor Stadium, Bukit Jalil last Friday night. He has been in the Asian showbiz scene for 13 years, and this current tour has been a blockbuster affair with the concert production involving stunning hologram effects. Like his latest movie Rooftop, the Opus concert here was a vibrant and eye-popping cinematic treat. Opening with a space monster battle sequence, Chou emerged from a capsule as a heroic space warrior and for macho showmanship, he showed off his well-toned gym frame right at the beginning of the show. That got the crowd wild. Starting off with upbeat songs like Exclamation Mark, Dragon Fist, and Final Battle, the multi-talented celebrity effortlessly whipped adoring fans into a screaming frenzy during the first of his three-night engagement (all sold out shows) in town. The Kuala Lumpur leg of the tour was originally scheduled to be a two-night-affair, but tickets were snapped up within hours of the ticket launch in April, prompting organisers to announce a third show due to the overwhelming demand. Arguably the fastest-selling Mandopop artiste, the Taiwanese superstar continues to up the ante with each successive project. And how the fans have missed him on stage in Malaysia – he last rocked a concert here in March 2011. With VIP tickets going for RM580, the premium spots at the Putra Indoor Stadium were filled with hardcore fans. The concert thrills came non-stop as Chou proved to be a ball of energy. The stage even "transformed" into a musical blitz with Chou rolling out excerpts from his latest movie Rooftop (his second directorial effort). As an action-comedy musical, we got to see Chou sing and dance with his buddies, fight baddies, and romance a pretty girl during the Rooftop sequence. Guest performers at Chou's concert included the main actors from Rooftop, namely, Cindy Yen, Darren Chiu from The Drifters, and Devon Song and Gary Yang from Nan Quan Ma Ma. Later on, the fans were in full voice as they backed Chou up as his movie tunes were unleashed. Yes, the masses had a throwback with All The Way North from his 2000 debut movie Initial D, while Secret from his 2007 directorial debut film of the same name, and Nunchucks which featured in his 2011 Hollywood blockbuster debut The Green Hornet, completed the man's soundtrack swing. Under mesmerising lights, Chou was the life of the party. He had the moves and grooves to rival the best from the younger K-pop scene. Even Chinese zombies and vampires found their way onto the stage as 34-year-old singer-songwriter launched into traditional Chinese-flavoured tunes like Eunuchs Tend To Have Headaches, Blue And White Porcelain, and Mundane Inn. Chou, who has released 12 albums and featured in as many films, ended his show on a high with a double encore featuring crowd-pleasers like Sign Language, Cannot Speak, Ukulele, Rooftop, and Sunshine. Together with his guest performers, Chou rang out 32 of his most popular hits in the three-hour show, where he also seemed to talk a little more than usual. "When I released my first album (2000), there were some fans who weren't even born yet, and there are those who have already become parents. Time passes really fast," he said. "We're like a big family, growing up together. Even though we live in different places, my music will always be with you," he continued as he declared his affection towards his local fans. |
| Posted: The Pet Shop Boys had full-on high-tech dazzle at a recent Singapore concert. English reserve, faux-orchestral arrangements and electronic beats – that's what the Pet Shop Boys have been peddling for nearly three decades. As the Pet Shop Boys, the duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have exorcised Catholic guilt on It's A Sin, channelled TS Elliot on West End Girls and shed melancholy on Being Boring, creating an unlikely combination of dance and deep thought. Besides managing an enduring career and accomplishing feats like playing at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, they've written songs for the late Dusty Springfield, Tina Turner, Liza Minelli, Shirley Bassey and Kylie Minogue. In their spare time, they've written a ballet (The Most Incredible Thing), produced their own Broadway show (Closer To Heaven) and written the music to accompany an old silent film (Battleship Potemkin) while managing to annoy U2 frontman Bono with their send-up of the band's Where The Streets Have No Name.  No spotlight, please: Pet Shops Boys' frontman Neil Tennant has remained mostly in the background on the Electric Pet Shop Boys tour, which has seen the duo blinded out by hypnotising lights. With this huge body of work, Pet Shop Boys fan-worship borders on devotional. A Malaysian fan who had already seen them live three times, just before their Singapore gig at the Compass Ballroom, Resorts Convention Centre, Sentosa, last Saturday proudly proclaimed he bought all the tour T-shirts but won't wear them. "I want them to be in pristine condition, forever," he said. Looking like the cat who's been at the cream, the lanky man clutched a bag of tour memorabilia as if his life depended upon it and pointed adoringly to the tour programme as if it was some ancient Mayan treasure. "No, you can't glance through it. I don't want any thumbprints on it. I'm not going to read it myself. I want it in mint condition too," said the 40-something graphic designer "pet head". It's this type of loyalty that keeps sending new Pet Shop Boys albums into the charts, well after their "imperial period" back in the 1980s. Their latest album, Electric, managed to chart at No. 3 in Britain last month, nothing short of a triumph for the Pet Shop Boys. So, it comes as no surprise that the duo – Tennant, 59, and Lowe, 52 – celebrated their enduring pop legacy with an accompanying tour of the new album. Called the Electric Pet Shop Boys live tour, it began in Latin America, headed to Europe and is now in South-East Asia, with Singapore as the first stop. But the Electric Pet Shop Boys live show was more a sound-and-lights show than a pop concert per se. There were laser lights, morphing images of electric circuit boards and other modern designs projected onto a giant screen, and Tennant on vocals and Lowe on keyboards ... in that order. From the opening track Axis, the show was a non-stop assault on the senses with kaleidoscopic effects that didn't let up until the closer Vocal. The fact that the Pet Shop Boys were on stage seemed almost secondary. There was some relief, when the tempo slowed down and the lighting got a bit more subdued for Leaving and Rent, showing the duo's more soulful side. But, the show, with all its high-tech dazzle lost out on the human element, even by Pet Shop Boys standards. Previous shows in Singapore witnessed on the Discovery Tour (back in the 1995), had dancers, more banter and music videos projected on stage while the Release Tour (back in 2002), had an entire band onstage. This time around the Tennant humour was sorely missing (he wondered aloud why Pet Shops Boys were never asked to play unplugged on the Discovery Tour) and so were the session musicians and backing singers. The music videos weren't there either, which made the presentation of anthems like Go West and West Side Story's Somewhere look a little bare. What the audience did get this time around were two back-up dancers, perpetually masked and Tennant shouting "Singapore" from time to time. Perhaps this was part of the Pet Shop Boys' evolving live presentation, which has more in common with an art installation than a pop concert. As usual, Lowe stood almost motionless behind the keyboards in his trademark sunglasses, while Tennant walked up and down the stage like an English gentleman. There were a few wardrobe changes – from near-drag queen outfits to dapper suits, and lots of silly hats. The Pet Shop Boys also took huge chances with the setlist, which could have been geared to the diehard fans. They played four songs from the latest album Electric, and three from the largely ignored album Elysium, prior to that. They stuck in some indulgent choices – one B-side from the 1980s (I Get Excited) and the relatively minor hit Love Etc from 2009, while leaving out sure-fire 1980s/90s singalongs like Being Boring, Left To My Own Devices and New York City Boy. This left the audience nodding along politely to the lesser-known songs, but only really getting into it on hits like Suburbia, the first song that really got the 5,000 strong audience going in the first portion of the show. The audience would have to wait a while before they got more of the big hits. There were some sit-down moments, too, with the Pet Shop Boys playing lesser-known tracks like I'm Not Scared, Fugitive and Integral. The monster hits came towards the end of the show – a five-song punch with It's A Sin, Domino Dancing, Go West, Always On My Mind before the encore West End Girls, played in succession to thunderous applause. "You're fabulous, Singapore," said Tennant, smiling from ear-to-ear. You are too, boys. Just go easy on the lights and effects, next time OK? |
| Posted: The Rockaway showcase series returns with Lamb Of God and Bring Me The Horizon. METALHEADS, gather around your ritualistic bonfire and rejoice. Get the "wall of death" propped up. This year's Rockaway showcase series – delivered in two gigs – is set to feature American heavy metal band Lamb of God and British metalcore quintet Bring Me The Horizon in action at KL Live in Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. Lamb of God is scheduled to rock the house on Sept 28 alongside local acts Tempered Metal and Deja Voodoo Spells. Formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1990; Lamb of God features vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarist Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell with drummer Chris Adler. In 2006, the band's fifth studio album Sacrament received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance. The band released its seventh studio album Resolution in 2012 to rave reviews. Lamb of God was last in the region last year as a double-header show with Judas Priest in Singapore. The Sept 28 show is the band's first Malaysian concert appearance, much to the delight of the band's loyal fanbase here. Then on Oct 17, rock fans can head back to KL Live for another round two of the Rockaway showcase. This time, featuring Bring Me The Horizon alongside British post hardcore band Enter Shikari, Japanese metalcore outfit Crossfaith and Malaysia's very own Massacre Conspiracy. Bring Me The Horizon was formed in 2004 with frontman Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan Fish. The band's third studio album There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It, There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret features the hit single It Never Ends. The album earned rave reviews and accolades including Best Album at the 2011 Kerrang! Awards in London. The band released its latest album Sempiternal in April. In an interview with The Independent in Britain, Sykes talked about the album's meaning. "Each song represents a different kind of realisation, whether that's credence, admission or religion. It's a process. Sempiternal stands for the realisation of something that's never going to go away," he said. Expect to hear hit singles like Shadow Moses and Sleepwalking at its upcoming Rockaway showcase in Kuala Lumpur. – Angelin Yeoh
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