Post by nic on Jul 21, 2004 0:10:20 GMT 8
[glow=Navy,2,300]After thoughts of watching Wang Leehom's Tokyo Concert [/glow]
Dates: 16 & 17 July 2004
Venue: Quest Hall at Harajuku, Tokyo
It was a mini concert compared to the eighty thousand people Shanghai concert in June. There were only a little more than four hundred for each of the sessions. So while the Shanghai Concert was a full fledged concert, the Tokyo concerts were more like a cozy family recital. If you have seen Leehom in action and at his best during his Shanghai Concert, you most probably won't recognize the quiet Leehom singing on the small stage with a four-man band while he played on the instruments he's so affluent in. The songs chosen were mostly ballads, sang in three languages; namely, Japanese, English and Mandarin. I heard some songs here which he hasn't chosen for his other concerts for a while. To better iterate this, here are the songs he performed with the language and the instrument he played in accompliment.
[glow=purple,2,300]Song list[/glow]
1) Love is all around; Japanese; Piano
2) You're not here; Japanese; Piano
3) Forever's first day; Mandarin; Piano
4) Don't be afraid; Japanese; Keyboard
5) Last night; English; Guitar
6) You can tell me; Mandarin; Guitar
7) The one & only; Japanese; Piano
8) Two persons don't make us; English; Keyboard
9) If you hear my song; Mandarin; Piano
10)Love theme from the movie Cinema Paradiso; no vocal; Violin
11)Julia; Mandarin; Violin
12)Crying Palms; Mandarin; Er-hu
13)Dream again; Japanese; Piano
14)Hoping to see you every second; Mandarin; Piano
15)Hear my voice; English; Piano
16)Can't miss you; Mandarin; Guitar
17)As long as I have you *; English; Guitar
18)Simply in love with you; Mandarin; Piano
* bonus song for 17/7/2004's evening's concert
Mainly ballads to cater to the taste of most of the Japanese audience who only started to know Leehom's music after the release of his first album in Japan, "The only one" and the "Chuel" commercial on TV. As the commercial is mostly shown during the afternoon, it explains why most of Leehom's Japanese fans are housewives. They are more refined, not as crazy as how we ardent fans of Leehom may get. I still can't get over the fact that I sat through most parts of the Tokyo concerts when I was practically standing on my chair singing and dancing away from the first song, "Ya Birthday" onwards during the Shanghai concert and all other concerts before that.
Here, everyone sat quietly and listen intently to Leehom. And just as Leehom had said in one of the concerts, he's not used to performing before such a small crowd, I'm not used to seeing him performing so quietly. I guess that's the image Sony Japan want to project for Leehom. I could tell he was nervous as he spoke very properly and cautiously as if treading over dangerous waters and he seemed a little shy. When a Japanese fan shouted "I like your outfit, I like your arms" (he had on a black sleeveless top), he laughed nervously like a little boy, not used to being complimented. But that little episode lightened up the serious atmosphere even if it was only for a little while. But there were still some flares. When "Julia" came on, it made everyone got out of their seats to dance and the heat was up but it died down again because the next song was a ballad. Then it heated up again when "Can't miss you" was sung. We didn't sit down this time and were a little disappointed when Leehom announced that the final song "Simply in love with you" was to be sung. We haven't really began to move our booties yet and the whole thing was coming to an end!
But there was definitely a plus point for the Tokyo Concert. Your neighbors are so quiet you will only hear Leehom and his music. There were no other distractions. There was no chorus to compliment his voice. There was no extravagant music accompliment. There was only Leehom and his powerful and soulful voice, singing deep into each and every heart present at the concert. One can drown in that voice of his. You will have to be there to understand this. It's like Leehom is singing solely for you and you alone. It's not like playing a CD which has been tuned to perfection, this is Live and you can really hear the powess of Leehom's voice. Even the earth tremor after listening to him sing and I mean this literally. There was a very small earthquake during the afternoon session on 17/7/2004.
Though a little short (one and a half hours), this was definitely a concert to remember. I got to see a different Leehom and listened to songs that you probably haven't heard him sing live for a while. I wonder when I'll get such a chance again.
By nic (written on the return flight from Tokyo on 18/7/2004)
Dates: 16 & 17 July 2004
Venue: Quest Hall at Harajuku, Tokyo
It was a mini concert compared to the eighty thousand people Shanghai concert in June. There were only a little more than four hundred for each of the sessions. So while the Shanghai Concert was a full fledged concert, the Tokyo concerts were more like a cozy family recital. If you have seen Leehom in action and at his best during his Shanghai Concert, you most probably won't recognize the quiet Leehom singing on the small stage with a four-man band while he played on the instruments he's so affluent in. The songs chosen were mostly ballads, sang in three languages; namely, Japanese, English and Mandarin. I heard some songs here which he hasn't chosen for his other concerts for a while. To better iterate this, here are the songs he performed with the language and the instrument he played in accompliment.
[glow=purple,2,300]Song list[/glow]
1) Love is all around; Japanese; Piano
2) You're not here; Japanese; Piano
3) Forever's first day; Mandarin; Piano
4) Don't be afraid; Japanese; Keyboard
5) Last night; English; Guitar
6) You can tell me; Mandarin; Guitar
7) The one & only; Japanese; Piano
8) Two persons don't make us; English; Keyboard
9) If you hear my song; Mandarin; Piano
10)Love theme from the movie Cinema Paradiso; no vocal; Violin
11)Julia; Mandarin; Violin
12)Crying Palms; Mandarin; Er-hu
13)Dream again; Japanese; Piano
14)Hoping to see you every second; Mandarin; Piano
15)Hear my voice; English; Piano
16)Can't miss you; Mandarin; Guitar
17)As long as I have you *; English; Guitar
18)Simply in love with you; Mandarin; Piano
* bonus song for 17/7/2004's evening's concert
Mainly ballads to cater to the taste of most of the Japanese audience who only started to know Leehom's music after the release of his first album in Japan, "The only one" and the "Chuel" commercial on TV. As the commercial is mostly shown during the afternoon, it explains why most of Leehom's Japanese fans are housewives. They are more refined, not as crazy as how we ardent fans of Leehom may get. I still can't get over the fact that I sat through most parts of the Tokyo concerts when I was practically standing on my chair singing and dancing away from the first song, "Ya Birthday" onwards during the Shanghai concert and all other concerts before that.
Here, everyone sat quietly and listen intently to Leehom. And just as Leehom had said in one of the concerts, he's not used to performing before such a small crowd, I'm not used to seeing him performing so quietly. I guess that's the image Sony Japan want to project for Leehom. I could tell he was nervous as he spoke very properly and cautiously as if treading over dangerous waters and he seemed a little shy. When a Japanese fan shouted "I like your outfit, I like your arms" (he had on a black sleeveless top), he laughed nervously like a little boy, not used to being complimented. But that little episode lightened up the serious atmosphere even if it was only for a little while. But there were still some flares. When "Julia" came on, it made everyone got out of their seats to dance and the heat was up but it died down again because the next song was a ballad. Then it heated up again when "Can't miss you" was sung. We didn't sit down this time and were a little disappointed when Leehom announced that the final song "Simply in love with you" was to be sung. We haven't really began to move our booties yet and the whole thing was coming to an end!
But there was definitely a plus point for the Tokyo Concert. Your neighbors are so quiet you will only hear Leehom and his music. There were no other distractions. There was no chorus to compliment his voice. There was no extravagant music accompliment. There was only Leehom and his powerful and soulful voice, singing deep into each and every heart present at the concert. One can drown in that voice of his. You will have to be there to understand this. It's like Leehom is singing solely for you and you alone. It's not like playing a CD which has been tuned to perfection, this is Live and you can really hear the powess of Leehom's voice. Even the earth tremor after listening to him sing and I mean this literally. There was a very small earthquake during the afternoon session on 17/7/2004.
Though a little short (one and a half hours), this was definitely a concert to remember. I got to see a different Leehom and listened to songs that you probably haven't heard him sing live for a while. I wonder when I'll get such a chance again.
By nic (written on the return flight from Tokyo on 18/7/2004)
