林忆莲

my third Sandy Lam concert did not disappoint, and is indeed the best night of the year so far. during the second or fourth song, i smiled. it's not a smile of joy or one you have when someone tells you a joke. it's a smile of content. at that moment i felt immensely contented, more than being able to see her live or hear her sing, but being able to be in that moment, where everything is right in front of you, and you feel so blessed that everything is in its element and you can almost fade away without regret. it's a smile you have when faced with beauty beyond words. i rarely, and i do mean rarely, have that kind of smile.

Sandy brought the best of her recent "Come as you are, be who you are" HK show, at the new Star Hall, to Spore. the HK show was against traditional Sandy Lam concerts. the colour concepts were limited to white and blue. the repertoire was filled with mostly little-known songs from her albums and given a new arrangement. with less than 3 costume change and almost no dance sequence, the show relied heavily on interactive media, fresh arrangements, and of course Sandy's impeccable voice. it was met with extreme reviews: those who loved it raved its fresh take and reinvention. those who didnt love it felt sidelined by the unknown songs.

several segments from today's concert were exactly the same: the accapella 走在大街的女子, the conga arrangement of 逃离钢筋森林, 匆匆's bossa nova and 哭's downplayed arrangements, etc etc. but of course there were new segments, like the dali-esque interactive media



the caligraphy



and my personal fav: Sandy's timeless face. her face was there all the time when she sang seated at the stairs. in the background her face was omnipresent, succumbed to colour changes, slashes across her face, burns, tears, etc etc. but her face was always there. it was such a smart smart smart design, simple yet brilliantly signified her career, and perhaps personal, triumphs and turmoils, yet almost always emerged unscatted.



The energy in this Singapore stop is slightly different from Hk's. i guess she prob knows tt audience here love more upbeat songs, and it's rather hard to get the Spore audience up and dancing. therefore the tone of the concert was tight and featured many choreographed dance routines. as promised, it was heavily mixed with upbeat numbers. albeit less dong4 gan3 than the dance medleys in her previous show here, this one had the kinda upbeat songs tt u cant really dance much to, unless u know the song well. while it's good that she is catering to local preference, i secretly wished she'd done more radically different segments and omit the HK routines all-together.

the Love Sandy medley, featuring songs fr the Love Sandy album, was refreshing. i wished she sang the full versions. while she didnt sing "streets of temptation", i cried when she sang 至少还有你 and "I Swear" as her encore number. during 至少还有你, everyone in the audience was singing along to it and she crackled a little, almost breaking into tears. while it was a bad move to feature a fast number after that, hearing everyone in the audience sing along to one of the biggest hits of hers is SUCH A GOOD FEELING. big sing-alongs are to-die-for.

everyone ran to the front of the stage towars the end, screaming for an encore and wishing she would appear once more, and she did. even us who were seated slightly further away got up and went forward as well.


i was also glad the background vocalists fr the HK gig were here as well. they were fantastic. there were moments when they came forth to the stage and danced with the dancers and the guitarists. Anthony Wong also came forth during one of the numbers and did a dance routine. it felt like a family gathering and it was truely nice to see them given much placement and acknowledgement in the gig.

at the start of the night, i had this thought. what is it that distinguishes one singer from another, and is there such a thing as "he/she's more worth it?" i was thinking along the lines of A*mei and Lee Hom, both of which will be here soon. vocal technique, voice quality, stage presence, and natural talents aside, i think idolising someone is something very personal. there is really no rule hindering us from falling for a particular act. whatever u admire in him is an extension of your self. the personal experience of hearing or seeing the right thing at the right time helps as well. thou i can say that "this singer sings better, why u dun watch this instead?", it's the personal experience of the audience that determines it instead. i've fallen for Sandy since P5, and her songs have accompanied me through nights mugging for exam, sang me to sleep, and made me cry and feel blessed. some songs expressed my state of mind, others made me wana move along. therefore i cant really say Sandy is better than Amei and Lee Hom (though deep in my heart i know she is), because someone might have cried/danced/mugged/slept to AMei and lee Hom as well. heck, mayb even Fahrenheit as well. a friend said this:


"每个人的感触，感动因为生活的机遇有很多不同
所以也就会在不同的时刻，有不同的感触
要分享了解一个人的感动
其实需要对一个人有所了解
他的感动的使因
才会有意义"


all in all, best night of the year. Sandy has the best fans, loyal ones who have accompanied her throughout the years, flew all the way from HK to Spore, and those that stood up, danced, extended their modern lightsticks, and sang along with her. during 至少还有你's big sing-along, the camera caught a glimpse of a guy who had his eyes closed and was so engrossed in singing. once again, it disproves the fact tt local audiences are stuck to our seats and unwilling to move. i saw two person who brought signboards and i wished i had one as well. =(

much thanks to PJ and Estine who accompanied me. its a pleasure to be in the company of people with similar interests. =)