标题: Yours purely, David Tao (TODAY) [打印本页] 作者: Lunasy 时间: 2003-9-17 00:00 标题: Yours purely, David Tao (TODAY)
by TODAY reporter, Serene Foo dtd 16 Sept 03
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Yours purely, David Tao
Singer rocks Kuala Lumpur's Merdeka Stadium, minus the gimmicks
When David Tao said that his Soul Power Asia Concert would have "no
dancers, no BS", I imagined it would be one of those music-centric
offerings without much visual excitement.
And, for my short concentration span, it spelt "hell".
But David's concert at Kuala Lumpur's Merdeka Stadium last Saturday
was, in fact, so powerful that, when the pulsating rock numbers were
peformed, I wanted to drop my notebook and pen, get on my feet and
dance the night away. I wanted to close my eyes and savour the
mesmerising ballads from the crooner who won the Best Male Vocalist
award at the Singapore Hit Awards on Sept 13.
It had started to drizzle minutes before the show and, as if on cue,
the Taiwanese singer, clad in a black sleeveless T-shirt and pants,
burst on stage singing Rain. And the rain stopped.
Nothing, and I mean nothing, you hear on his radio-friendly album
prepares you for the electrifying powerhouse crooning live.
The 34-year old's previous chart-topping signature tunes take on a
new life on stage and it was obvious that David was following a whole
new set of rules. His own, no doubt.
Make no mistake, the music maverick was in his element.
He would break into a falsetto, indulge in rap, or give his R&B hits
a refreshingly jazzy or Oriental twist, all with effortless,
confident ease.
David's stage presence was spellbinding too- whether he sang
acappella with boyband Tension, screamed his guts out for the intense
Black Tangerine and the Sept-11 inspired Dear God, or seranaded us
with the heart-wrenching Melody.
When he belted out Blue Moon and Season of Loneliness unplugged, the
blurred intimacy of his vocals also made the cool night air palpable.
And, when David fished out his lip balm and started applying it in
full view mid-concert, the crowd went into a frenzy. He then asked
the audience if they had any spare lip balm for him.
And when a female fan gave him hers and signalled that she didn't
want it back, David teased her: "Oh, you mind that I'm dirty!"
Indeed, the 12,000-strong crowd lapped it up- David's songs, antics
and all. Singing along and dancing with wild abandon, the fans
showed that David didn't need those back-up singers on stage. (fei
adds: what??? poor Ric, Andrew, Jiaming & etc)
They paid no heed to the glitches in the sound system- the booming
speakers seemed ready to burst at times, along with one's eardrums.
So what if there were no dancers? David's band- from the sultry blond-
fringed electric violinist (fei adds: Joanne) to the burly, green-
haired guitarist (fei adds: Andy)- moved and grooved to the beat.
Nothing beat watching the performers lost in their own music. It was
contagious.
"Music needs to have soul", David had said in an interview before the
concert. "It's really not about technical virtuosity..."
Really, no BS.
And Singaporeans will get an opportunity to judge that for themselves
in December, when David comes to town.
