标题: 'Maybe she thinks I'm dirty' [打印本页] 作者: Lunasy 时间: 2003-9-18 00:00 标题: 'Maybe she thinks I'm dirty'
By Chang May Choon Reporting From Kuala Lumpur
IT would have made a perfect groupie souvenir but, surprisingly, the girl who was offered it refused to take it.
We're talking about a stick of lip balm 'kissed' by the godfather of Taiwanese R&B, David Tao.
In the midst of performing at a concert held in Kuala Lumpur's Merdeka Stadium last Saturday night, he stopped to whip out lip balm to apply on his dry lips.
Vanity?
David explained: 'I always need this (lip balm) when I'm singing.'
Then he turned to the boisterous audience and cheekily asked: 'Who has lip balm to give me?'
Hundreds of hands shot up, followed by wild screams.
Chuckling merrily, David, 34, picked a girl in the block of seats facing the stage and told her to throw her lip balm to him.
She did, and he managed to catch it.
'Hmm, it's got vitamin E,' he said contemplatively, after scrutinising the packaging.
'Is it new? You're sure?'
He proceeded to uncap it, with his microphone tucked under his arm, and applied it slowly to his lips.
Then he offered to throw it back to its owner. But she shook her head violently.
Amused by her reaction, he laughed and said: 'She doesn't want it. Maybe she thinks I'm dirty? Any other takers?'
Hundreds of hands went up again - including a guy's, which caught David's eye.
He said to the audience: 'Even guys want it. There's a guy there screaming, 'Give it to me!'.'
'But no, I'll be scared...' he laughed.
Maybe it was the cool breeze, or the thrill of seeing 12,000 fans gathered just for him, but David was especially jovial that evening.
Casting aside his serious no-nonsense musician image, he went all out to tease his fans, cracking silly jokes in between belting out favourite hits like Rain, Small Town Girl and Melody.
When the girls screamed, he joked: 'I'm not going to take off my clothes, lah.'
But, he did strip later - though just his shirt, to reveal a white singlet inside.
'This means it's gonna get hot. No excuses! We're gonna dance!' he beckoned.
After a round of bouncing on stage to the energetic beat of his new song, Shanghaied - with the audience imitating his moves - he signalled to them to sit down.
'Standing up is not wrong. It's showing your love,' he said.
'But it's time to let the security guards take a rest.
'They must be very tired, after flashing their torchlights around and ordering you to sit down!'
Peals of laughter filled the air.
There were no special effects or fancily-dressed dancers adorning the stage, but the audience loved every minute of the show anyway.
Why not? David demonstrated excellent showmanship on stage, alternating velvety smooth R&B ballads with screaming rock tunes.
He had made the effort to jazz up his old hits and add some zest to the familiar melodies.
Quicksand, for one, was delivered with the sounds of a harmonica, while Spring Breeze was done in a capella style, with his protege, boyband Tension, harmonising with him.
Some parts of the show bordered on being preachy, but then, David has never been known to be subtle.
He told us not to give up on our dreams, however impossible they may be. And advocated harmony, peace and 'No war!'.
The Los Angeles-based singer also reminded us of the power of a hug by throwing his arms around his back-up vocalists.
No one could get enough of David.
Fans lingered near the backstage area, hoping to catch another glance of their idol.
He did not disappoint. He soon walked out to wave and bow to his fans, before being escorted into a green space wagon.
As it drove away he shot his head out of the sunroof to wave, with screaming groupies chasing after him.
DAVID Tao is worried about his concert here in December - he's afraid he can't get the audience to stand up and dance.
At the celebration party held at Prince Hotel after his concert, he told The New Paper: 'I wasn't worried about the Malaysian audience at all because I know they're very responsive. Singaporeans, I'm a little worried about. But, I'd still like to challenge everyone.'
He has already staged three sell-out shows in Hong Kong, and is set to perform in Taipei before coming to Singapore.
To keep in tip-top condition, David works out at a gym every day. That afternoon, he said he'd spent two hours at the hotel gym, jogging and lifting weights.
When asked about his habit of using lip balm, he said: 'I've always used it. There's no need to hide just because I'm on stage. I just take it out and apply it naturally.
'If I turn around, people might think I'm picking my teeth or something!'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE LIP BALM EPISODE
David asks: 'Who has lip balm to give me?'
Hundreds of hands shoot up. David picks a girl, who throws him her lip balm.
He says: 'Hmm, it's got vitamin E! Is it new? You're sure?'
He uses it on his lips, wants to throw it back, but girl shakes her head and refuses.
He laughs: 'She doesn't want it. Maybe she thinks I'm dirty? Any other takers?' 作者: laurelin 时间: 2003-9-18 00:00
