Jacky Cheung’s Concert in Kuala Lumpur

Photos by courtesy of FACS.

Please click here to visit his photo albums for more photos.
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To read more report on Jacky Cheung's concert (inclucing the name of songs that he sang), please click here to visit narrowband's weblog.

The audiences roared with excitement when the lights were turned off. It was an electrifying moment in the packed concert hall in Bukit Jalil National Stadium: the audience was screaming, blowing whistle, and swaying light-flickers from side-to-side. Yes, that was definitely a lively concert in darkness even before it was started.

At 8:45 p.m. – a delay of 15 minutes – an announcement over the loudspeakers declared the start of the sold-out concert. The multi-coloured lights at the stage were turn on, and immediately, it was followed by an explosive start of the show by Jacky Cheung in his concert titled, “The Year of Jacky Cheung World Tour 2007”.

The audience erupted with a roar of approval again screaming Jacky Cheung’s name: Hock Yow! Hock Yow! (Cantonese version) amid thunderous applause and blowing of whistles loudly. The atmosphere was really super-charged. You have to be there – LIVE – to be part of the crowd and enjoyed in that concert.

I was attracted to this Hong Kong pop star Jacky Cheung’s concert in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Friday 14 September when I read in the Star newspaper (dated 6 Sept) that “only the best for concert by Jacky Cheung”. Before that, he canceled his show 15 minutes before the start of a concert in Hong Kong due to an unspecified illness. Though Jacky Cheung has performed a few times in Kuala Lumpur, that night was my first time watching him live in concert.
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The Performance

It was a spectacular and breathtaking world-class concert with fireworks flames to add on to the excitement. It was a high-energy performance by Jacky Cheung and it was really a concert to remember. In between songs, he tested out his vocal power by screaming at the top of his lung. The audience responded by screaming in reciprocity but with much less assertiveness.

With so many hit songs, it was quite a bit of choice for him to choose which songs should be sung. The audience could sing along very well, whether they were Jacky Cheung’s new hits or all-time favourites. Singing and seeing their idol at the same time must have been an exhilarating experience.

There were five giant screens facing the audience for fans to enjoy the close-ups of their idol. As for me, I even used my binoculars to look at the giant screen to have a much bigger and clearer view.
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Light-hearted Moments

In between songs, he told the audience a little of his family background and career. We were told that his father, uncle and cousin were fishermen who spent most time in the sea. So he spent much of his younger days with women (mother, sisters and aunties). When he got married, there were eight women in his house – wife, two daughters and five maids. So he said he understands women very well. He quipped: since he is a man, he also understands man too, much to the amusement of all.

He told the audience that he has been 23 years in his singing career since he shot to stardom at 23 years old. So, we all got his age correct. This is his 61st concerts appearance since 2007! What an incredible feat.

Apart from jokes, the words he said have a message to the audience: that we should strive hard amid adversity; the sweet success will come later.

Since it was an outdoor stadium, the most expansive tickets holders were actually under the sky with no shelter. It drizzled at times and I saw some of the spectacles were carrying umbrellas. Never mind, the feeling of getting so close to their idol would supersede the unpleasant feeling. Possibly, the fire in them would quickly dry up the wet clothing. Sweating profusely, Jacky Cheung said it does not make a difference to him whether it is the rain or sweat.
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Four Heavenly King

Jacky Cheung is one of the Four Heavenly King of singers in Hong Kong. However, the term Four Heavenly King is used in different context in Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia Boleh: it is a vegetable dish with four different types of beans such as petai (local smelly bean), long bean, four-angle bean and egg-plant fried in sambal belajan. If our Heavenly Kings were to know that their titles were been abused, I think they would not be amused.
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The Encore

After two and quarter hours in the concert, it was time to bid goodbye. With the lights at the stage all turned off, the audience all got worried. So there was thunderous encore calling his name and blowing whistles loudly amid light-flickers swaying frantically from side to side.
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Almost minutes later, the stage was lighted and our idol re-appeared. The entire audience got excited again and broke into loud applause. This time, for every one song that Jacky Cheung sang, he signaled to the audience to gauge the acceptance level; so, the audience cheered loudly. That was a fair deal since he has been singing for hours. So whenever Jacky Cheung ended a song, the audiences gave their approval by shouting at the top of their lungs.
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The encore lasted almost one hour from 11:15 p.m. That was my first Jacky Cheung’s concert and I truly enjoyed myself in that show. All shows must end. When Jacky Cheung sang this song about friendship, well wishes and farewell, a girl sitting at the front of my roll immediately got excited, much like hitting the jackpot, telling her friend that she guessed that song would be sung. Everyone in the concert was singing along with Jacky Cheung -- it was superb audience participation. That song really touched our hearts at that moment and I was worried that some of the fans might get hysteria. Luckily, it did not happen.

The stadium was lighted up when the song ended. We were enthralled and mesmerized by Jacky Cheung’s concert for 3 hours and 20 minutes. It was a fantastic feat that his voice still sounded refresh as though the concert was just started. Everyone left feeling happy and satisfied.

I made a right decision to watch Jacky Cheung in concert, postponing a trekking trip to Pine Tree Trail in Fraser’s Hill the next morning to Saturday 29 September. Well, looks like we will have to wait for another few years for Jacky Cheung’s re-appearance in Kuala Lumpur. This time, I will sure give my undivided support by buying his albums and practising how to sing.

Written by KC

Sir Cliff Richard in Concert

The audience was clapping hands and singing along enthusiastically. Almost everyone in the concert hall knew how to sing the song, Bachelor Boy.

… He said son you are a bachelor boy
And that’s the way to stay
Son, you be a bachelor boy until your dying day …

Immediately at the completion of the song, the entire audience broke into loud applause amid pockets of wolf-whistle sound.

“I heard that in South-East Asia, the Koreans are very good singers,” said Sir Cliff Richard. “But the Malaysians are better!” That remarks drew cheers and resounding round of applause from audience.

Then one small boy went to the front of the stage to present a balloon in the shape of a heart to Sir Cliff Richard. While bending his body to accept it, he said: “Yes, he sure is a bachelor boy!”

Yeah, the Peter Pan of Pop returns to thrill Malaysians and yours truly was in the concert at the Arena of Stars in Genting Highlands on Saturday 10 February evening, the second and final concert of Cliff Richard’s Here World Tour 2007.

The Audience

At 7:15 p.m., the concert hall was empty. According to schedule, there were only 45 minutes to the start of show. Through my past experience of other concerts, the hall would be half filled by then and there would be lots of noise from the audience.

Fifteen minutes later, the crowds began to throng into the hall. The stream of audience flowing into the hall was non-stop. The audience was mostly above 35 years old. There were at least five fans that came in wheelchairs from my side of the entrance.

For the young ones, they were mostly accompanying their parents. It was not possible to spot two teenagers going together as in those concerts perform by pop divas.

The VIPs: Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Fong Chan Onn, and Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr. Ng Yen Yen were there too.

The ice-creams and the luminous devices were not salable. Don’t forget, most audience was senior people and staying focus – of listening to the songs – was most important. The unique thing was that at 8:15 p.m. the crowds were still coming in.

The Songs

At 8:20 p.m., our Peter Pan of pop emerged at the stage and immediately, the crowds roared its approval with whistles and applauses. Strumming the stings of his guitar, he sang an up-tempo rock number that immediately engaged the attention of audience and charged up the full-housed audience. Yes, it was a full house.

He sang many of his favourite songs. He also sang in duet with his four back-up singers that each has his or her capability having similar voice as other famous singers.

In between songs, his fans – mainly ladies – presented bouquet of flowers to their idol. Sir Cliff Richard said: “I can open a flower shop.” With more flowers coming up from fans, he quipped, “I can open a bigger flower shop.” There were audiences who were from Canada, Hong Kong and Australia.

Then my favourite songs, Miss You Nights, was sung. Quarter way into the song, he began the next number, “Devil Woman”, followed by the “Young Ones” and then “We Don’t talk anymore” – four songs were sang in quick succession and compressed into the time of one song.

It is amazing that at 67 years old, he is still actively singing and performing in concerts. As quip by him, some thought that he was already dead.

Years may wrinkle his skin but his voice sounded exactly the same as though I was listening to his songs from the record albums. There is a quality of clarity about his voice, and it retains today a remarkable youthful quality of tone. His “ballad” voice is soft and confident while his “beat” voice is full-throated, exciting and spontaneous.

I love the song: Evergreen Trees. With the harmonica sound, it was wonderfully melodic and tuneful, this song nearly have made me weep. I used my binoculars and scanned his 10-piece band. To my surprise, none were playing harmonica. It must the synthesize sound.

His dressing in the first-half: in black and white. Even the shoes were in black and white that were shining in the spotlight.

At 9:20 p.m. – one hour later – he announced a short interval. The audience accepted his announcement with approval. That was understandable as he has been singing non-stop for one hour. It was a rare scene that the toilets were packed with audience. The queues overspill to outside of toilets.

Encore

At 10:40 p.m., he announced good night. The entire audience in the hall could not believe him and no body wanted to move. After 30 seconds, the sound of “WE WANT MORE” and “ENCORE” were heard. He then continued singing a few more songs again.

One of the songs that he has chosen was most appropriate: Peace In Our Time.

We've gotta have faith
To work it out
Faith and hope
Without any doubt…

He was energetic for the entire show; no sign of tiredness. At times, he was trying to do a bit of dance walk but the movements were not that smooth. No one was complaining – the audiences were there to listen to his songs and not seeing him dance. The audience was entertained and mesmerized by him in the two-and-a-half-hour show.

The Legend

On my way out, one scene touched my heart: I spotted a blind man was sitting next to his wife while waiting for the crowd to thin. Wow! The emotion of that sight was even stronger than seeing those fans that came in wheelchairs.

I have fulfilled my teenage dream to see the legendary Sir Cliff Richard in concert one day. I was not able to come with my uncle, Leong Ah Lee, a retired school teacher who always played Sir Cliff Richard’s songs during his younger days, and that his nephew later became a fan of this legend.

Sir Cliff Richard, we hope to see you in 3-4 years time. Please keep your promise. Wishing you the Bachelor Boy will always be the Evergreen Tree of our time – Stay ever green and young as the seasons go…

By KC

Note: all photos taken were blurred when Sir Cliff Richard was in action due to my unsteady hands. With pain in my heel, I think it is okay to go for concert and not running in the KLIM Circuit Run #2.

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The Young Once & O2O

Please click here to view Part 1 of the photos taken by Tey Eng Tiong. Work is still in progress to process Part 2, the last photo alblum for GE30k (Great Eastern 30km) Run.

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Part 1 contains 188 photos; it is a coincidence that the album contains such number -- sure prosperous, prosperous one in Cantonese -- which is auspicous that Chinese New Year is fast approaching just like elite runners advancing to the finishing line.

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O2O

The KL Penguin Runners decided to give it a miss this time for the Ocean to Ocean run on 11 February 2007. It is a relay run consisting of eight runners per team. The race will start at sunrise from Songkhla on the east coast and end at sunset in Satun on the west coast, covering a distance of 137km. When a runner is in action, the other team members will be traveling in a van as support crew together with all the food and water.

According to Jeffery, the main coordinator from Pacesetters Club, the KL Penguin Runners Team will stand a good chance as all our timing are below 50 minutes to complete 10km races.

The Penguin Runners who are interested to take the challenge are:

KC (penguin-1)
Meng(penguin-2)
Tony (penguin-3)
Steven (penguin-5)
Eric Teo (penguin-10)
Chee Wee (penguin-11)
Jason Chin (penguin-12)
Chin YH (friend of Jason Chin)

We were quite excited discussing about that event. The conversation went wild: Since it is one week before the 2007 Chinese New Year (CNY), we suggested playing CNY songs or bringing along drum or "gombang" to make encouraging noises and pump up the fun along the way. We have not decided to conduct in CNY beat or the Kitaro type.

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Since Yee Sang is served in restaurants one month before CNY, we can actually dish out Ang Pow (red packets; extremely auspicious to receive as a gift) while running since we have a big reserve from the van. Giving out Ang Pow to Thai is a mean to promote our culture and to express our friendliness, particularly, to the "leng lui" (pretty gals) there.

However, all the hotness in taking part in this event was suddenly evaporated with the recent two bombing in Hatyai and the continual unrest in southern Thailand. So, we are back to looking for some running action in Kuala Lumpur.

Sir Cliff Richard

[The Young Ones, Darling were the young ones, And young ones shouldn't be afraid... song is playing in the background]

I was excited to read in the Star newspaper that Sir Cliff Richard will be performing in concerts in Genting Highlands on 9 -10 February 2007. Unfortunately, it clashes with the O2O Run. Now that the Penguin Runners are not running in the O2O event, it is time that I renew my enthusiasm to go for the concert.

If I do not support him in this concert, he may not be coming to Malaysia again. I am also not young. The next time that we will meet, it could be in another dimension, provided we both go there.

I first heard his songs when I was a teenager where my uncle and the kampung folks are a big fan of him. I was also attracted to his clear and “magnetic” type of voice. His songs were mostly ballad – slow and romantic, inspiring and at times, up beat. In the early days, I like songs such as: The Young Ones, Power to the People, Congratulations.

I like most of his song, but there are two songs that I particularly like: The Young Ones - Since I am the young once now, that song really inspires me whenever I hear it – And the young ones, shouldn’t be afraid … – it really charges me up.

The other song is Miss You Night – a slow and sentimental song featuring in his “I am Nearly Famous” album launched in 1975. This song is best played at night in quiet environment ...

Years may wrinkle the skin, but his voice remains unchanged. Yeah, Sir Cliff Richard, I will see you in Genting Highlands!

By KC