Monday, January 13, 2014

My First Cantonese Concert: Eason Chan





 
On December 1, 2013, I went to my first Cantonese concert--Eason Chan's LIFE Show-at the Event Center at San Jose State University. One word I would use to describe this concert is AMAZING. One thing I liked about Eason is how he is able to appeal to so many Mandarin-speaking fans since he was originally from Hong Kong and most of his songs were sang in Cantonese. I guess it was because he has released a number of Mandarin albums in the past. Also, I did not expect that the major audience would be youths (people around my age) since Eason has been a singer for many years ever since 1997; thus, i expected that most of his fans would be people in their 30s' or so. Another thing that surprised me is how famous Eason is in America to have 2 nights of his concert to be sold out quickly like pancakes. I thought he was famous only in Asia--Hong Kong. Who knew that he would gain fame all around the world as well? There was originally only one show at San Jose State University but due to popular demand and the first show being sold out, a second night was added in to accomodate the people who did not get the chance to buy their tickets, including me. Therefore, I was glad I was able to get decent seats for the second show.
 
English lyrics on the screen
 
 
 
 
The concert lasted for a total of 2 and a half hours, including 8 minutes of encore; most of his songs he sang were in Cantonese and a few were in Mandarin which were all very easy to sing along to. In my opinion, I think his voice sounds better live than listening to it on the CD. For the benefit of the non-Cantonese speaking audience, Eason spoked in 3 different languages: Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. I liked how he encouraged the Mandarin-speaking fans to learn Cantonese if possible so that they can be able to understand and appreciate his Cantonese songs. In fact, I'm glad I'm Cantonese and can also speak Mandarin and English very well despite being born in the United States. He also cracked alot of jokes which made the audience very high. A surprising moment was when a guy fan sitting on the front row suddenly jumped up on stage to give Eason a hug which was not allowed but Eason still gave it to him, making everyone full of envy. It must have been a dream come true for him to have the lucky opportunity to hug his idol. If I got the chance to hug my idol, Jay Chou, then my life would be complete and I will never wash my clothes that I was wearing during that moment. It was also really funny when Eason said he wished the person who hugged him was a girl instead of a guy; this kind of proved that he has more guy fans or the girls were just too shy. Near the end of the concert, I seized the opportunity to get up from my seat to run up near the front of the stage to have the chance to get a glimpse of him up close. By doing so, I was satisfied because this opportunity have fulfilled my money's worth.
 
My close up shot of him near the stage
 


Some of my favorite songs he performed during the concert was "Eliminated", Time is Like a Song", "Tomrrow of Next Year", and "Backpack". The first song I have ever heard from him was "Time is Like a Song" (Sui Yuet Yu Gor), the theme song from the TVB drama, "Triumph in the Skies", which I have watched during my middle school years. "Eliminated" was his first mandarin song I have heard from Eason and was composed by Jay Chou who was my original source for this song.

Overall, I really enjoyed this concert and would likely give it another go if he comes back. :D