I will be in Vietnam from 15 to 20 May for a vacation. Boarding the plane in a few hours' time.
Contact me at my mobile number for any urgent matters. No, urgent does not include shopping lists. (Unless you transfer some moolah to my bank account first.)
Suddenly, I'm getting out of town so often. It's so unlike the last few years where I practically cooped up in Singapore.
Here's the chat conversation I had with Kate, from comGateway's help desk.
I just find that she was just so overly formal with every word she used, I suspected she was probably a chat bot, or someone who just reads and clicks on template response sentences.
What do you think?
Kate: Hello, welcome to comGateway's help desk. How may I assist you?
Me: Hi, I would like to purchase the following item from Amazon.com: Olympus 202172 PT-043 Stylus 1030SW Underwater Housing However, I am unable to proceed because it is slightly over the USD 195 limit. Would it be possible to put USD 195 for the price first and then have the actual amount charged to my account through you? Please advise if this is possible, thanks.
Kate: Kindly be informed that this is not possible.
Me: btw, which courier service do you use for the delivery?
Kate: May I ask you that you are referring to merchant to US office?
Me: No, I am asking about the delivery from US to Singapore. Sorry I didn't make it clearer.
Kate: We regret to inform you that we are unable to advise
Me: Thanks for replying, though I can't say your answers have been helpful.
Kate: I apologize for this
Kate: May I know whether you require further assistance?
Me: Nope.
Kate: You are most welcome. We wish you a pleasant day and thank you for using comGateway. Goodbye.
So that was a few days ago.
The good news: Just an hour earlier I received a phone call from comGateway regarding my spree box and the USD 195 limit problem. And they were able to work around the limit problem. Yay!
And this marks my first online shopping transaction.
I think "gratifying" is an apt word to describe it. :)
Your turn! Start shopping at ST701 Spree now!
It's amazing how someone half a century old remains so relevant in this day. I quote a friend: "She seems to get better with age."
Even more amazingly, what he said over ten years ago stays true even today. No, I am not talking about wine here. It's Madonna, and she's looking better than ever on here new album cover.
Unfortunately, the iconic artist herself did not grace the event to launch her new album, Hard Candy held at Zouk. Oh well, it would be a miserable party by her cultural icon stature to attend anyway.
But still, credits to Zouk for throwing the party with all the bell and whistles paying tribute to Madonna and her new album. Snippets of Madonna trivia adorned the walls all over as I entered the main area. Models distributed various candy treats and over-sized lollipops with sticker of her latest album cover. The whole setting was awfully fun, in a cheesy kind of way.
The music for the night was all Madonna's music new and old. All were great, just that you probably couldn't tell which one came from the new album that the event was supposed to promote. In between songs, the large screen aired excerpts of interviews with Madonna sharing about her music.
At the central dance floor, a boxing ring was erected for the main event of the party, Muay Thai. According to the host of the night, MTV VJ Taya, Madonna keeps in shape with this rigorous sport. Her well-toned arms are definitely testaments of the tough training associated with this martial art.
MTV VJ Taya
Anyway, there would be two matches for that night between 4 ladies. I was darn suspicious that the matches would probably be intentionally staged a-la WWE. I mean, Girl-versus-Girl Muay Thai reeks of more of cat-fight than the esteemed sport. It didn't help that Taya added that the fights would be given a "fun" twist.
The first fighter was introduced to the audience when her prancing around with a fencing sabre, clumsily poking an imaginary target. Then it got worse with the second fighter appearing in the ring looking like a geisha. Oh yah, both of them had video clips aired before their appearances exaggerating how bad-ass they are in the ring and how they kick serious butt with less than a total 18 months' of training between them.
Riiight...
So the fight went underway both fighters went head on and unleashed endless flurry of merciless punches and kicks against each other that would make bouncers look like wimps. Each blow emitted shockwaves that could be felt by the audience. No, wait, I was kidding. Actually, they pranced around each other and daintily kitty-scratched, er, I mean punched each other, and occasionally delivering surprise but off target tickles, er I mean, kicks.
As the rounds came to an end, rather buff topless guys stepped on to stage with a placard to signal the next round, just like real boxing matches except with the roles reversed. They definitely earned plenty of wolf-whistles from the crowds.
Then something interesting happened, one of the fighters adopted a awesome strategy of attacking the opponent's fists with her face! It was so effective that her adversary relented with apprehension when blood trickled from her nose! The crowds approved with louder cheers in sadistic ecstasy to drum up the aggression in the fighters. Screams of approval for more blood were everywhere. "More! More! More!" they cheered.
When the match was over, the referee announced both fighters as winners.
"Kelong!" the crowds booed and jeered in good fun. Obviously, the results was staged. But there would be a prize for the favourite fighter that would be decided by the audiences' cheers, the fighter with the louder support walks away with a brand new Samsung MP3 player.
Next up would probably be one of the most embarrassing moments ever. Taya introduced a British lady kick boxer who has won 7 consecutive British Championships and a European Championship. She was invited to Singapore for the event, but there wasn't anyone locally who would step into the ring with her. A challenge was then issued to the audience for anyone, male or female, who would spar with her. As you might have guessed, nobody took up the challenge, and the 7-time British Champion and European Champion was all alone doing her kick boxing display thing in the ring until her time was up and left.
The crowd was expecting a more exciting second match following the blood from the first match and the display by the British champion. Their cheers significantly louder as the fighters of the second match arrived on stage.
Unfortunately, the fight turned out to be a less eventful one, with one fighter carelessly tripping over her opponents foot in the first round. The fighters were considerably less aggressive compared to those in the first match and it definitely look a lot more like an actual cat-fight with plenty of rather comical kitty-punches. But everyone there was still well-entertained by the fight. The presence of ample alcohol definitely helped to keep everyone happy.
Predictably, both fighters were announced as winners but they got into a tie with both garnering equally strong support from the crowd. The host eventually awarded both fighters with an MP3 player each.
Oh, and if you didn't notice, the best thing to happen for this whole event was that I still have no idea how Madonna's new album sounds like. So now I probably have to buy, beg, borrow or steal to satisfy my curiosity.
Amidst the glossy and fickle Chinese music industry, a few truly talented and well-marketed artists stand out, one of them is David Tao. His well-known signature R & B tunes have come to be the genre in the Mandopop industry. Well, he is also one my favourite singers, so called me biased if you want. :)
The Capacity Crowd
Towards show time, the capacity crowd streamed into the venue almost like those time lapse videos. Like all concerts outside Esplanade, this concert didn't start punctually. But the waiting definitely helped to build up the anticipation. As soon as the light dimmed to signal the start of the concert, the crowds were already all well warmed up and cheering for David Tao to appear.
The overture started with chants of "1, 2, 3" in Mandarin and then in various languages which pleasantly amused the audience. Then David Tao rose from below the stage to appear before the excited audience.
David with the quintessential guitar
Within the first 3 up tempo songs, he had already had the extremely responsive crowd standing and waving their arms to the rhythm of the music.
After the fourth song, David took time to interact with the audience. Momentarily, it seemed rather awkward that he conversed predominantly in English for a concert consisting of Mandarin songs. It was later that I realised that there would be a number of band members as well as audiences that only understood English or not as familiar with Mandarin.
One of the main visual surprises at this concert has got to be the use of laser lights for the heavier up-tempo numbers. The first time it came on for the song "鬼", plenty of oohs, aahs and howls complimented the stunning effects. It was clear that plenty of effort and heart was put in for this concert.
It seems that there has been a trend of Easternisation in Mandarin pop. First there was Jay Chou's "千里之外", soon there would one from Jeff Chang's new album. Under David's belt would be "Susan 说". This live version was preluded with a pipa recital accompanied by a modernised opera dance, giving it a very strong Chinese flavour.
Before his next song, "爱我还是他", David took time to introduce one of the many local talents in his crew. On the keyboards was Goh Kheng Loong, the music director whom he has worked with for 8 years. More amazingly, there had never been any arguments between them, something he attributed to God. That got a rather muted applause from the audience. If you didn't know, David Tao is very upfront about his Christian faith and is unapologetic about sharing it with the audience at his concert.
Next was the jazzed up version of Teresa Teng's "月亮代表我的心" which I felt was a little over-sang. He then followed up with "10:30的飞机场". For "今天要回家" "今天没回家", David got the audience to sing-along for the easier parts of the song. But when he challenged them to sing the following faster stanza, the audience stumbled. Nonetheless, the crowd enjoyed every moment of it.
"小镇姑娘" was definitely one of the more refreshingly rearranged songs. Originally a very light, country and folk sounding number, this live version was heavier and really rocked the house and had the audience on their feet and arms in the air.
A significantly slower "寂寞的季节" was then performed to lead up to his unplugged number, "普通朋友" which he shared the stage with his guitarist on tour, Jamie Wilson who surprised the audience when he replied to David's questions in Mandarin. This would be just one of the numerous occasions in the concert where he showcases his band of talented musicians.
One of the things that set David Tao apart is how he uses his music for positive change in the world. The next song "Dear God" was one he wrote in response to the tragedies that had happened around the world in recent times as a cry out for change. It had a video prelude with the accompanying crew introducing themselves, their role in the band, their different nationalities and racial diversity. Then they introduced themselves in common as human to drive the point that the fighting that is happening around the world needs to stop and that we should recognise that our most effective weapon is love instead.
"今天你要嫁给我" is a duet which he wrote and sang with Jolin Tsai. Of course Jolin wasn't around. So Singapore's very own Tay Kewei sang her part as David flirted with her on stage as always in every of his concert. It is a pity her talent is not as recognised locally, judging from the somewhat awkward audience response when David referred her as the pride of Singapore. But hey, it's just a few more songs before her debut album rocks our air waves, but if you are curious, visit her blog for her demo tracks and support local talent!
Producing a concert is always a team effort, so David took ample time after the song to introduce everyone that made this concert possible, on and off stage. Notably, there were many musicians that hail from Singapore and Malaysia. I was darn impressed that every musician on stage could sing and play at least one instrument! A special mention for Alisa Elisa, the multi-talented Taiwanese back up vocal who can also play the flute, trombone and violin. Not to mention that she quite gorgeous as well.
David then shared a little secret - he is a closet dancer, but a bad one at it. That's why he remains a closet dancer. But still he wanted the audience to have some fun, he included a dance medley so that everyone can get on their feet to shake it up little. Interestingly, during the dance medley, David took the role of the back up vocals for John Tan David Tan (back up vocals and guitar) to take centre stage.
Halfway through "就是爱你", David decided to get off the stage and get cozy with the audience. The ladies screamed with delight as they flooded towards the barrier for a hug, handshake or even just a touch of their idol. The fans loved it tremendously. Due to the local concert regulations, he could only access a limited area of the crowd. Returning to stage at the end of the song, David even thanked the security for their hard work in making that up-close and personal experience possible and safe for everyone.
The lady in red gets her tickets' worth with a full embrace
Near the end of the concert he shared that he was considering a move to Singapore, because it was one of the few places where there is racial and religious tolerance. On a lighter note, he said that said that contrary to what people said, Singapore is actually a fun place, with the latest attraction being the Singapore Flyer, which is really slow and expensive.
For those who remembered his comments on desperately anxiously seeking a life partner at his press conference, David picked out a lady in the audience to serenade with the song "沙滩", on stage. Darn lucky girl. Hmm... Isn't he awfully transparent laying out plans to get a Singapore PR, don't you think? I could almost hear some of the audience chanting, "PR! PR! PR!" Or maybe David's already aiming for Singapore citizenship?
For the last song of the night, David sang his break out hit, "爱很简单". With it he thanked the audience, the crew and especially God, sharing his testimony of miracle healing of tonsillitis on the morning of the concert. Yup, that too got a rather awkward reaction from the audience. But that didn't affect the concert experience one bit. It was undoubtedly a great concert that would be remembered for a long time.
