Thursday, January 9, 2014

1314 容祖兒跨年演唱會 (Joey Yung 1314 Concert) - Hong Kong Coliseum 香港體育館 (Dec 21 2013 - Jan 4 2014)














































































































Watching Joey live is dangerous! She is oh-so-addictive!! Joey occupies your mind like an MV on a loop…over and over again, the scenes will play out in your head. I wish I had watched all 15  shows but I only managed to secure tickets for two shows. My initial target was 3 or 4. “1314” concert is Joey’s seventh (my fifth) to date and breaks her past record in number of shows. The dates span from Dec 21 2013 right up to the following year, 4 Jan 2014 (with break in-between). Wyman Wong serves as wardrobe advisor.  Official janitor-cum-footman/maid is Wilfred Lau (haha….sorry, can’t help taking a jab at this dude).

 

Stage props were impressive (from make-shift house to snow globe, purple plane with black pilot in white uniform, ascending humongous light that looks like moon from afar,  Fab Four (Beatles) style guitar works accompanied with signature mop-top haircut guitarists and dazzling laser displays). Joey nailed every aspect of the concert, from music, dance to costumes. In short, Joey continues to raise the bar with each of her concert. The segment that I did not quite fancy is the bulging belly (preggie) look. Joey makes no secret that she hopes to be a mom soon (I am having cold sweat as I simply could not accept her current beau).  Bringing in a bunch of black American dancers to liven-up the show was a smart and refreshing move. Her usual HK dance team “Ones To Watch” (a regular in most HK major concerts) is incredible, as always.  Joey’s outfits for all 15 shows are the same, except for the encore portion.  My personal favorites are the black furry gown (chic and bursting with feminine charm), the strapless star bra (ooh la la), see-through black cheong sam (bring the tissue, my nose is bleeding !) and the pink/yellow/white roundish elements short dress with matching shades (sweeeet !). Joey had the same trainer from hell (as Joey described it) that Nick Cheung credited for the bulging eight-pack in “Unbeatable” movie. No wonder Joey is in top form during the concert.

 



The concert was divided into seasons and holidays theme. Dance medley (X’mas theme of the concert) was the grand finale and way too short, in my opinion. No epic choreography as in “Starlight” concert but still, when Joey dances, you focus!! And you will always end-up beggiing for more ! This time, the dance track that successfully puts the whole Hung Hom coliseum in a trance is “加大力.” (greater vigor).  I used to think the lyrics of this song is cheesy and mindless (“I am delicious…I am delicious” intro) but slowly, it has turned into my national anthem for 2013.  Yes, yes, you are indeed delicious, Joey!   I was surprised (but pleased) “Yellow Big Door”(not exactly a runaway hit) was included in the repertoire. It never fails to make Joey weep in the past and used to hold special meaning for Goo/Cho fans. I thought I would never hear her perform this song live again. Watching Joey singing this song in the snowing globe evokes a kind of sadness in me. To prove that she is no one hit guitar wonder, Joey played not only  "Hung Gong" but “Honey”,  a song composed by Eric Kwok but did not get much airplay in the past. Nevertheless, it has one heck of a catchy melody. Joey gave a heartfelt and emotional speech while interacting with the audience. My friend kept dabbing her eyes right from the start of the concert till the end. She reasoned that she was touched by Joey’s sincerity, tenacity, hardship, stamina and touching performances. Joey’s voice turned hoarse on 1st Jan (the concert started 2 hours earlier than usual since she had to rush to participate in “903/Commercial radio ultimate chart awards presentation”). The encore was also shorter on 1st Jan. I was so looking forward to Joey singing either or both “On Call I and II” theme songs but darn ! no such luck. I watched the awards ceremony when I returned to the hotel. By then, Joey’s throat infection and flu have gotten worst, to the point of not being able to hit the high notes and singing off-key. Joey was literally choking during her acceptance speech…is she really happy now? I hope she is.  “1314” displayed Joey’s phenomenal performances that is amazingly executed with high energy and stupendous showmanship! This is the very reason Joey is still the undisputed HK Canto pop queen for the past decade.  Can’t wait to get my hands on the concert dvds ! Please, please, make Malaysia your first world tour stop !


Run down :-

[情人節]
1. 小日子
2. 這分鐘更愛你
Talk
3. 抱抱
4. 花千樹
5. 雙冠軍


[復活節/愚人節]
6. 蟲之家
7. 朱古力萬歲
8. 心花怒放
9. 十三點

[母親節]
10. 山口百惠
Talk
11. 小天使
12. 世上只有

[生日/暑假]
13. 澎湃
14. Honey! (重新編曲)
15. 未知 (重新編曲)

[中秋節]
16. 牆紙
17. 搜神記
18. 煙霞
19. 天窗
20. 華麗邂逅

[萬聖節] 
21. 另眼相看
22. 神魂顛倒
23. 桃色冒險

[聖誕節]
Lovin U Intro (播片)
24. 這就是愛嗎
25. 喜喜
26. 跑步機上
27. 隆重登場
28. 加大力度

[Encore] - 緑色裙
29. 怯
30. 可歌可泣
31. 信今生愛過
32. 連續劇
33. 續集

34. 一拍兩散
35. 痛愛