Joanna Dong - So here I am CONCERT
董姿彦 - 我是真的 演唱会
30 June 2018
Esplanade Concert Hall
Note
- Held at Esplande Concert Hall with capacity of 3,600 which was probably 90% occupied though it was advertised as sold out
- Concert duration from 7.45pm to 10.30pm
- Advertised as 2 hour concert with no intermission but started at 7.45pm with 1 encore of songs , followed by autograph session for New EP sold at S$30
- Stall seats (D16 & D17) were 4th from the front of stage, right in the middle, though close to stage with good view of performer, the stage lights placed at the back of the stage facing the audience, shone right into our eyes at times.
- Stall seats (D16 & D17) were 4th from the front of stage, right in the middle, though close to stage with good view of performer, the stage lights placed at the back of the stage facing the audience, shone right into our eyes at times.
- Mainly covers of English & Chinese pop & Jazz songs, competition songs from 中国新歌声， 2 originals (姗姗到访 + 雪下的正好）
- Fnale song was 姗姗到访 by 陈佳明 & Ruth Ling
- Second original was 雪下得正好 by Jeremy Monterio & 梁文福
- Encore song was 恋曲1990, audition song that resulted in her selection by Jay Chou
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REVIEW from Toggle
Confession: we walked into Joanna Dong’s So Here I Am showcase in the Esplanade Concert Hall on Saturday night (June 30) expecting a simple, straightforward presentation of just jazz tunes, maybe a couple of Sing! China stuff, and nothing much more.
Boy, were we glad to be proven wrong. The two-hour showcase showed hints of its cheeky, unconventional nature right from the start: when the lights dimmed, a voiceover of Joanna engaging in a light-hearted debate over concert rules and etiquette (yes, non-flash photography and videography are allowed, but, “Are you watching the concert or is your phone?”) began playing, tickling concertgoers before the 36-year-old singer even emerged on stage.
More amusing antics followed a while later when Joanna took us all on a trip down memory lane (hers, to be precise), complete with a slideshow of childhood photos and a rack of bright, sparkly clothes - the exact ones she wore when competing in various singing competitions over the years, created by her talented mother.
The concert turned into a mini stand-up comedy routine for a while at this point, especially when Joanna donned a couple of the beaded headpieces (which still looked to be in pristine condition despite being decades old) to demonstrate the rather old-fashioned dances she did back then, with the help of “the tackiest rhythm” the drummer could muster, as per Joanna’s request.
Everybody loved it.
Another out-of-the-usual-concert-box activity that took place was a brief, interactive lesson in jazz improvisation with the audience. Using the classic Chinese nursery rhyme ‘Ke Ren Lai’ (roughly ‘We Have a Visitor’) as the base song, Joanna got the crowd to sing along with her groovy-fied version - vocal runs, high notes and all.
But of course, the main event of the night was still always the music. Joanna’s set-list consisted of not just covers and reinterpretations (some of which were, like her banter throughout the night, sung in both English and Mandarin), but also a few original songs that are found on her new EP, also titled So Here I Am.
One of the tracks, as Joanna was all too happy to #humblebrag about, was composed specially for her by none other than industry giants Jeremy Monteiro and Dr. Liang Wern Fook. “I can call myself a jazz singer now because Jeremy wrote a song for me!” she gushed.
The evening of mostly fun, upbeat songs ended on an even more cheerful high when Joanna re-entered the hall from the back during the encore while singing ‘Love Song 1990’, the track that she performed during the blind auditions of Sing! China. She was even wearing the exact same light blue striped dress as back then, adding to the nostalgic factor.
What better way to show how far she’s come and to pay tribute to the moment that started it all, right?
