[Eyeball]Lose the Kit-sch
http://eyeball.asia1.com.sg/Eyeball/Eardrum/Music/Story/0,3089,18074,00.html
Lose the Kit-sch
By Tan Dawn Wei
11 June 2001 04:00AM
photo/It was a real pity that Chan's costumes were more garish than
outrageous and the sets more crude than well designed.
Pictures: Chen Yue Che
photo/Chan should have just have relied on what works - her voice
and her songs, which would have carried the concert well enough.
It would've been even better, if it weren't for the outrageous
costumes, antics and pyrotechnics, says our reporter, who was at
Kit Chan's maiden solo concert on Saturday night.
SO WHAT if Fann Wong was the first Singaporean to stage a concert
at the Singapore Indoor Stadium?
When it comes to packing a stadium with some serious vocals, Kit
Chan will out-power Fann ''Mickey Mouse'' Wong any day.
Her 2 1/2-hour maiden concert on Saturday night had her belting
out a good 20 songs or so from her eight-year repertoire with
hardly a break in between, except when guest star, Hong Kong
crooner William So, came on for one song.
Despite being new to solo concerts, Chan's voice was in tip-top
form and pitch-perfect mode, sounding even better than her
recordings, some may argue.
So, it was a real pity that the entire production - an obvious
attempt to replicate Hong Kong's snazzy concerts - turned out
tacky, because, quite simply, it just wasn't up to par.
For one, the costumes weren't so much outrageous as they were
garish. And Chan's punk-rock inspired - or skunk-inspired -
hairdo, the dated 1980s dance choreography and the crude sets
which looked like they had been sitting in a warehouse in Ubi
for the past 30 years, just didn't gel.
Sure, the show tried to add variety by introducing thematic
segments: A little Indian mysticism complete with accompanying
tabla and sitar, a little ballroom dancing, a little a-go-go
and even a few competent Broadway musical renditions by Chan.
But the half-hearted pyrotechnics and over-the-top antics not
only fell flat, they're way past their prime - Hong Kong concerts
these days are going back to basics, opting for minimalism and
simplicity.
And really, Chan's costumes - a combination of red leather,
black and purple sequins, pink and white overcoats plus black
and white boots - might as well have stayed lost in that cab
(her designer unwittingly left a bag of her costumes in the boot
of a taxi two weeks ago).
Instead, a concert without the frills, anchored simply with Chan's
marvellous vocals and highly popular songs, would've worked so
much better.
At a late-night press conference after the concert, she told
reporters that the night was filled with pleasant surprises
for her.
Friends like Hong Kong singer Remus Choy and songwriter Pan
Xieqing came with bouquets.
So did Hong Kong TV star Bowie Lam, who appeared on stage masked.
Said Chan: ''I thought it was William So, because I remembered
him wearing a similar suit backstage.''
But when the media started asking about her special someone, who
received a special dedication from her at the concert when she
sang Sandy Lam's At Least I Still Have You, she turned coy, only
letting out that they've been going out for less than a year,
and he's not in the business.
So, she's done the Singapore stint. Where next? Hopefully, Taiwan,
Malaysia, Hong Kong and China, she said.
We wish her the best. But here's a note of advice: Lose the kitsch.
--
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