My response:
"Why ever not?? I'm making up for lost time, since I missed out on Jay fandom for the past ten years!"
Well, it's two days after his final concert now and I've finally settled down enough to write about my experiences over the entire period when Jay was in town. Yes, I took leave from work from 5 June onwards as I knew pretty well that I would be in absolutely no mood to concentrate on anything else other than the run-up to his first concert and thereafter.
And I have totally no regrets!
I've already posted about Jay's arrival:
http://jaychoudiaoness.blogspot.sg/2013/06/pre-opus-jay-in-singapore-part-2.html
As we all well know, Mr Chou is notoriously fussy about his concert preparations and rehearsals and so it was for the Singapore stop. There were reports that he didn't even go shopping. It was rehearsals and eating his favourite bak kut teh (pork ribs soup) everyday.
http://ieatishootipost.sg/2013/04/founder-bak-kut-teh-rangoon-2nd.html
Anyway, I shall leave him aside for now to talk about the concert merchandise which was on offer this round.
The following photos were taken at the booth in the carpark of the Singapore Indoor Stadium (SIS); they're quite self-explanatory. :)
Fans queueing up:
I bought the concert sac, keychains, the Just Jay pink bear, a Continued tee, a towel and the concert folders.
The mini-fan was really DIAO!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqnnI6yzUR0
The keychains and figurines look like this (my friend's photo):
Okay, back to the concerts!
My dear hubby came along with me for the first night; he is not a fan like me but he likes Jay's music well enough and since I was paying for his ticket, he had no reason to complain. ;)
I also wanted him to try and get some good pics. :))
Having said that, he, too, got caught up in the frenzy a little and at one point even joined in the shouting of Jay's name viz "ZHOU! JIE! LUN!". ;)
I had already seen all the vids from the Shanghai and Beijing stops and knew what to expect.
But as I mentioned in an earlier post, Jay's performances never get old for me, because his music is just SO GOOD!
Well, I was definitely NOT disappointed at all! I thoroughly enjoyed every performance as he really gave his all each night, but varying the encores and some of the song choices.
He was also very engaging with the audience, talking about his years in the industry and thanking his faithful fans.
Very charming, especially when he said he 'ming ming jiu' (obviously) loved us!
Going for all three nights also meant I could have more opportunities to savour every song and record them properly for my youtube channel.
Although it is generally stated on the ticket that videotaping and photography are not allowed, somehow, for OPUS JAY, the SIS ushers were not in their usual "please do not take photos and videos" mode, unlike at many other pop concerts I had gone to before.
I like to think that it was Jay who told them not to bother as he knows his fans like to record for their own pleasure to watch again post-concert. :)
I used my iPhone to record and a camera for some photos.
Gotta say it was quite a strain on my shoulders and arms to keep holding the phone up steadily; I could just feel my muscles protesting and was convinced I would end up with the worst case of tendinitis!
At times, I also felt like I could not hold on any longer but something just kept me going as I did not want to end up with a vid which was abruptly cut-off,.
You'll see the fruits of my labour in my vids. :)
By God's grace, I am still fine in spite of three nights of recording!
Neither did I develop laryngitis as I did not want to sing loudly whilst recording, so as not to torture my viewers with my crooning and also not to obliterate Jay's beautiful voice.
I did lose out on alot of sleep, though, as after the concerts once I got home, I had to upload my vids onto youtube so that I could delete them from my phone to free up the memory. I was really lucky that on the second night, the memory ran out just when I had finished recording Sign Language, which is one of my most favourite segments of OPUS JAY.
The concerts ended near 11pm and with the horrendous traffic leading out of the carpark, I usually did not get home till near midnight.
Uploading the vids took time and I ended up sleeping at about 2 or 3am during those three days,
(That's another reason why I had to take leave during this period. No way I could function properly at work like that!)
With that in mind, let me now talk about the concert proper.
The aura of anticipation and excitement was palpable in the stadium as the fans streamed in. I would get to my seat, check that my phone was powered up, glowsticks were ready, make a last-minute visit to the ladies as there was NO WAY I would be leaving my seat any time during the concert.
There were simple foam lightsticks in pale pink at every seat, along with a pair of blow-up clappers.
I, of course had my special OPUS JAY lightstick. :)
The house lights dimmed, the fans screamed and waved their lightsticks and.....
The show was on!
Loads of screaming greeted the opening filmlet which had Jay fighting off monsters and getting into a spaceship to zoom over to us!
(Actually, there would be loads of screaming throughout the whole concert, as it were).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DyGe2-QPa0
And of course, our Mr DIAO emerged from the spaceship, all rocker-chic in red and baring that famous 8-PACK!!!
However, we were only treated to tantalising glimpses of those abs as the red vest he wore kept flapping here and there. :P
And right after Exclamation Mark , he disappeared to put on a black tee and covered those muscles....c'mon, Jay, it wouldn't have hurt to flaunt those abs a little more, right?? ;)
But that's our Jay, modest as ever. :)
I shall post mostly my vids (fandomizfun1318) but have sourced for some from other youtubers, those which I did not record:
Exclamation Mark and Dragon Fist by iceflamer90:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEYSpPNpY60&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=6
Banter with audience and Final Battle (first night):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIfkfuYbQtI
Third night banter with audience and Final Battle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDTHrpk-TMo
The next segment was a mini-musical of The Rooftop, to give us a sneak preview of the movie.
I love the music!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDV72jRK0dA&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75T9qCWH4dw&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgfnZKRXsv4&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=11
His piano ballads were next, with the beautiful instrument which we had already seen in Shanghai and Beijing and it was even more beautiful in the flesh!
I loved watching his face on the big screen as he played and sang his heart out!
All three nights had Ming ming jiu and Silence.
First night songs included Listen to Mother's Words and Snail:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWQkZvXGoTo&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=3
Second and third nights he changed to Mine Mine and End Of The World:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDX_RAVfEGA&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=15
Vid of End Of The World with a great, clear view of the amazing piano!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIepqK-H5EM&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=32
Following that was All The Way North and Secret, as he reminisced about Initial D and his first self-directed-and-acted movie.
The crowd were ecstatic and the singalong fantastic.
(Actually, all the singalongs were awesome!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRZ8Bf2MDBA&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=12
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPiX7ZF4RLk&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=13
In a change from previous concerts, he performed Nunchucks next, rather than using it as a finale:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60THzEpD9nI&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=14
He then went into the zhong guo feng segment, with Gong gong, Qing Hua Ci and Red Dust Inn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHqPpAxRP-U&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=16
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWLgoElA9iw&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGUD8ptLQYA&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=17
Then came an acapella performance which went into a jaunty rendition of Big Ben!
He looked so nice in this pink shirt and blue overalls combo!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1aQMVzEtuk&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=24
Banter with audience about his songs and that although his English is not good, music trancends all barriers...which I totally agree with:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKPY74o0G9s&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=19
After that, it was another singalong session with Jay on guitar and bringing his fans down Memory Lane with his older hits, beginning with Rainbow (my fave!) and ending off with Fine Day, another definite crowd favourite!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI4VEiRlK14&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=4
The first encore was Sign Language...I love this song and I love love LOVE this unique performance, incorporating special effects and Jay himself! Very very DIAO!
This is my recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaDq5NSvk4g&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=20
This is a clearer vid by Yi Qing Chong, from a more central position:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8Ao-sgKQDg
He followed that up with Cannot Speak, another crowd fave...heh...I love the part where I panned the camera round the stadium to show the sea of waving pink lightsticks!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vDiym-_y3o
Another vid but focusing only on Jay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sog2s96WiKQ
Second encore was Ukulele with giant balls (this vid is by JustJayOnly):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTtlgp47Rz4&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6WICn3mX0WFjKeo4Rb2b9d&index=22
Another vid by Yi Qing Chong on the final night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxTS0b4Lj94&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ66_L975XFXznYxW9gLtt9J
Third encore was different for all three nights.
And Jay had fun introducing his musicians and asking them to perform.
Huang Yuxun on keyboard sang Black Humour on the first night and Common Jasmine Orange was the encore song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG7HXAUSvrs
He sang Wu Ding with Cindy on the second night, but I did not manage to record that, as my phone ran out of memory just after I finished recording Sign Language
Will look around for a vid and post when I find it.
Update:
Thank you so much to reader N for giving me the link to the Wu Ding vid!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3vvjiySXec
Third night was B-box/Fragrance of Rice and Sunny Otaku!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzK29g8-fC0
And with that, OPUS JAY in Singapore came to a close.
Was I happy?
TREMENDOUSLY!!!
No wonder his concerts always sell out super fast and ticketing sales always crash the website!
NB: I found more vids of the concerts from other ardent youtubers and will share them here in the form of playlists as these have better views for some songs:
Yi Qing Chong's vids:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbHLPahX3mJ66_L975XFXznYxW9gLtt9J
drowsy25's vids:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbHLPahX3mJ4aRuZNZGVLaFbUGrLQTiwr
gheeguan's vids:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6iqUSRfUJ2Ofkqo0xTii3e
Here are some photos to share:
Lang Zi Gao is waiting for fans to pose with him outside the SIS (see next post for the fans poses!):
Check out those FAB ABS!!!!! *faints*
And omg...that DIMPLE!!!!
His Royal DIAOness and his Royally DIAO piano:
All The Way North and Secret:
Guitar medley:
Sign Language:
I shall post about his airport send-off next. :)
