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Christmas Concerts

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

First and foremost, a HUGE congratulations to Stone and Gougou on the birth of “Little Little Stone.” (So Stone has two boys and Guanyou has two girls? Adorable.)

Mayday is in Shanghai this week, playing Christmas concerts with a little help from their growing numbers of friends who are label-mates. Once the home of only five acts, B’in Music has almost doubled in size with the signing of bands Cosmos People, Magic Power, and (whoa) Won Fu. (That last one is way cool… and one I almost sorta kinda saw coming. I mean, Won Fu was using their studio, borrowing drum sets and not returning them and the like.) They’ve also added solo artist Yen-j to the line-up, and not on the website (that I can see, anyway) but also being reported as on the label is Nylon Chen. (According to this, Magic Power is known for having once played a “hip-hop” version of “Elope to the Moon,” which frightens me a bit yet sounds like it’s probably much better than the overly sappy original.) Another fun fact: according to Wikipedia, anyway, Fish Leong’s album earlier this year was the first B’in Music record not distributed by Rock Records, and a sign that they’re leaving their relationship with the big company.

Anyway, there were a fair number of disgruntled fans the first night of the Christmas show, as far too many hadn’t gotten the news that it was a “Mayday and Friends” show, and thought it was just a band. They waited through two hours of other performances before Mayday showed up. (I don’t blame them – I saw the concert on my go-to concert ticket site, and nothing there suggested it was anything but a “DNA”-style show.) To get into the Christmas spirit, Ding Dang sang “Amazing Grace,” which is not really a Christmas song anywhere but in China, Magic Power sang their own version of “Jingle Bells” (which is also not a Christmas song but a generic winter song), and Cosmos People covered Eason Chan’s Christmas song. Still, the opening act performances went on for quite a while as the fans grew more restless.

Some actually started yelling for Mayday, for refunds, or for the current performers to get off the stage as the night wore on and there was no sign of the headliners. When they finally showed up, though (dressed in red for Christmas), the fans jumped to their feet, resumed waving their lightsticks, and sang along. It speaks volumes for the popularity of the band… and just how badly they really do need better PR, something I’ve thought pretty much as long as I’ve been blogging their news (so three and a half years, now). Now, I’m not volunteering – I have a job I love, thank you – but someone needs to step up, especially since incidents like this one don’t do these struggling new artists any favors. And, of course, fans int he US continue to rely on good fortune to hear about North American concerts.

Mayday sang the first ever mainland performance of the Hokkien love song “Is that okay? (好不好),” which would have been great to hear, along with other more standard tour tracks (like “Loneliness Terminator,” “Crazy Life,” and “People Life, Ocean Wild”). The big boffo ending was “Love-ing” sung with all the artists on stage together, which makes me doubly glad I didn’t give up my Christmas plans to go to Shanghai to see this thing. Ah, I’m so mean. Let me get into the Christmas spirit: I’m sure it was lovely.

Posted in Ding Dang, Fish Leong, Mayday | 6 Comments »

It’s almost over, Masa

Friday, August 28th, 2009

The “Fish and Masa, together forever” dream has been astoundingly slow to die. After years of rumors that the two were together, and then an impressively extended period of speculation about their breakup, the issue has been run through the wringer and then some. After Fish started dating current beau Tony, a lot of the chatter seemed to quiet down… for a while, at least. But as this article talking about her plans to marry Tony next year reveals, it’s not quite behind them yet.

Fish Leong has announced that she will get married next spring, hopefully her dream wedding on a beach. Within that same, opening sentence, however, you have this: “fans have suggested that former love Masa steal away the bride.” Heh, poor Masa. But I guess this one really isn’t over until the fat lady sings… and where is there a fat lady in Mandopop? Fish does, of course, plan to invite all of Mayday to the wedding, and she has made it clear that she’s expecting big red envelopes (full of cash) from all of them; she noted that she forked over quite a lot when Stone got married. (What about Guanyou?)

As Fish made her announcements at a recent Chengdu concert, fans wished her all the best. Special guest Victor Wong added that for a while, he had actually been the son-in-law of choice for Fish’s father; he’s been worried for two years about making others jealous. He added that he was pretty comfortable grabbing her hand and singing “Clearly in Love with You (明明很愛你)” with Fish because he’d already confirmed that Tony wasn’t in the audience.

At the post-concert party, Fish mentioned that right after her younger brother got married, his wife had a baby, so she’s often calling for updates on her nephew. She loves kids herself, and would hope to have little ones of her own. As for the impact on her career, her manager noted that there’s no cause for alarm; she can still hold concerts if she’s pregnant in the future. In fact, they’ve already planned the name of that tour: “Breathe Through the Pain: The Fish Leong Eight Months Pregnant Tour!” I’m assuming that is not going to be needed for a year or more, though of course one never knows. But congratulations to Fish and Masa – Fish for getting engaged, Masa for seeing at long last an end to this news story.

[Edited to remove duplicate paragraph - thanks Winnie!]

Posted in Fish Leong, Mayday | 16 Comments »

Golden Melody Awards Nominations (sigh)

Saturday, May 16th, 2009

overrated
-verb (used with object)
1. to rate or appraise too highly; overestimate
2. (Cowboy) Jay Chou

The 20th Annual Golden Melody Awards Nominations List

(Note: I skipped the Hokkien, Hakka, and Performance categories here; the full list is at the link in Chinese.)

Song of the Year:

“Hold You Tightly (甲你揽牢牢),” from Hold You Tightly, Jody Chiang
“The Next Dawn (下一个天亮),” from The Next Dawn, Claire Guo
“100 Ways of Living (100种生活),” from 100 Ways of Living, Crowd Lu
“You’re Not Truly Happy (你不是真正的快乐),” from Poetry of the Day After, Mayday
“South of the Border (国境之南), from the Cape No. 7 Soundtrack, Van Fan
“Fragrant Rice (稻香),” from Capricorn, Jay Chou

Album of the Year

If One Thing Is Important (如果有一件事是重要的), Sandee Chan
Don’t Want to Let Go (不想放手), Eason Chan
100 Ways of Living (100种生活), Crowd Lu
We All Lay Down in the End (最后只好躺下来), Stanley Huang
Capricorn (魔杰座), Jay Chou

Best Music Video　　

“Wind (风),” Good Man?! Abin, Abin
“The Happiest Thing (最幸褔的事),” Love’s Poetry, Rachel Liang
“Love’s Miracle Cure (爱情灵药),” ELASTIC ROCK, Josie Ho
“Spacebomb (太空弹),” Spacebomb, Wu Bai
“Black and White (黑白),” Orange Moon, Khalil Fong
“Morbid (病态),” Mystery, Yoga Lin
“Mr. Magic (魔术先生),” Capricorn, Cowboy Jay Chou

Best Composition

Crowd Lu, “100 Ways of Living (100种生活),” 100 Ways of Living
Khalil Fong, “Singalong Song,” Orange Moon
Jay Chou, “Fragrant Rice (稻香),” Capricorn
Li Quan, “Gaze (眼色),” Mystery
Chen Jiannian, “Memories of the Ancients (烙印祖灵),” Nanwan Sisters Self-Titled Album

Best Lyrics
　　
Wu Yuxuan, “In the Trollycar (电车内面),” Hold You Tightly
Ashin, “The Yet Unbroken Part of My Heart (我心中尚未崩坏的地方),” Poetry of the Day After
Ashin, “Like Smoke (如烟),” Poetry of the Day After
Yan Yunnong, “South of the Border (国境之南),” Soundtrack from Cape No. 7
Jay Chou, “Fragrant Rice (稻香),” Capricorn

Best Arrangement

Zhong Chenghu, Chen Bozhou, Crowd Lu, “Good Morning, Beautiful Dawn! (早安，晨之美),” 100 Ways of Living
Wang Leehom, “No Reason to Pay Attention to You (我完全没有任何理由理你),” Heart Beat
Martin Tan, “As Love Begins to Mend,” Start from Here
Khalil Fong, “Singalong Song,” Orange Moon
Zhong Xingming, “Mr. Magic (魔术先生),” Capricorn

Best Produced Album

Chen Zihong, Judy Chiang, Hold You Tightly (甲你揽牢牢)
Sandee Chan, If One Thing Is Important (如果有一件事是重要的)
Stanley Huang, Jae Chong, We All Lay Down in the End (最后只好躺下来)
Jay Chou, Capricorn (魔杰座)
Chen Jiannian, Nanwan Sisters Self-Titled Album (南王姐妹花同名专辑)

Best Produced Single

Lu Shenfei, “South of the Border (国境之南),” Soundtrack of Cape No. 7
Lin Qiang, “Bosom (交心),” CABACA
Huang Yunling, “Hope for Love (对爱渴望)” Aska Yang’s Dove
Wang Zhiping, Guo Wenzhong “Gaze (眼色),” Mystery
Lin Shengyang, “Drying the Fields (晒谷场),” Sweet Burden – Wu Sheng’s Poems and Songs

Best Male Mandarin Artist　
　　
Eason Chan, Don’t Wanna Let Go
Ricky Hsiao, I’m Ricky Hsiao
Leehom Wang, Heart Beat
Khalil Fong, Orange Moon
Jay Chou, Capricorn

Best Female Mandarin Artist

Sandee Chen, If One Thing Is Most Important
Tsai Chin, No Regrets
Fish Leong, Today is Valentine’s Day
A-Lin, Natural-Born Songstress
Tanya Chua, My Space

Best Band
 　
Natural Q, Breakthrough
30 Band, Horse-Faced Sailor’s Summer
Mayday, Poetry of the Day After
The Chairmen, Spent All His Money
The Hohak Band, Rice and Love

Best Performing Group
　　
Big Mouth, Wanka
Y2J, Living for You
NyLas, /’nailes/
Nanwan Sisters, Nanwan Sisters Self-titled Album

Best Newcomer
　　
Rachel Liang, Love’s Poetry
Crowd Lu, 100 Ways of Living
Hsiao Hung Jen, Hsiao Hung Jen Self-titled Album
Joanna Wang, Start from Here
Jam Hsiao, Jam Hsiao Self-Titled Album
Yoga Lin, Mystery

I love seeing Crowd Lu all over this thing; I so loved his album. Ashin has never won a Golden Melody Award for his lyrics – all those years of writing, most years the award goes to Vincent Fang or Jay Chou for whatever Chinese-influenced piece they wrote. Clearly, the nominators couldn’t bear to leave Jay out of that category this year, but I really hope Ashin wins it instead.

What's your pick for Album of the Year at the Golden Melody Awards?
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Posted in Cowboy Jay, Fish Leong, Leehom Wang, Mandopop, Mayday | 27 Comments »

B’in Music, en masse and on stage

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

The whole of the B’in Music label – Mayday, Fish Leong, Victor Wong, Champion, and Ding Dang – gathered together for a special joint concert the other night in Macau. Okay, I know I’ve been just a wee bit skeptical of a few of these acts in the past, but doesn’t that just sound like some good, clean fun?

Champion kicked things off and warmed up the crowd, but even a nervous Ding Dang performed well on the Jonathan Lee classic, “I’m just a small bird (我是一隻小小鸟).” She followed that up with a performance of “Crazy in Love” that supposedly showed off her sexy side (with a very risque v-neck shirt) (okay, that doesn’t sound that risque to me, but maybe I’m just a wild woman).

Fish Leong showed off her white ruffled dress and sang songs like “Peaceful Summer (宁夏),” “Happy Break-up (分手快乐),” and “Courage (勇气).” Everyone sang along, like a giant KTV room. Victor Wong brought out a new song “Love while Changing Planes in Hong Kong (爱情在香港转机),” no doubt taken from personal experience, and also performed Emil Chau’s “Friends (朋友).”

Mayday anchored the show, and upon their introductory video the crowd rose to its feet. The band played twelve songs, and by the last three – “Jump (离开地球表面),” “Spring’s Scream (春天的呐喊),” and “Motor Rock (轧车),” the crowd had gone completely wild. (Side note: I love these totally uncritical, almost paid-advertising like news articles about concerts. You can practically summarize them without reading them….) The band made all the usual remarks about how they’d expected Macanese fans to quietly sit in their seats and listen, not be so enthusiastic. Fish and Victor got cheers for addressing the crowd in Cantonese, but when Masa asked if those who couldn’t speak the lingo could get a good reception as well, the answer was decidedly in the affirmative. Guanyou and Ashin still tried to say a few things in Cantonese, to much general amusement. There are some pictures at the link, though Ding Dang gets the shaft.

In other news, KKBOX has revealed that in 2008 its users had terrible, terrible taste in music. Cowboy Jay walked away with the top two albums of the year – with Capricorn number one and the wretched Jay on the Run as number two. As in, number two above all the albums that came out in 2008. Mayday doesn’t track at all, nor do any of the really good albums from last year. Who are these people, and what on earth is wrong with them? Jay’s comment: “It doesn’t matter what kind of chart it is, I want to be at the top of it.” Classy, that’s our cowboy.

Finally, Jam Hsiao appears to have been inspired by the Superband – he says his dream would be to form a band with Khalil Fong and Crowd Lu. Hmm, looks like they would have an opening for a drummer. Any takers?

Posted in Cowboy Jay, Fish Leong, Mandopop, Mayday, Victor Wong | 9 Comments »

Um.

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

Do you ever feel like the Mayday/Fahrenheit connections are just far, far too prevalent? This isn’t all that direct (not like last time), but doesn’t this just look like it should be the Fahrenheit guys in this picture, but Mayday was photoshopped in instead?

battle-ready, I guess

There are more pictures here.

The pictures are for Mayday’s promotion of the video game “Twelve Sky,” so they’re wearing video game warrior outfits. Worryingly, the boys LOVED their outfits, and they were jostling for glimpses of themselves all armored up in the mirror. Well, as long as these keep these costumes off the stage, I guess it’s okay… how’s that for grudging acceptance? But seriously, it just looks SO boybandy. I mean, look at this. ‘Nuff said.

On February 18th, Victor Wong held a concert in Hong Kong and his erstwhile singing companion Michael Wong appeared as the special guest. This means that the two have taken the stage together twice in the last few months, increasing speculation that they might be considering getting Wu Yin Liang Pin back together. Hearing this chatter, Victor begged for time, saying that both guys are with different labels, working on different aspects of their careers right now. It’s not yet the moment for considering reforming the group.

Victor was glad to be in Hong Kong, noting that his girlfriend lives there, so every time he has to change planes in the city he strikes out to see her. He did sing one song in Cantonese, noting that there were lots of Cantonese speakers where he grew up in Malaysia – he actually learned Mandarin second, so singing an occasional Cantonese song was not any particular hardship. On the 21st (um, today, I guess), Victor will join label-mates Fish Leong and Mayday for a performance in Macau.

Okay, jumping forward to the next totally unrelated topic: the first song from Superband 纵贯线 is now out, and it clearly demonstrates why the other guys wanted Chang Chen-yue in on it. They’ve just filmed the video, and they’ve got concerts scheduled for Taipei and Hong Kong next month and Beijing in April. The album should be out in early summer, or so go the rumors. [Edited to add: I'm going on record now that I love this. I think the album will be fantastic, and I hope they'll come down to the central regions on their tour. My spring schedule is just too tight for Beijing, but Shanghai/Nanjing is wide open....]

Finally, I have two random Mandopop Movie observations to make. First, I watched Butterfly Lovers on one of my many recent long-haul flights. Yes, I voluntarily watched a movie staring Wu Chun of Fahrenheit and one of the girls from TWINS (I forget their names, but it is the one who did NOT get into Edison Chen’s pictures), though I think we’ve established that I’ll watch anything at 35,000 feet (*coughhannahmontanacough*). It was showing, and I thought it would be diverting. Mostly, I was right. Neither pop star has much going for them in the acting department, but the first half at least was sorta cute. The cutest thing, though, was when the seventy-year-old Filipina woman in the seat next to me leaned over to tell me that she went out to see Wu Chun when he visited the Philippines to promote one of his dramas. “He’s SO handsome!” she sighed.

The second one is that Cape No. 7 has finally been released on the big screen here in China. It’s about about a half an hour shorter than the Taiwan version, so I might still go find that one eventually, but at least it’s out. I loved the movie so much – it was much funnier than I expected, and by the end I was really cheering for Old Mao to get his moment in the sun – that I stopped on the way home for the soundtrack. Highly recommended, and (note for American readers) available on Netflix. :P

Posted in Chang Chen-yue (A-yue), Fish Leong, Mayday, Victor Wong | 13 Comments »

Beginning the catch-up

Monday, February 16th, 2009

…and I’m back from my extended hiatus. I was looking at the calendar, and I’ve been in a new city every two days for the last three weeks. Basically I feel like a pop star, but without all the adoring fans. :P Anyway, what has Mayday et al. been up to of late?

First off, this is just a tiny little snippet of a news story, but it has me intrigued: Ashin joined TV hostess Sisy Chen and author Jiang Xun at Taipei Book Fair for an extended discussion on history, life, and the current state of the economy. Seriously, someone please tell me this has made it to YouTube.

Cheer Chen is heading to Shanghai for a concert on March 21, her first in four years. Tickets are already selling fantastically fast, and I might need to go to Shanghai (oh wait, that part is not actually news, is it?). They’re calling it the “Sun Concert,” for her latest single. (It doesn’t seem like Mayday news, does it? But I found the news based on the mention in the article that her most recent visit to Shanghai was to be the special guest at a Mayday concert.)

Ashin has been accused of plagiarizing a fifteen-year-old movie theme with the song “You’re Not Truly Happy,” though never having heard the original I’m not sure how legitimate the claim is. (The film is, um, “逃学威龙三之第七感抓财神.”) Such rumors were thrown around on “Mickey Mouse” on the last album, though to the best of my knowledge, this has not resulted in any kind of action against the man or the band.

Fish Leong was performing in Shanghai for Valentine’s Day (Ding Dang was the special guest), and speculation mounted about her boyfriend, who came to see her. She made a big point of saying that she would far rather not have any surprises coming, because it makes her nervous and she forgets lyrics. In other words: don’t follow the example of Stone or Guanyou and make major declarations during concerts.

StayReal and MSN have joined forces for a new pair of t-shirt designs. Playing off the theme of fantasy versus reality, one is sort of surrealist, and the other is more cute. MSN is using the t-shirts to mark their tenth anniversary in Taiwan.

Okay, more to come now this week. Really.

Posted in Cheer Chen, Fish Leong, Mayday | 7 Comments »

On to a new year…

Monday, January 26th, 2009

First of all, Happy New Year! We’ve got a few hours yet before midnight hits here in the American midwest, but of course the countdowns have already come and gone in Asia, and we are decidedly in the year of the ox. Here’s hoping it brings us a bull market. ;)

Mayday recently held a fan meeting for the premiere of their new video, “Like Smoke (如煙),” and while there they ran contests to see who in the band could act the best… with losers forced to drink bitter tea. Monster – who has played the lead in the most videos – was the big winner, with Stone being the one to drink the most tea, making exaggerated faces all the while. Guanyou was absent, likely caring for his now heavily pregnant wife.

B’in Music held their end of the year banquet, and although they didn’t have as much money to put into it, it still looks like a good time. They had a costume party, and a picture there reveals Monster as Captain Hook and Fish Leong as a curlered, house-coated old lady, along with assorted Champion dudes and roadies in costume.

Back to the subject of videos, this Leehom video is worth watching just for the teddy bear pajamas, though it also removes any doubt as to whether Leehom intended the song “我完全沒有任何理由理你” to make a jab at Xiao Chong for his comments on Leehom’s unoriginality as a songwriter on mainland Chinese television.

Now, back to the sales figures (less controversially though, I hope). Here’s the top twenty bestselling albums in Taiwan for 2008:

1. Mayday 五月天 Poetry of the Day After《後青春期的詩》4.58%
　　2. (Cowboy) Jay Chou 周杰倫 Capricorn《魔傑座》2.17%
　　3. Jam Hsiao 蕭敬騰 Self-titled Album《同名專輯》2.08%
　　4. Aska Yang 楊宗緯 Dove《鴿子》2.00%
　　5. Yoga Lin 林宥嘉 Mystery《神秘嘉賓》1.01%
　　6. S.H.E FM S.H.E.《我的電台FM S.H.E》0.92%
　　7. Original Motion Picture Soundtrack for Cape No. 7 電影原聲帶《海角七號》0.83%
　　8. Lollipop 棒棒堂 Gyashan (Not Afraid)《哪裡怕》0.78%
　　9. Show Luo 羅志祥 Trendy Man《潮男正傳》0.72%
　　10. Jing Wong 黃靖倫 Jing’s Note《倫語錄》0.72%
　　11. Joanna Wang 王若琳 Start from Here 0.71%
　　12. Fahrenheit 飛輪海 Two-Sided Fahrenheit《雙面飛輪海》0.70%
　　13. Rainie Yang 楊丞琳 Not Yet a Woman《半熟宣言》0.69%
　　14. Gary Cao 曹格 Super Sunshine 0.63%
　　15. Kenji Wu 吳克群 Poems for You《為你寫詩》0.63%
　　16. Leehom Wang 王力宏 Heart. Beat《心 跳》0.61%
　　17. F4 Waiting for You《在這裡等你》0.61%
　　18. Fish Leong 梁靜茹 Today is Valentine’s Day (New songs + Live)《今天情人節 新歌+Live》0.58%
　　19. Show Luo 羅志祥 Show Your Dance《舞所不在》0.57%
　　20. Aska Yang 楊宗緯 Star! Star! Live Concert CD《Star! Start!星空傳奇Live Concert 2CD》0.53%

Wow, is that really NOT anything like my list of my favorite 2008 albums. I should really post that list, actually – this is a good week for it, because Mandopop activities will come to a grinding halt so everyone can celebrate the New Year.

On a side note, though, after “Showtime,” “Expert Show,” “Hypnosis Show,” “SPESHOW,” and “Show Your Dance,” I suppose we should at least commend whoever writes Show Luo’s albums for him for coming up with an album title that isn’t a painfully bad pun.

Finally, G-Music for this week puts the girls on top – Fish Leong’s latest is on top, and number two is Cheer Chen – okay, that is unquestionably going to be a must-buy album for 2009. The first of many, I hope!

Posted in Cheer Chen, Cowboy Jay, Fish Leong, Leehom Wang, Mayday | 5 Comments »

Need it, got it, need it…

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

I am pausing to take stock in the new 2008 albums, an exercise sparked by the news that 1976 has a new album coming out shortly. The Taipei band has been on the scene for 12 years already, and their first single off the new album bodes well for the rest of it. It’s called “Knut (努特),” and it’s named after the Berlin Zoo polar bear that captured the hearts of so many around the world after it was abandoned by its mother and reared by a zookeeper. There’s a sad twist to the Knut story, as the zookeeper who raised him in his mother’s absence died very young of a sudden heart attack just over a week ago.

Polar bears have also become a sort of mascot for the fight against global warming, although not without controversy. Picking up on the theme, however, “Knut” addresses the issue of global climate change. You can hear the song and watch the fun video, complete with cartoon bear, here.

1976’s new album is called This Planet (這個星球),* and preorder sales have been so good there’s some talk about them shifting from being an underground band to a more mainstream act, following in the footsteps of the younger sodagreen.

Now, by my count, the albums I’ve been looking for this year that are already out include Jam Hsiao’s eponymous album (have it, but I’ve only listened once), Lu Guangzhong’s 100 Ways for Living 100種生活 (love it), Fusion’s If the Future 如果未来 (didn’t know I needed it ’til I had it, but I adore it…), Khalil Fong’s Wonderland 未來 (haven’t gotten it yet, but it’s easy to find here), PK 14’s City Weather Sailing 城市天气的航行 (on order), and 13 Band’s (erm) Horse-faced sailor’s summer (?) (馬臉水手的夏天) (need it, but I still don’t have the full-length Silver Sun from last year*). Hmm, is that everything? I am uncertain if I should care about Aska Yang or Yoga Lin. On the B’in Music front, there are new albums from Ding Dang, Champion, and Victor Wong, none of which I’ve snapped up yet.

I’m not sure what else is out that I’m missing. I tend to run a few months behind on releases, so a lot of the albums I acquired in the first half of this year were actually 2007 releases (or even earlier…). For example, I have just ordered Tanya Chua’s Hello & Goodbye – I know, I know. I’m terribly remiss on that one.

On the coming soon list, I see: Leehom (November 1, though delays still seem possible), Mayday (who knows when… they have been talking October, but if so, we should be starting to see preorder information), this 1976 album (due out October 24), Cowboy Jay (trying to shed his cowboy image, though I’m not sure he should get off that easy… album due out October 9). We’ve also been hearing that the new Fusion album has been in the recording stage for a while now, so presumably that will come out before the end of the year, and then there’s that whole A-yue superband idea, which may or may not be in the next few months given the fact that A-yue is currently touring; I wouldn’t say no to another album from just him, though. Wasn’t there still a collection of fast songs ready to go that didn’t make it onto the last album?

There are concert albums I sorta want from Cheer Chen and Tizzy Bac; I bought sodagreen’s right away (and now I’m waiting for the China version of the DVD…). I have not yet purchased the 7-Eleven Open Chan CD, though not out of protest so much as apathy. Maybe I’ll still pick it up, though. Cheer and Echo Band both had singles out this year. I’m watching now for news about future albums from Totem and Peng Tan; I’m not sure what is the current status of things for Deserts Chang or Secondhand Rose. But that’s already plenty to keep me busy for a little while, at least.

＊Update: Two corrections. (1) 1976 appears to be calling their new album Asteroid in English. (2) 13 Band’s 2007 album was called Are You the King? (你是王嗎?), not Silver Sun - the latter was the name of their 2006 EP.

Posted in Chang Chen-yue (A-yue), Cheer Chen, Fish Leong, Fusion Band, Leehom Wang, Mainland China Bands, Mandopop, Mayday, Sodagreen, Victor Wong | 7 Comments »

A very busy weekend for everyone

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008

Okay blogging has been light, I acknowledge, though that’s not just because there hasn’t been much going on in the Mayday world while they’re shut up in the studio finishing their new album. The real issue is something I have alluded to a few times in the last months, which is that I’m moving to China for work, erm, next week. Okay, this summer flew by. There’s a lot to do in the short term, but once I get settled there I should be back in business – posting from a slightly different time zone, but in far better position to stalk Fusion or, increasingly, Chang Chen-yue. More on him in a minute.

But first, older news. This time, the rumors of a Leehom-Rain joint performance at the Olympics Closing Ceremony proved true, and there they were (along with half the Mandopop and Cantopop worlds led by Jackie Chan, apparently, though they first sang a song with a handful of stars from the mainland and Hong Kong). The event was, however, Cowboy-free – Leehom was the only Taiwan (or, more accurately, American) artist there. You can catch it here, with fun Korean commentary. (I suspect they are required to lipsync, but on the audio track you can really hear Leehom’s voice coming through. I wonder if Rain struggled with the Mandarin, or if he sings more softly in general?) Yeah, I missed the televised version – I was too busy enjoying an evening of Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Buddy Guy, and Jonny Lang (though as we discussed after the show, only in the Twin Cities would Jonny Lang get top billing over Buddy Guy!). That capped off a near perfect day at the legendary Minnesota State Fair, which my sister has described here.

Okay, now that the Olympics are over, those of us in the U.S. will finally be getting a little more sleep, but there will also be a veritable deluge of new albums dropping in a pretty short span of time. New albums are expected from Leehom, Cowboy Jay, A-mei, Coco Lee, Jolin Tsai, Stephanie Sun, Wu Bai, Mayday, F.I.R., and S.H.E. Whew, that’s quite a list. Obviously, I’m not interested in all of these – in general, I’m more inclined to protest new S.H.E albums than buy them – but that is an impressive line-up. There are also some questions about what is in store for the future: will Jay remain a cowboy (ah, or to follow the article, will Jay continue his use of traditional Chinese music)? Does the whole Ironman/Music Man moniker mean a more rock-like direction for Leehom? Will Mayday to continue to become more and more mainstream pop? And, adding a few of my own, just exactly when is this second album expected from Fusion, or the sole effort from superband Western Line? Will Deserts Chang or Cheer Chen be putting out new albums? Well, there is much to anticipate, at any rate.

On August 23rd, two concerts were held simultaneously in Taipei to much fanfare: Lu Guangzhong (i.e. Vitas/Crow/Crowd Lu) and A-yue. The first of these two was attended by both Fish Leong and her new boyfriend and old flame Masa, so you can imagine the headlines. That little melodrama aside, the concert apparently was great fun. Vitas/Crow/Crowd (seriously, someone help me here: what’s his OFFICIAL English name?) appeared in his trademark shorts and mushroom-head haircut, but he had a slightly sore throat. In spite of this he tried to show off his “dolphin voice” (right… he can mimic Russian singer Vitas, known for his high voice), and he sang versions of “I will always love you” (okay, I have this album and I really like this guy, but… what a horrible song) and “Loving You.” Anyway, the more than 3,000 fans in attendance were highly entertained.

Now, as for A-yue… well, get your very best wolf-whistle ready. For one section of the concert, A-yue appeared in traditional aboriginal dress, and can I just say, I had no idea before what was underneath all those baggy clothes he normally wears:

A-yue

A-yue was joined by his band Free 9 for the “Work and Play MTV Live” Concert on Saturday. He turned the venue into a hip-hop party, featuring a performance from band Monkey Pilot (猴子飛行員) – the lead singer of which called for those present to do away with sodagreen and Mayday. (Heh – not unlike the jokes from the superbanders lately… we know which bands are on top in Taipei, obviously.) The nearly 4,000-strong crowd enjoyed the DJ for an hour before the concert started… though when the concert began, the DJ ripped off his fake beard and the crowd discovered it was A-yue all along. Now, A-yue may talk hip-hop, but his music is still mostly rock, and that was clear from the time he started singing. During the aboriginal section of the concert, he sang along with Totem Band (aaaahhhh… that would have been amazing. If you have not enjoyed this video from Totem yet, run on over – that song is fantastic and the video is marvelous) (and Suming is adorable, let’s be honest).

A-yue will be taking his act to Shanghai on August 30, with special guest Cheer Chen (!!). If you hate that you’re missing this concert, imagine how I feel – I’ll get to China a few days later. ARGH. (That day is also the Chang Yu-sheng memorial concert, so we’ll have lots of news for early September.) Ah well, he is supposedly touring all over China this fall; I hope he follows through with that. If I can get an A-yue ticket, I am willing to travel.

In much sadder news, last month Little Stone ended up with a case of salmonella – he was hospitalized for a week while his scared parents worried, but he seems to have recovered now.

Finally, if there are any Shin Band fans out there still scratching their heads over Shin’s departure last year, I’d suggest you take a look at this comment, which really sheds some light on the situation. I remain skeptical about Shin’s solo career, though I also think it might be better for the band to take on a new name now.

Posted in Chang Chen-yue (A-yue), Cheer Chen, Fish Leong, Leehom Wang, Mandopop and the Olympics, Mayday | 7 Comments »

Olympic contests and concerts

Monday, July 21st, 2008

This summer, the world has the Olympics on the brain. Joining in on the fever, Taiwan Taxi company is starting a new promotion: every time you ride in one of their taxis between now and the end of the month, you can win a chance to go to Beijing for the Olympics. Even if you don’t win that grand prize, between August 1st and 3rd there are the “Olympics Get the Gold Concerts,” and you could win a VIP ticket.

Hmph. Suddenly I’m feeling discontent with the level of service my local taxi companies provide.

Anyway, taxis can be hailed on the street, or ordered online or via cell phone, and all rides between now and July 30 count. The winner will receive a roundtrip plane ticket from Taipei to Beijing (ooooh, is this one of the new nonstop flights? I CANNOT WAIT to take one. Seriously. I’m trying to invent an excuse :) ).

As for that concert prize, artists performing at the event include Jolin Tsai, Fish Leong, Chang Chen-yue, Cheer Chen, Cherry Boom, Xiao Huang-chi (蕭煌奇), and others. There’s also an amusement park and a variety of related activities. Winning one of a limited number of VIP cards will ensure a great time at the concerts… and a safe ride home at the end.

In addition to these activities, they’ll be running a second promotion in August, in which people riding in their taxis will have an opportunity to win a trip to Beijing for the Paralympic Games, which take place September 7 -17.

Posted in Chang Chen-yue (A-yue), Fish Leong, Mandopop and the Olympics | 5 Comments »

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