Okay, so I meant to post this earlier this week, but about halfway through I was overwhelmed with bitterness (you’ll see why when you get there), and then I never quite finished it. Now, however, I have other things I want to say, so I need to get this one out of the way. So without further ado….
The Superband began their tour recently, which means rumors about the group are flying. There was a news report the other day that Emil Chou was giving up vast amounts of earnings for the sake of the band, to which he replied that he’s never spoken with the reporter making the assertion. He also notes that he’s learning a lot from the arrangement, especially about composing (and especially from A-yue, who has a very different style from him).
As for rumors that the Superband has been slow to release songs because they cannot agree on the writing process, well, that’s sorta true; the band’s spokesman says that disputes and disagreements can help create much better work. That said, they are not having serious fights about things. They say they don’t expect to be able to produce like Beyond, but they are coming up with new ideas and having the young Chang Chen-yue is particularly helpful in this regard. As they begin their concert tour, however, their new songs will finally be introduced to the world.
Now, has the economy forced the band to schedule fewer concerts on the mainland? Rumors were flying that they scaled back from 30 concert venues to six. Not true, say their representatives: they have already made plans for 17-8 shows; they just won’t announce shows before they’re sure they can happen, that’s all. Beijing concert tickets are selling well, and the band is scheduled to play on July 11 in Shanghai, and they do not worry about the challenge of playing within a week of Mayday. (Do not tell me that Mayday is playing Shanghai when I am back in the US for a few weeks… yup, the ticketing agencies are listing them as playing July 3-4. I guess Toronto was just an interregnum, and now they return to their usual practice of only visiting places when there’s no way I can be there. Why, oh why, does Mayday plot against me???) They have already announced shows in Beijing, Hangzhou, Xi’an, Chengdu, and Chongqing.
Now, the first performance of the Superband has taken place in Taipei, and of course Mayday sent flowers and even went backstage before the show to wish the band the best (a jocular Lo Ta-yu caught sight of them and started saying “Ah, our seniors!” To which a panicked Mayday replied that no, the Superbanders were actually their respected elders.
They sang songs from the catalogs of each of the four men. A-yue did a man-with-guitar performance of “Intersection,” but he struggled through “Yearning Is a Kind of Sickness” because a freidn of his had recently died (oh wow, that’s pretty horrible). On a lighter note, they haven’t worked out all the chinks in the system yet; when introducing themselves, Emil Chau yelled “We are…” then he yelled “Superband!” (in English) and the rest of the band yelled in Chinese, “纵贯线!” Haha, whoops. Concert attendees included lots of Rock Records artists and alums, including Mayday, Champion, Victor Wong, Renee Liu, and Genie Zhuo; David Tao and supermodel Lin Zhi-ling were also in attendance.
Yeah, still bitter here. *sigh*
oh man~~! You’lll miss out on the Shanghai concert. T_T…. I l luv reading your concert reviews.
Oh well~ They should be back there soon.
Oh, btw, do you know if they’ll be playing at the mini dome in Taipei anytime in the following months?
I went to their website, but I can seem to find their tour schedule.