Loud Festival

Singapore Indoor Stadium

Last Friday

It was only when King of Mandopop Jay Chou came on stage that the concert really lived up to its name.

He was the final act after indie Taiwanese band sodagreen, sultry popster Landy Wen, newcomer singer-songwriter Cindy Yen and home-grown band Ang Moh Pais had performed.

Fans who had remained glued to their seats the entire night before Chou appeared shot to their feet the moment his 30-minute set started. No one needed to ask which star the sold-out crowd of 8,000 was there for.

While there was understandably no elaborate set on stage like there would be for Chou’s solo concerts, there was still an attempt to jazz up the production with props such as coffins for the opening number Herbalist’s Manual.

Chou, in a red jacket over T-shirt and jeans, was relaxed and had the crowd eating out of his hand with his every gesture. He played the piano, strummed the guitar, showed off his human beatboxing and worked in mentions of Singapore and his fans into the songs.

The consummate entertainer also presented a reworked version of Nunchucks, danced to Free Tutorial Video and sang The Last Battle, which he seldom performs live.

By the time he launched into the original rap version of Nunchucks for his last number, he had the stadium dancing and chorusing along.

In the fight for second place at the Chinese music festival, so to speak, opening act sodagreen had their share of supporters as well.

Lead singer Wu Ching-feng was in fine form be it hitting the high notes on early favourite Little Love Song or teasing his bandmates during the introductions. Best of all, the band performed two tracks from their upcoming album, What Is Troubling You. The Limits Of Happiness and Like Loneliness both bear sodagreen’s hallmark traits of sensitive lyrics and beautiful melodies, and certainly whetted one’s appetite for the new offering.

Popster Landy Wen performed a set as long as Chou’s without coming close to his success. Her voice sounded rougher and more strained than on recordings. As if to overcompensate, the volume on the sound system went way up.

Surprisingly for Wen, who is arguably more famous for being eye candy, her ballads Wish Me Happy Birthday and Fool received the most positive reaction, over the slinky dance moves she used to seduce the audience.

Newcomers Cindy Yen and Ang Moh Pais filled out the roster with three numbers each. The band rocked out on the crowd-pleasing getai remake One Million while Yen left an impression with her hot pants rather than her vocal prowess.

The lone encore featured Chou and Wen dueting on Rooftops in mismatched outfits. Unfortunately, it was the only collaboration among the acts.

Surely the hot ticket would have been a jam between Chou and sodagreen. Maybe next time?

(ST)