Cheer Chen A Piece of Summer Concert 2007
Singapore Expo’s Max Pavilion
It took a while for last Saturday to transform into a hot summer night – entertainment-wise.
Two years after her last concert here, Taiwanese indie darling Cheer Chen, 32, was back to kick off proceedings alone with her guitar to perform Coffeeshop In Chiufen.
The decision to fill the first half of the set with slower numbers meant that it took some time for the near-capacity crowd of over 3,500 – mainly students and people in their 20s and 30s – to warm up.
Even her hit track Lonely Without You was delivered in a low-key manner, albeit with a touch of whimsy provided by visuals of the Slow sign painted on roads.
Still, it was difficult not to surrender to her soft-spoken, tentative banter and vulnerability of her vocals and lyrics.It helped too that Chen, in a white dress over jeans and sporting a floral head garland at the start, gave new twists to the songs.
Enemy, which was originally guitar-backed, was now accompanied by a steady drumbeat.But Chen upped the tempo with the English-language track Sentimental Kills, ironically one of the weaker songs in her oeuvre.
The crowd got to their feet during a muscular performance of In My Closet and stood on their seats when Chen mingled with the audience during the playful Female Star.
When the wistful Travel Is Meaningful came on, true-blue fans donned their array of helmets as did Chen and her band. She had previously said that she was often inspired while riding on a motorbike.
Chen let her songs do most of the talking over the three-hour show though she briefly explained the title of the concert. “It’s not just about one summer but it’s the best part of life and I hope it’ll always be summer for you.”
Which was why her fans chorused for encore after encore.“It’s so rare to come here, I don’t want to leave either,” said Chen, basking in their adoration.
The sixth and final encore came unexpectedly after the main lights were turned on and people were filing out of the hall. As Chen crooned Breezy You, you, too, wished that this one glorious summer night would never end.
(ST)