David Tao 2008
Singapore Indoor Stadium

It was a fitting concert to cap a 14-year detour, which was how Taiwan-based David Tao described his foray into music.
The singer, and aspiring director, entertained the 7,000-strong crowd over three hours with a well-thought-out show packed with little surprises throughout.
The boyish-looking 38-year-old emerged on stage in a burst of burgundy. He was decked out in a spiffy ensemble of vest and slacks paired with a polka-dotted shirt and tie.
An early highlight was Close To You (Tian Tian) as Tao strummed the acoustic guitar and caressed the lyrics with a lightly slurred delivery.
He also made good on his promise to feature new arrangements for most of his songs.
This was a gamble since the crowd could not always rely on familiar aural cues to get pumped up but the assured showman had a few tricks up his sleeve.
A thumping bassline anchored the slinky and sexy Let's Fall In Love (Tao Yan Hong Lou Meng) while a laser show complemented the aggro-rock of Ghost.
The crowd was even entertained by a Chinese pipa solo which segued into Susan Said, while Indian tabla drums and a belly dancer served as the introduction for Marry Me Today.
While his reinterpretations of old favourites can be a hit-or-miss affair, his sassy, show-stopping version of Moon Over My Heart saw him scatting and swooping all over the keyboard accompaniment.
But Tao also knew when to leave well enough alone. Regular Friends was backed by a pair of acoustic guitars and the crowd gave a roar of approval when the first few notes were plucked.
The entertainer bantered in a teasing manner with his fans in English and Mandarin and struck up an easy rapport with them.
He cheekily noted that Singapore was a fine city, but since 'they can't fine you all', he had the hall cheerfully yelling out Wang Ba Dan (Bastard) for his track of the same name.
The crooner had previously said that the applause he received here was the shortest of all the cities he performed in, but 'I feel something is different in the air tonight'.
And he later added, in all earnestness: 'I'm seriously considering moving to Singapore.'
Now that's a detour that fans here definitely approve of.
(ST)