BEST
Wei Bird 2017 Concert, Resorts World Theatre, Oct 28
Given that shows are now planned down to the last note, Taiwanese singer-songwriter Wei Li-an's 20-minute encore was a lovely surprise. He emerged with a guitar and proceeded to take requests before ending the night with the delicate beauty of Cloudy Sunflower.
The rest of the show was not too shabby either. Live, he was an affable presence whose pipes shone whether he was rocking out on Wolves or soaring in his falsetto range on early track Translation Exercise. He seemed comfortable enough on stage that one would not guess that he is, in his own words, an introvert.
Eason Chan Says C'mon In~ Tour In Singapore, Singapore Indoor Stadium, Dec 3
Usually, when an album is released, only a few numbers from it would be plugged and performed in concerts. Hong Kong singer Eason Chan tried something different with the C'Mon In~ tour, which is also the title of his latest Mandarin record. He performed all 10 tracks, giving each its moment to breathe on stage.
It worked, thanks to his reliably fine vocals and the strength of the material, which ranged from the retro dance of Hai Dan (Sigh) to the poignant balladry of Shei Lai Jian Yue Guang (Miss).
MICappella You And I Live In Concert 2017, Capitol Theatre, Nov 4
The a cappella sextet started out doing covers and have since gone on to put out an entire album of original material with last year's MICappella Reloaded.
They were at their best here in the high-octane original numbers One Of These Days and Never Be Defeated, in which all the elements - from the vocal percussion to the harmonisation - formed a satisfying whole. In their biggest solo show to date on home ground, they conveyed the joy and excitement of coming together to make music.
WORST
Least enjoyable aspect of concerts: queues
Long snaking queues to get into gig venues are now par for the course. But people are stoic about the fact that this is the new normal, with enhanced security checks a necessity in a time of terror threats.
Maybe we should take heed of what Bono from Irish rock band U2 said in Paris. The band were rehearsing in the city during the deadly attacks in November 2015 at a rock concert by Eagles Of Death Metal that took 89 lives inside Paris' Bataclan venue. Bono said: "Be vigilant, but be unafraid."
