AARON KWOK LIVE ON STAGE 2000/01

The date is December 20, 2000. The time is a quarter past eight in the evening. I am sat right at the top of the Hong Kong Coliseum looking down on the stage where Canto-pop star Aaron Kwok will be performing another night of his concert tour. I look all around me: people are filling in the empty seats in the thousands, from little children to young teenagers to adults, couples, middle-aged people and even elderly people. It looks as if this will be another almost-full house yet again. I tingle in excitement as I await the Heaven King of Dance to appear on stage. This is the first time I see him live on stage, and the first time I have attended a Canto-pop concert in five whole years. The last one being Jacky Cheung's mega-concert held at the Nynex Arena in Manchester, England. That was one hell of a night; I hope this one won't disappoint.

I open a glo-stick and its watery chemicals start to give off its luminescence. I look at my watch and I shiver with more excitement as I realise that the show is about to begin. A few more minutes later... suddenly the overhead lights dim, the stage is surrounded in a flurry of colourful flashing lights, the music starts to roll, and the dancers appear on stage. As the bass drums into my very heart, I see the dancers are already playing out their rehearsed dancing routine. All of a sudden, Aaron, dressed elaborately in bright green shirt and bright purple shiny trousers rises from the stage, and sings his first dance song of the night.

Going to see an Aaron Kwok concert is like going to see a theatrical production. The whole setup is big, loud and ostentatious. It is also a very extravagant affair that involves at least twenty dancers, lots of costume changes, and the best dance routines you'll ever see anywhere in the world. Aaron is a born dancer, and some of the stuff he does on stage will make you hold your breath, and stops you from blinking because you just don't want to miss seeing any of it. However, Aaron is not a born singer. Ever since becoming one of the Four Heaven Kings of Hong Kong, he had to commit himself to improving his singing very strongly. Over the past five years, he had made a significant improvement on his vocal abilities, and it shows in the concert. He sings loud and confident.

Aaron is a very good entertainer; he certainly knows how to please his audience. After the first song, he quickly turned on his charms as he spoke to the audience in a lively manner, asking the audience to participate along with him as he jokes along with us. There was a bit when he promoted his new film (China Strike Force) which was highly amusing, eliciting laughter from the thousands of people watching.

Dancing and singing at the same time takes a lot out of you, and Aaron is in peak physical shape which allows him to indulge in his complicated dance routines. However, no one can do it all the way throughout a nearly three-hour concert, so Aaron usually puts in a number of slow ballads to keep himself in shape. But no one would go to an Aaron Kwok concert to see him perform only ballads. It is seeing him dance that is the main drawing point. And boy, can he dance. Although I have to admit that his dress sense is a bit on the 'weird' side. He changes his costumes at least seven times in a concert, and every single of his outfits are so ostentatious it borders on the extreme. He mixes Western ideas with Eastern culture, and seeing him do a kung-fu dance routine in a Western suit is quite positively admirable.

Nearly every Canto-pop concert held at the HK Coliseum would have the singers go and shake the audiences' hands. But only a section of the audience will be privileged, and even only a lucky few will get that chance. But it is good that they do this because it leaves a good impression on the audience, although the ones who don't get the chance might feel left out. Aaron also made a tribute to the Heaven King group by singing one song each from his three other brother-kings (Andy Lau, Leon Lai and Jacky Cheung) by saying that these past ten years have been very special and have given the four of them to shine in ways that probably would not have been possible otherwise.

Being a British-born Chinese, I have a limited grasp of the Canto-pop language myself. So a lot of the time, I don't have a clue what the songs are about, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying the concert. I have a Caucasian friend who loves Canto-pop, but he doesn't understand the language too. So it shows that one can appreciate good music without ever understanding it. I would highly recommend non-Chinese people to see a live Canto-pop concert, just to be able to see the difference between a Canto-pop concert and a Western concert. Go in with an open mind and I'd bet you will not be disappointed.

I certainly wasn't disappointed with tonight's concert. The only gripe is that on a number of occasions the music was so loud that it often drowned out Aaron's vocals, and there were a couple of songs that he didn't sing. His encore lasted about twenty minutes of which he sang five fast songs. He didn't perform any complicated dance routines, but just stood there jumping up and down with his large assemble of dancers and sang his heart out for us. Since it was Christmas, he sang us the Merry Xmas song as a finale.

The thought comes to mind as to how he is able to best this concert in 2002. I am one who cannot wait to see that. In the meantime, I'd just have to wait another year for Jacky Cheung and Leon Lai's concerts. Now those shows are worth watching as well. If ever when you visit Hong Kong, and one of these Heaven Kings are holding a concert, just pay $100 and marvel at one of the greatest entertainers in the world.

[The DVD edition has 36 songs on one disc. The VCD edition comes on two discs but has only 33 songs, due to the limited capacity.]