16
Jun

Sungha Jung in Manila!

Stage

Sungha Jung played his greatest hits and some popular tunes last night, and oh boy it was a glorious night of guitar music.

I was so excited when I found out months ago that Sungha Jung would be performing here in Manila. When the official dates were announced, I was even more excited. When the tickets became available I was disheartened when I logged on to Ticketworld only to find that the cheapest tickets were sold out. Good thing I checked back 3 weeks ago. When I saw that tickets were still available I immediately booked one. I will not miss it, definitely.

And so last night, I found myself at the lobby of the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila, lining up to buy a CD. If you buy a CD you could line up to have it signed after the show, but I find the time to be a wee bit late, and as I live up north I might have problems going home. Besides, there were 300 CD buyers who’d line up. I consoled myself that at least I get to hear him perform live.

The doors opened at 7PM. After finally getting Paint It Acoustic, I went to the doors, had my bag checked (cameras were allowed to be brought in but not allowed to be used during the performance), and wondered at the place. It’s like a large cinema with carpeted floors and red upholstered stadium seats (lesson learned – don’t wear red when watching at Newport Theater – see image below). The stage is so wide you could probably put in an IMAX screen in there. (Look at the image above.)

I was actually afraid that not a lot would come and watch, but I was glad that only a few seats were empty by the time the opening act started. I was a bit amused and annoyed, though, that Filipino time reared its ugly head. Halfway through the first set, you could see people still streaming in.

As I have said, Sungha played some of his original pieces plus covers of popular songs, including songs by Bruno Mars and Maroon 5 and a KPop singer/group whose name I wasn’t able to understand (Sungha speaks English, but his pronunciation is heavily Korean accented). His ukulele rendition of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme and music from Super Mario Brothers (see live performance video of the two here) got cheers from the audience (I admit I was looking forward to him playing the Super Mario music using ukulele, and I was quite happy when he did). He started the second set by playing Pachelbel’s Canon in D using an electric guitar.

The audience appreciated the technicality of finger style guitar playing by clapping on very technical parts of the music. As a non-player, I could see the difficulty in playing, but Sungha is a prodigy and played with ease.

Probably the highlight of the night was the last piece of the second set. In the middle of the “brief” intermission (the only slight I could cite for the night – really, how long is brief?), I thought maybe he should have planned on playing a Filipino song. When he announced that he was about to play The Eraserheads’ classic Ang Huling El Bimbo, the audience roared! (I am having goosebumps right now as I remember that part). Some of the audience sang while Sungha played. You could just appreciate that he took time to learn the piece, and I am sure the transcription alone took time. He did not play it perfectly, but for me it was a fitting climax to the set. UPDATE: Youtube video!!!!

He did two encore pieces together with opening act Alyza Barro, which I found to be anti-climactic after El Bimbo. The two pieces were technical in nature, and the audience knew those pieces were hard to play.

Two screens were set up at both ends of the stage. It was a good thing since I was seated the second to the last row and so I couldn’t see much. The stage was almost bare, with a chair over a carpet, plus guitar stands, amplifiers, and lights. I found the addition of the carpet to be tacky. The backdrop of star lights was glorious, though they must have forgotten they had it installed, since they only turned them on on several songs, then on throughout the last parts of the second set.

But then again, it’s all about the music, and Sungha Jung did not disappoint, most especially this fan. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance, and I know he’ll get better with his guitar playing. I look forward to see him play again here.

Sungha Jung!

17
Apr

Let It Be on violin and cello

Wow. Let It Be never sounded so cool. I like this very much. I just find the shifting between the two awkward. But yeah.

17
Jun

B1A4 – OK

OK, my newest amusement: this music video from the Korean boyband B1A4. Seriously, the music is catchy, and that dance step when they sing “I love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.”

I know you want to sing along, so here are the romanized words:

OK That’s right
B1A4
OOH OOH I’m closer baby

Cheotneune piri kkojhyeo neo wa na
Love me love me love me Love me love me baby
Eunmuhi jugobadneun meshiji
Tell me tell me tell me now

Namjadeul chim heullimyeo neoman bwa
Love me love me love me Love me love me baby
Cheongsunhan geullaemeoe puk ppajyeo
Show me show me show me now (show me now)

Wae neoeui sumsoriga kkok jumun cheoreom deullilkka
Neol pihal giri eopseo eome ijinghan sarama

OK, girl neoegeman yes man
Mweodeunji da haejulge
OK, girl ijebuteo nikkeoya
I love you~

Naneun ne namja (neoneun nae yeoja)
Yeongweonhi nareul modu gajyeo
OK, girl meoributeo balkkaji
I love you~

Hwansange ppajin deuthan
Modeun geol da gajin deuthan
Meomchweosseum hae i shigan
I wanna get yours be mine (so hot)

Gwiyeoun fox
Dalkkomhan yuhoge geuman pok
Seumyeodeureopseo neomankkeumeun
Yeongweonhi jikkyeojulge kkok

Neol chaja irijeori hemaesseo
Love me love me love me Love me love me baby
Eodie sumeo itta nawasseo
Tell me tell me tell me now

Wae neoeui balsuriga kkok mabeob cheoreom kkeullilkka
Na jeongshin mot charige eodeijinghan sarama

OK, girl neoegeman yes man
Mweodeunji da haejulge
OK, girl ijebuteo nikkeoya
I love you~

Naneun ne namja (neoneun nae yeoja)
Yeongweonhi nareul modu gajyeo
OK, girl meoributeo balkkaji
I love you~

I need you I’ll never let you go
Saranghandago soksagyeojweo
Neol bomyeon nal bukkeureoweo
I’ll never wanna leave you, Kiss me now
Peo peo peobeulkkeom cheoreom
Sujubeun han sonyeo OK

Ingiga manheun neo sashireun na buranhande you~
Haengbokhan bimyeongin geol!

OK, girl neoegeman yes man
Mweodeunji da haejulge
OK, girl ijebuteo nikkeoya
I love you~ WOW OH WOW OH

Naneun ne namja (neoneun nae yeoja)
Yeongweonhi nareul modu gajyeo
OK, girl meoributeo balkkaji
I love you~ WOW OH WOW OH

OK, girl neoegeman yes man
Mweodeunji da haejulge
OK, girl ijebuteo nikkeoya
I love you~

OK

English translation:

At first glance, there was a connection between you and I
Love me love me love me love me love me baby
We secretly exchanged messages
Tell me tell me tell me now
Guys look at you and drooled
Love me love me love me love me love me baby

Caught up in your innocent glamour
Show me show me show me now
Why do I hear your breathing as if it’s a spell
There’s no way to avoid you, you amazing person

O.K girl, I’m all yours, yes man
I’ll do everything for you
O.K girl, from now on, I’m yours
I love you
I’m your man (You’re my woman)
You have all of me forever
From head to toe, I love you

As if caught up in a fantasy
As if having everything
Even time seems to stop
I wanna get yours be mine (so hot)
Cute fox, I can’t resist your sweet temptation
I heard a weep and it’s not cool
I’ll protect you forever

I’m searching everywhere for you
Love me love me love me love me love me baby
Come out from wherever you’re hiding
Tell me tell me tell me now
Why do your footsteps drag on like magic
I can’t get my head straight, you amazing person

O.K girl, I’m all yours, yes man
I’ll do everything for you
O.K girl, from now on, I’m yours
I love you
I’m your man (You’re my woman)
You have all of me forever
From head to toe, I love you

I need you I’ll never let you go
After I whispered ‘I love you’, I feel shy whenever I see you
I’ll never wanna leave you, liss me now
A shy girl like bubble-gum
The popular you makes me unsettled
You! It’s a happy scream

O.K girl, I’m all yours, yes man
I’ll do everything for you
O.K girl, from now on, I’m yours
I love you
I’m your man (You’re my woman)
You have all of me forever
From head to toe, I love you

O.K girl, I’m all yours, yes man
I’ll do everything for you
O.K girl, from now on, I’m yours
I love you

(Lyrics from here.)

8
Jun

What voice!

Got teary-eyed while watching this video. I wonder if it was because of his story, or because of his voice.

UPDATE: I first saw this video over YouTube last Wednesday via Facebook. Back then, the video had a view count of more than 300k. Today, June 9, 2011, the view count was almost 2.5m! Wow.

Been thinking of this video. If you liked it, and caused you to shed a tear or so, what do you think is the reason it made you cry or teary-eyed? Was it because of his story? Or his voice? Or both? Yesterday, I was thinking, what if I just heard his voice but never knew of his background. Would the effect still the same? And what if there was no subtitles in the video? What do you think?

Ok, on the “technical” side of things: I saw several videos over YouTube of people singing the same song. I saw the Paul Potts version, the Russel Watson video, another version by another Korean, and someone by a student. The first two being products of the same genre (TV reality talent show), these two versions are of interest. For some reasons, I find the two inferior; their versions lacked depth, as if their voices were too hollow, too weak. Sung Bong Choi is better, frankly.

(I did saw Il Divo’s version – I excluded them because I couldn’t bear it. Their version’s not too good.)