REVIEW: Lee Hom (Music Man II Concert 2013)

Taiwanese singer, Wang Lee Hom, recently held his first ever concert in Australia, with Sydney as his first stop on his Music Man II 2013 tour and we were lucky enough to score two VIP tickets.

Like other late 80's kids, we were very much aware of Lee Hom's music and popularity. Songs such as Wei Yi and Ni Bu Zai were frequently hummed by friends and played in every mall and radio station. But I was decidedly not a fan and combined with my limited command of Mandarin, we were not sure what to expect. This concern turned out to be unwarranted, however. The show was, in one word, awesome.

It seemed that every Asian in Sydney came out that night and the Entertainment Centre was packed with tens of thousands of die hard fans.

The opening song, 火力全開 (Open Fire), turned out to be a lot more energetic than the studio version and was easily my favorite. This bombastic performance set the vibe for the rest of the concert.

As he switched from upbeat to mellow tracks, the man proved himself to be a versatile musician. He rapped. He played the piano. He played an electric guitar shaped like an awesome dragon.

Also violin.

And Chinese instrument erhu. Point made.

One of the best parts about the show was the effective use of big screen that coordinated with each song. The visuals during the jazzy song Love Love Love were rather impressive.

The stage also turned into black and white animation during 竹林深處 (In the Depths of the Bamboo Forest), followed with acapella medley with six other versions of himself on stage.

Someone had planned a surprise proposal for his girlfriend at the Sydney show. Look at what this guy has done. Now every woman out there would demand a proposal in the middle of a concert with tens of thousand people as audience. 

Like everyone else in the room, Lee Hom anxiously braced for her answer. Fortunately, she said yes and he dedicated the next song for the couple.

Lee Hom also showed a clip of his charity works, before proceeding to have a duet with a talented girl from local school. He incited laughters from the audience when he asked the girl's name in English and she replied in perfect Chinese.

He did a great job in engaging the audience and really came off as humble and extremely talented. He told fans that previously, he could only dream of performing in the same stage as world famous musicians. He had been to Australia once before as a tourist.

At one point, as we were all standing on the chairs, a cameraman came to shoot the crowd's cheers and screams, which was then uploaded to his official Weibo (Chinese equivalent of Facebook) and Youtube account. He had asked the audience for a good Aussie catchphrase, hence the "Oi oi oi" in the video.

After the show, he came out for an encore and obliged us with several more songs.

My final note on the show? I was converted.