MAY 10, 2008

Kenny G's Concert

I’ve been back in Hong Kong for two days doing some work that needed to be done. Actually, Kenny G just happened to be in Hong Kong for his concert so I met up with him, had a few drinks, and we chatted together. During the whole time, he kept asking me if I was going to attend his concert. I said to him that I was really busy and might not be able to go because I’d just gotten back to Hong Kong and there were a lot of things waiting for me to do. I could tell from his sincere invitation that he really wanted me to go but he understood that I was busy and said it was okay that I couldn’t make it.
 
Yesterday, after I had a meeting, I quickly rushed home, changed my clothes and then headed towards the Asia-World Expo exhibition center which is near Hong Kong airport. Kenny G didn’t know that I was going to attend his concert. I purposely told him that I was too busy and couldn’t make it to his show because I wanted to give him a surprise. Besides, I’m the tourism ambassador for Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific region so of course I would go and watch his concert as a way to express my welcome to him. Apart from that, he’s also my friend.

I arrived at the Asia-World Expo center and saw all the seats near the front of the stage were already full. There were only a few empty seats left scattered around the back of the hall and from what I could see, I think the place was about 80-90% full.

I remember saying to Kenny G when we were in Beijing how I hoped I could make a request for him to play the theme song, Endless Love, from The Myth at his concert. When Kenny G was on the stage, he complacently said to the audience how it only took one day for him to learn how to play this song. At the time, he still didn’t know I was present at the concert. He then started speaking some mediocre but well attempted Cantonese and said, “Jackie asked me to play this song for you.” Right at that moment, I went on stage and gave him a bouquet of flowers. Kenny G was totally surprised and also very happy because he wasn’t expecting to see me. He even said, “Of all the shows I’ve done over the years, this is the coolest experience I’ve ever had!”

After I gave him the flowers, we hugged, kissed each other on the cheek and then I walked off the stage. I didn’t say much as I thought it would be inappropriate because this was Kenny G’s concert and I didn’t want to steal his limelight. Even after I came off the stage, I didn’t go back and sit with the audience out the front because I was afraid if I did, reporters would start taking photos of me which would end up disturbing Kenny G so I just went backstage and quietly admired the beautiful music being played. One thing I noticed about the audience who came to watch Kenny G is that they were quite different from the crowds I’ve seen at other concerts. At this concert, the audience didn’t make any disturbing noises; they quietly listened to the music and didn’t scream or shout. Each time Kenny G played a piece of music, the audience would just listen and enjoy his performance. The when the song finished, everyone would applaud. This is quite different from the situations I’ve seen at modern day pop concerts.

Over the years, I’ve been to many concerts and noticed a variety of different crowds. I know that a lot of people go to concerts with a group of friends just to socialize and have an enjoyable time. Some people only go and watch concerts, meaning that they mainly concentrate on looking at the pretty stage design, the different acts during each part of the concert, the singer’s apparel and appearance, and other visual things. Whether a performer sings well or not isn’t really important to them. Then there are people who go to concerts purely to support their favorite singers. Just as long as their idol is performing on stage, no matter if they sing well or not so well, these people would still cheer them on by yelling out words of support and calling the singer’s name. Sometimes the screams from these people drown out the voice of the singer. Anyway, whatever mood the audience might be in, everyone has their own reasons for going to a concert. As for me, I personally prefer a concert that is not too fancy, like the one by Kenny G. He didn’t wear any glamorous onstage clothes - only wore a casual shirt while performing, and he didn’t have a multi-colored stage setting but he still managed to mesmerize the audience with his enchanting music.

I don’t think I need to say much more about Kenny G’s musical achievements. I actually don’t know if there is going to be successor to Kenny G but at least we’ve been fortunate enough to listen to his music for so many years and I know a lot of people have thoroughly enjoyed his work. Many of my friends like Sally Yip (she’s a very well known female artist in Asia) bought Kenny G’s musical CD so he could autograph it. Even people like big bosses of business companies all the way down to the staff in my house bought his CD for him to sign. I think Kenny G’s music has absolutely no cultural boundaries. People of different nationalities, social backgrounds, and age groups enjoy listening to his music. I’m so happy and honored to have met Kenny G. He is a musician that I really like.

After the concert, I went with Kenny G to a friend’s private club and we spent some time chatting together. We talked for quite a while before we both went our separate ways. Tomorrow, I’ll be heading off to Beijing where I’ll be concentrating on doing some charity work, non-charity work, and some Olympics related promotional work. Okay, I’ll talk to you some more when I have time. Bye bye!

©2008 The JC Group. All Rights Reserved.

May 10 (星期六)

Kenny G的演奏會：

          我回來香港兩天了，做了一些應該做的工作。其實，剛巧Kenny G來到香港開演奏會，我跟他見面、喝點東西，聊聊天，他一直問我會不會出席他的演奏會，我說我很忙，因為剛回到香港不久，有很多事情等著我做，應該不會去了。我看得出他熱情邀請我，他知道我忙，不能來也沒關係了。

          昨天，開會以後，我馬上回家換衣服，前赴香港機場附近的亞洲博覽館。我的出現，Kenny G是不知道的，我為了給他來來驚喜，故意說我不能出席，但是，我身為香港和亞太區的旅遊大使，我肯定會去看他的演奏會，以示歡迎，何況他是我的朋友呢。

          到達博覽館，前面所有的座位已滿座了，只是很後的座位才有零星的空座位，相信有八、九成入座率。

          記得在北京的時候，我跟Kenny G說，希望可以在他的演奏會點唱《神話》的主題曲‘無盡的愛’。他在台上得意地向觀眾說，他只以一天時間就學會該曲，他不知道我在場，以半咸淡的廣東話說：「成龍大哥叫我送這首歌給你們！」就在這時，我突然上台獻花給他，Kenny G真的感到很驚訝和高興，還說：「這是我開show多年最酷的經歷！」

          我獻過花後，我們擁抱一下，相互吻了面頰，我沒有說些什麼就步下台去，因為這是Kenny G的演奏會，我不便多說，以免搶風頭似的。就算走下台，我都沒有坐到觀眾席上，只是走到後台靜靜欣賞他的演奏，因為我怕我坐在前台，有記者為我拍照，恐怕會騷擾到Kenny G。而且，來看Kenny G的觀眾跟其他的觀眾有些分別，他們大都是不發一言，靜靜的聽音樂，沒有叫囂、沒有喧嘩。     每一次Kenny G演奏，大家安靜地聽著，完成一曲後，大家拍手，跟一些流行曲演唱會很不一樣。

          這麼年來，我看了很多演唱會，好些觀眾是一群朋友來湊熱鬧的；有些觀眾是來看演唱會的，歌星唱得好與壞不重要，他們是來看舞台設計、每一個環節的花樣、歌星的衣著和造型等等；有些觀眾純粹捧場的，只要歌星在表演，無論唱得好與不好，他們都會歡呼，叫著歌星的名字，有些時候，觀眾的歡呼聲會蓋過歌星的聲音呢。不論觀眾抱什麼心態進場，都各取所取，而我本人，我喜歡像Kenny G這樣的演奏會，沒有花巧的東西，他只是穿著一件襯衫，沒有華麗的舞台衣著，沒有五彩繽紛的佈景，但是很多觀眾聽得如癡如醉。

          Kenny G的音樂造詣我不用多說，我不知道有沒有‘後來者’，起碼我們聽了他的音樂這麼多年，都很喜歡他的音樂。我有很多朋友，如葉蒨文（Sally Yip，她是非常著名的亞洲女藝人），甚至上至一些商界大老闆，下至我家裡的傭人，他們都買了Kenny G的音樂CD給他簽名。我覺得Kenny G的音樂是沒有文化界限的，很多不同國籍、不同階層和不同年齡的人都喜歡聽他的音樂。我很高興認識到他，而他也是我很喜歡的一位音樂人。

　演奏會後，我跟Kenny G到朋友的私人會所聊天，聊了好一陣子，我們都各自離開了。明天我要啟程去北京，將會集中做一些慈善、非慈善和奧運宣傳工作，有空再聊吧，拜拜！