Vivian Chow's 2006 Back for Love Concert
5/25/06


I went to the Vivian concert shows on 5/25, 5/26, and 5/27.

Here's the rundown for Vivian's HK concert on the 1st night (other nights are slightly different).

  Song name Title translation
1.
自作多情 / 假裝 / 戀曲 Sha La La /
沒有人傻得像我
Medley: One-sided Love / Pretend / Love Song Sha La La / Nobody is as Foolish as Me (Mandarin)
2.
台下女主角 Offstage Leading Actress
3.
孤單的心痛 Lonely Heartache
4.
痴心換情深 Crazy Heart Changes to a Deeper Love
5.
萬千寵愛在一身 (duet w/ Hacken Lee) Thousands of Love All in One
  Hacken sings 情非首爾  
6.
歲月的童話 (half song) Past Fairy Tale
7.
鋼線之舞 (half song) Dance of the Steel Wires
8.
可知我想他 Don't You Know I Think of Him
9.
情未了 (duet w/ Chris Wong) Endless Love
  Chris sings 傾心  
10.
時間 Time (Mandarin)
11.
最愛 Beloved
12.
流言 (duet w/ Kevin Lam Lung Suen) Rumors (Mandarin)
  Kevin Lam Lung Suen sings 盡在不言中 and 心事重重 (half of each song ) In Unspeakable Terms / Heart Full of Troubles (Mandarin)
13.
自動自覺 / 詛咒 / 借歪 Medley: Automatic Actions / Curse / Move Out of the Way
* 14.
會錯意 Misunderstanding
15.
男人心 (duet w/ Jo Kuk Jo Lam) Man's Heart
  Jo Kuk sings 我有權投  
16.
我願意 I'm Willing (Mandarin song originally sung by Faye Wong)
17.
遇見 Meet (Mandarin song originally sung by Stephanie Sun)
18.
我真的受傷了 (duet w/ Leo Ku) I Really Got Hurt (Mandarin song originally sung by Jacky Cheung)
  Leo Ku sings 愛與誠 Love and Honesty
19.
為你 For You
20.
紅葉落索的時候 When the Red Leaf Falls
21.
如果你知我苦衷 If You Knew My Reason
Encore
22.
感情的分禮 Wedding of Feelings
23.
天荒愛未老 A Long and Lasting Love

* Vivian shook hands with the audience.


Vivian's concert was EXCELLENT!!..OUTSTANDING!!... A+++++ . This was the first time for me to see Vivian's concert in HK. I wasn't able to go to her HK concert in '94 cuz I was still in high school, and I didn't even know she had a concert until it was already over! I've been to her Las Vegas concerts in 1995 and 1997, but Chinese concerts here in the USA just cannot compare to the concerts in HK... HK concerts are sooooo much better!! Some singers who haven't sung on stage for many years don't sound as good as they used to when they come back to sing on stage, but Vivian's singing this time was even better than her '97 Las Vegas concert (and I already thought she sounded great at her '97 concert). She sang a lot of her popular songs during the concert this time... even my mom was familiar with most of her songs..hehe... that's because I often used to play Vivian's songs in my mom's car when I was a teenager.

All 3 shows for her concert were completely sold out! It's interesting how in '94 when she was at the height of her popularity that she wasn't able to completely sell out for her '94 HK concert shows (there were about 15-20% seats available for the 4 shows).. but now 12 years later, her 3 shows were sold out!!..it's as if she's even more popular now than before...hehe...and yet she hasn't been active in the entertainment circle for all these years until just recently.... doing a few advertisements. Thanks to Joe's radio program, most people in HK now call Vivian as "ah V"...so the letter "V" has become a famous symbol for Vivian....just look at the big "V" in her concert poster. Before Vivian's concert poster was revealed to the public, Vivian would seldom pose for pictures while forming the letter "V" with her fingers... but during the concert, she formed the letter "V" with her fingers quite often..hehe. Plus, her first outfit during the show included a headpiece which had little red crystals that formed a "V"...very cool! Forget about Jacky Chan putting up two fingers to form a "V" when he poses for photos... this gesture should now belong to Vivian and Vivian's fans..haha.. after all, "V" is for Vivian!...and there were 10,000+ people doing this "V" sign just for Vivian on the last show!..

Vivian's dresses/outfits were very beautiful and elegant...really showed her "Jade Girl" and princess-like qualities! It's difficult for me to choose which dress looked the best...she looked great in all of them!

There were lots of touching moments during the concert and lots of funny moments, too! The entire concert was very entertaining, even when Vivian wasn't on stage... when she was backstage getting dressed into her next outfit, there would be different types of video clips displayed on the monitors...with pictures of Vivian and her friends, or video clips of her pets, and other kinds of images. The guests were great, too!...almost every guest made the audience laugh in some way...especially Leo Ku's part..hehe...OH..and Joe's part!!!...so funny!..and yet very touching! (both emotionally and physically...haha)... the audience screamed the loudest out of all 3 shows during Joe's part on the last show. Some parts of the concert kind of felt like it was a fairy tale... there was a princess and a prince...a huge shoe (which sort of reminded me of Cinderella and her glass slipper, only Vivian's big shoe was silver and very shiny)... and cute animals. The name of Vivian's concert "Back for Love" is a really fitting name for the concert....during the concert and the video clips, you could see and feel the love Vivian has for her friends, her family, her pets, her fans, and of course her love for the animals who will be taken care of by the Non-Profit making Veterinary Clinic once it's been established.

I wasn't expecting Vivian to dance during her concert, cuz when she was being interviewed a few months before her concert, a radio host had asked her if she would be dancing at the concert, and Vivian's response was "I have to dance??..haha..how scary!..haha." But thanks to Sunny Wong (Vivian's choreographer for the concert), fans were able to see her do some dancing at the concert!..yeah!! I wouldn't have minded if Vivian didn't do any dancing at all (I watched 6 Leon Lai concert shows in October and he didn't do a single dance step, but it was still a great concert!) ...it's already good enough just seeing Vivian on stage again... she could have just stood there wearing jeans and a t-shirt to sing some songs and I still would have bought a ticket to see the concert...hehe... so the dancing and the beautiful dresses were a very nice bonus .

Back to top


5/25/06 - A few fans and I had arrived to the HK Coliseum at around 6:30pm, hoping that we would be able to see Vivian do the prayer ceremony before the show (like when they cut the roasted pig and burn incense etc.), but we arrived too late... the prayer ceremony already took place at around 5:30pm. So anyway, we went to have dinner, then went to see the concert (although most of us were sitting in different locations). Before entering the HK Coliseum, each person was given 3 souvenirs!!..a bookmark , an Octopus card plastic cover , and a shiny Vivian idol card ! Thanks to Vivian and the sponsors for these nice souvenirs!!

I was sitting in the yellow section 75, Row G, which was the 2nd row (Thanks to Carmen for the great seats!! ). A few minutes before the show started, a lot of the reporters were taking pictures of Joe and his dad Ngai Hong, who were sitting in the first row on the opposite side from where we were sitting. The show started at about 8:30PM. Right when the lights were dimmed for the show to start, the audience screamed loudly, but it was looking kinda dark in the Coliseum... I guess I'm so used to seeing lots and lots of lightsticks at a concert (if you've seen/been to a Leon concert in HK, then you know what I'm talking about) ..it was kinda strange to see that there were no lightsticks in the lower red and green seating areas.. but the audience still sounded very excited and all the seats were full...I couldn't see any empty seats, other than the one empty seat next to us...my friend told me at the last minute that he couldn't make it to the concert...I'll bet he's kicking himself for missing the chance to sit so close at Vivian's concert.

Before Viv sang her first song, the dancers came out first and walked the catwalk...like a fashion show. It was a 4-sided stage, so the dancers were standing on all 4 sides. The opening music that was playing sounded perfect for the fashion show... you could hear Viv's voice saying 'V...I...V...I...A...N...come on..let's go..' Then a couple minutes later, Viv came out center stage with a few more dancers...the audience screamed loudly. She was wearing a short pink dress (the only dress for the concert which showed her legs), and was wearing a headpiece that has a red "V" on the side made out of little crystals. She did a few poses like a model while there were sound effects and flashes of light like a camera taking pictures. Then the band started to play Viv's song "One-sided Love" (Ji Jok Doh Ching)...fireworks exploded from the stage before she sang her first words... the audience screamed 'waaaah!!' . Viv did some dance moves while singing "One Way Love" (not the same dance moves you've seen her do in the past with this song). Then she sang "Pretend"...a few dance moves here and there. Next she sang "Love Song Sha la la"...the audience sounded really excited when they heard the intro to this song...maybe cuz most are familiar with this song, since it was also part of Viv's opening medley in her '94 concert. Then she sang "Nobody is as Foolish as Me" (Mandarin song). The dancers came out carrying a few white chairs and Viv sat in one of the chairs while she sang. She stood up on the chair towards the end of the song, and there was some confetti that fell from above.

Then Viv talked to the audience, saying, "Hello!..friends, how are you? Wow....I haven't seen you for a long time! I'm very happy tonight, because it's already been 12 years that I haven't stood on this stage to sing. I never would have guessed today in 2006 that I would be standing on this stage to sing again...it's really unexpected. I really want to thank everyone for still remembering me and for especially coming tonight to see my show. Thank-you! (audience applauds) I started working at RTHK in '88, and from then on, I worked in showbiz. You could say HK friends and friends in the audience have all watched me grow up, and have grown up together with me. The feeling is just like old friends. This feeling is really hard to come by... I really cherish this. I really like HK. Thanks everyone! (audience applauds) From being a young girl until who I am today, a lot of friends have said I haven't changed much for my outer appearance, but after experiencing a lot of stages in life, the way I think on the inside has changed a lot. I want to tell everyone that although I'm standing on the stage today, but I already don't think of myself as an artist. When I left HK in '97 to live overseas for some time, I became an ordinary person and already found my most confortable way of living and learned to love myself more and how to love others. This feeling is very realistic. Tonight I want to share with all of you this feeling, because a large part of my happiness comes from all of you. Since the first day I stepped on stage, my world has been filled with all of your forgiveness and love. Thank-you."

Next Viv sang 3 slow songs, "Offstage Leading Actress," "Lonely Heartache," and "Crazy Heart Changes to a Deeper Love." The dancers were all backstage when she was singing these 3 songs. I took A LOT of photos of Viv in her pink dress...took so many photos that I already used up 1/3 of my camera battery power!...haha...and Viv hasn't even changed into her 2nd dress yet!...so I had to cut back a little on taking pictures and had to turn off the camera whenever she was facing the other side of the stage...yeah, I had an extra battery with me, but it's the first show..I didn't know how many outfits she would be changing into. It would be really bad if I didn't have any battery power left to take pictures and the show wasn't over yet.

After Viv sang "Crazy Heart Changes to a Deeper Love," she said a few more words.. "I'm really happy!!..haha. (audience screaming loudly) Did you all receive my gifts? Did you receive my shiny idol card? How about taking out the shiny idol card to see if it's really shiny? Do you have it? Hold the card up high. Can you give me a card? I don't even have one yet..haha. Wah..yeah, it's really shiny. I won't take your card...I'll get it when I go backstage later. Did you receive the Octopus card... cover? Did you buy my CD? (audience screams 'yes!') You're really smart! Today is surely a big day for me, but it's also a big day for another friend... it's Ngai Hong's (Joe's father) birthday! Dad! Happy Birthday! I have something for you." Viv then walks over to Ngai Hong and gives him flowers, a hug, and a kiss on the cheek. Then Joe stood up and gave Viv flowers and gave her a kiss on the cheek...so sweet!.. the audience screamed loudly. Viv asks the audience to sing happy birthday to Ngai Hong.. so then Viv and the audience sing happy birthday to him. Viv asked Ngai Hong, "How old are you?" He said, "71." Viv said, "You're super! and still very smart!" Vivian then went back on stage and said, "I think it's time now to invite a friend to come out and sing. This guest is the same as me. He's also an old HK friend. Everyone has seen him when he first came out as a singer, when he dated and fell in love, and his career becoming successful, and I think he said he would soon be doing something with his other half...(audience screaming loudly...knowing that it's Hacken Lee who hinted he would soon be marrying his girlfriend)... uhm..what are they going to be doing?..we'll know very soon."

Hacken Lee appears on stage (audience screaming), and he and Viv sing their duet song, "Thousands of Love All in One." During the song, Hacken tells the audience, "I know a lot of audience members would want to sing karaoke with Vivian. How about the next part of the song, everyone sings together with me and her? ok?" (audience screams 'yes!') ... so the audience sang together for the last part of the song. Hacken and Viv were holding hands while they were singing the last part of the song..once the song ended, they were still holding hands.. and Hacken said, "We can let go now.. Joe is here...sorry! (audience laughs loudly). Viv said, "No, it's ok...we're good friends.. we can hold hands."

Hacken: Before I came on stage, you introduced me as an old friend..but I don't think that works.. we're friends.
Viv: Why aren't we old friends?
Hacken: We're not old.. I don't mind being old, but right now I'm forced to say I'm 23 years old because another friend says he's 25 years old (Alan Tam)..you know? (audience laughs) Although everyone knows me and you are good friends, but actually there are a lot of things in which we don't match. For example, she likes to compose music while I like to write lyrics. I like to kick a ball (soccer) while she likes to shoot a ball (pool)." (audience laughs loudly) You (Vivian) like cats while I like dogs. One more thing.. I'm a person who's kind of scared to die, but she's not that scared. Why do I say this?..because there was a time period when she left HK to live overseas and lived in a place where there are a lot of earthquakes, and she told me 'I'm not scared..I'm not scared' and I asked, 'why not?' and she said, 'I really like to 'jan' (shake...also referring to Joe..Joe's Chinese name is Ngai Jan.. jan same meaning as 'shake/quake'.... audience laughs loudly and clapping loudly) .

Viv: haha...yes, I do really like to 'jan' . (audience laughs loudly)
Hacken: Where is Jan Jan (Joe)? Actually Joe is also my 'hok hing' (went to same school..Joe a few grade levels higher). Hok Hing, nice to see you. Hi Wesley (referring to Ngai Hong, Joe's dad)...nice to see you.. happy birthday. Hey, your (Vivian) relationship is so open now? I just call my girlfriend's father as 'uncle.' You already call him (Ngai Hong) as 'Pa Pa?'
Viv: I call him 'Dad.'
Hacken: Oh, you already call him as 'Dad?'
Viv: yes...not Pa Pa.
Hacken: ooh..you don't look like the type...you're faster than me. (audience laughs)
Viv: What? 'Dad' likes me to call him as 'Dad,' because it sounds like we're more closer. Actually I'm very happy... it's been a very long time since I've sang with you, because I usually don't like asking you to go out and sing.
Hacken: No, I've still been singing all this time..it's just that you haven't. (audience laughs)
Viv: No.. I can't even meet with you to go to karaoke.
Hacken: Let me tell you (audience)..singing karaoke with this friend is my worst nightmare. (audience laughs)
Viv: Why??..haha
Hacken: Why is it a nightmare? because I've never been to karaoke before where I'm not allowed to play the dice game, or 'chaai mui' (the game where you make hand gestures) or drink alcohol. (audience laughs) you know..can't play dice game or 'chaai mui' is ok, but recently I need to drink alcohol.

Viv: You know why? When I'm really focused on singing my song and right in the middle of me singing, I hear people yelling while playing 'chaai mui'..what's the point?
Hacken: It doesn't matter... when you're going to karaoke, you can do your singing while I play my dice game...you know? (audience laughs)
Viv: I really have no more mood. ok, I'll be backstage playing the dice game and you stay up here to sing, ok?
Hacken: Sure, as I guest I understand.. I sing while you go backstage to change clothes..I understand. But actually, a lot of fans have asked me to ask you when you're going to change into your palace dress. (audience laughs loudly and clapping loudly)
Viv: ok...one time wearing the palace dress is already good enough.. it's in your heart..you understand?
Hacken: Oh, meaning today there's something even more spectacular.
Viv: Yes! you can imagine every dress to be a palace dress.. or imagine about any other dress..yes.. use your imagination. Maybe the next dress is the palace dress.
Hacken: ok..you go and get dressed while we wait for you.

Hacken sings his song 情非首爾 while Viv is backstage. After Hacken's song, the video monitors were showing pictures of Viv and her friends with some music playing in the background. There were pictures of (not in this specific order) Viv and Leslie Cheung, Viv and James Wong Jim, Viv and Hacken Lee (an old photo)..audience screams when their pix showed, Viv and the PolyGram gals (Vivian Lai, Karen Tong, Linda Wong, etc.), Viv and Cally Kwong, Viv and Chris Wong (old photo)..audience screams, Viv and Carol (DoDo) Cheng and George Lam, Viv and Aaron Kwok..audience screams, Viv and Stephen Chow Sing Chi (audience laughs.. Viv wearing wedding dress..pix from their movie), Viv and Leon Lai and Jacky Cheung..audience screams, Viv and Andy Hui Chi On (audience screams really loudly..don't know why they have this reaction), and other pix.


The audience screamed "waahhhhh!!" when Viv appeared on stage again... she was wearing a white dress and was sitting in a big silver shoe...she looked just like a princess!...very beautiful! The middle of the stage rose up several feet and was rotating. Viv was singing "Past Fairy Tale" (track #2 on her 'Endless Dream' cd). This scene kinda reminded me of Cinderella and the glass slipper, except Viv's big shoe was silver and shiny. Viv sang half of the song "Past Fairy Tale" and then sang half of the song "Dance of the Steel Wires" (track #2 on her 'Lost in Love' cd). Then the stage descended and she got up out of the shoe and sang her song, "Don't You Know I Think of Him."

After singing "Don't You Know I Think of Him," Viv said, "During my entertainment career, there was a time period when I couldn't separate with this next male guest. During that period, I think most of you heard us from the radio. Let's invite him out... who is he?" Then Chris Wong Hoi Kan appeared on stage, dressed just like a prince...perfect match to Vivian the princess! ...audience was screaming. Chris and Viv sang their duet song, "Endless Love." During the song, Viv and Chris hugged each other and they danced together for a few seconds during the middle of the song. At the end of the song, Chris kneeled down on one knee and kissed Viv on the hand. (audience screaming "waahh!") After the song, Chris and Viv talked...

Chris: Wow, so that's what it means to be dressed like a bird. (referring to the feather in Viv's hair)
Viv: yes, it actually looks a little bit like an ice cream cone.
Chris: Tonight you're not nervous. I really have to compliment you for this.
Viv: cuz my brain is completely blank..haha..
Chris: You're a really smart girl.. you said you haven't sang for a long time, but you often go to karaoke to practice singing, so you seem rather prepared, right?
Viv: yes, I'm a really hard working artist.
Chris: and you have many many friends who support you. let's have some applause for the 'hard working artist.' (audience applauds)
Viv: thanks thanks.. I'm representing all hard working artists to thank everyone.
Chris: and she's good with people.. and a very caring artist.
Viv: How many people in the audience have heard our radio program? ..scream loudly. (audience screams)
Chris: Miss..that's not our radio..
Viv: oh yeah.. it's our program..
Chris: so tonight it's a full house plus a lot of guest performers to support you. Did he come?
Viv: eh...you're talking about who?
Chris: you know....him..
Viv: you mean him?
Chris: yeah him... does he treat you well? (audience laughing loudly...Chris's back was facing Joe)
Viv: why do you have your back facing him (Joe)? (audience laughing loudly)
Chris: no, i'm just asking does he treat you well...not bad, right?
Viv: yes, good...good
Chris: did he ever treat you badly?
Viv: no
Chris: does he still bother you? (audience laughing)
Viv: eh?? I need to ask you in what way?
Chris: does he climb on you in the middle of the night? (audience screams)
Viv: ooooh...you're talking about him, right?..haha
Chris: I just have one more question..I think now is really the right time to neuter him. (audience laughing) yeah, the TV advertisement said this is for his own good.
Viv: haha..really?? how about you go neuter him then?
Chris: haha.. well, there's some people who work at the animal protection society who can do that.
Viv: oooh...you're talking about him...
Chris: who did you think I wanted to neuter?
Viv: oooh..you're talking about Pal (Viv's cat).
Chris: you're so happy when I said to neuter him.
Viv: haha..
Chris: so strange...
Viv: haha
Chris: see, this is why we don't match. You don't understand what I say.. and you're thinking too badly.
Viv: I can't pick up on your signs....
Chris: but then when you see me, you always laugh..
Viv: yeah, everytime I sing a duet with you, I always laugh, especially when you sing high notes.. then your 2 eyebrows would go up and down..(audience laughing) ..
Chris: are we exposing some of our bad things here? ok, I'll expose something about you.. you know when we were doing the music video for "Endless Love" in the middle of the night many years ago..
Viv: yeah, we had to dance
Chris: yeah.. let me show you again how we danced..
Viv: you were all shaking back then...were you really nervous?
Chris: of course I was shaking.. let me show you why I was shaking..cuz I was dancing with her like this (Chris standing far away while trying to dance with Vivian....audience laughing)
Viv: now we don't have to..
Chris: cuz of your body shape..I know you've gotten skinnier now...the newspapers said you're what cup?..haha
Viv: I'm no cup now..
Chris: You're an A cup ('cup'..Cantonese word meaning level/class)...meaning top artist. you're really enthusiastic for your concert. Ok, so now I'll be doing my duty as a guest performer and will be singing a song while you go and change into your next outfit.
Viv: yes, the song you're going to be singing is a song which I chose for you.
Chris: yes, because I ...
Viv: (Viv interrupts Chris) because this song...let me speak... you wrote the lyrics very....sorry, I'm being rather rude..I couldn't help it..sorry. (audience laughing)
Chris: Yes, that's how she treats me.
Viv: That's how I treat him..haha.. showing my real side.
Chris: Do you treat him like this?
Viv: ha?
Chris: You're totally opposite the way you treat him.
Viv: No no no.. ok, let me speak in a gentle/soft way...(Viv trying to speak softly) ok, the song.....haha.. I don't know how to talk to you in a gentle way... the lyrics you wrote for this song are very well written, so I hope you can sing this song.
Chris: this song also has some relations to you....
Viv: uhm... well I have to hear the song before I know....bye bye
Chris: hey... the person who originally sang this song also had some kind of relationship with you (referring to Viv's ex-boyfriend) ....she's not responding back. (audience laughing)
Viv: bye bye
Chris: so that's how she treats me..but I'm used to it.. but everyone will probably know of a girl like this in their life sometime. (audience laughing)

Chris sings 傾心 . Then after his song, the video monitors were showing baby pictures of Viv, and her childhood pictures, and then pictures of when she's all grown up, showing pictures of her on magazine covers. Viv's song "Growing Up" was playing during the video clip. Half of the song played....and then silence for several seconds. Viv then appeared at the center stage playing her Mandarin song "Time" on a white transparent grand piano...audience was screaming "waahhhh!" Viv was wearing a champagne color top with white pants that had a big puffy feather tail on the back of it..and she changed her headpiece/wig again..looks like a flower was on her head. The middle of the stage rose up several feet and was rotating. Her piano playing was excellent!

After singing "Time," Viv said: "The song I just sang was from my last Mandarin album. It was the main plugged song called "Time." I wrote the music for this song. The next song I'm going to sing...uhm...the first time I played this song on the piano, I thought I would never forget how to play the song, so I didn't have a piano score for the song. About 2 months ago when I decided I was going to sing the song, I was trying to practice playing the song on the piano, but I found out I had actually forgotten all the music notes to the song, because it's been such a long time since I played the piano and I didn't practice at all. My brain was completely blank..I had forgetten everything in my heart. At that moment, I felt very sad...and even almost felt like crying. So I just kept on practicing to see if I could try to play the song again. About a month and a half ago, I slowly started to find every note to the song...I was really happy at that time..like I found something that I had lost. I really cherish this. I think that even if I don't play the piano anymore, I would still try to practice this song from time to time, because this song is very important to my singing career. In 1984 when I participated in my first singing contest, I sang the Japanese version of this song... "Beloved." (audience clapping loudly)

Viv sang and played her song "Beloved" on the piano. Then the stage descended, and after she finished singing "Beloved," she said, "I'm really happy I remembered how to play the song. If it wasn't because of my concert this time, it would be quite difficult for me to see some of my friends. I haven't seen the next friend who will be performing for a very long time. He doesn't speak Cantonese. He speaks Mandarin and sang a duet song with me, which is my most favorite Mandarin song. Everyone knows who he is, right?"

Then Viv started playing her Mandarin song "Rumors" on the transparent piano (audience screaming 'waahhh!'), and Kevin Lam Lung Suen appeared on the other side of the stage playing "Rumors" on a black grand piano. They both played half of the song on their pianos while singing to the song, and then both of them left their pianos and stood near each other to sing the 2nd half of the song.

After singing "Rumors," Viv said to Lam Lung Suen in Mandarin, "My Mandarin has always not been that good. Back then, you used to teach me how to speak Mandarin.. and now without you, my Mandarin has gotten a lot worse."

Lam Lung Suen (Mandarin): yes, it's gotten very worse..haha. (audience laughs)
Viv: gosh, you're really honest.
Lam Lung Suen (Mandarin): you haven't come to Taiwan for a long time to see me, so you don't have much of a chance to practice your Mandarin.
Viv: has your Cantonese gotten worse?
Lam Lung Suen (Mandarin): no..it's always been very good. (audience laughs)

Viv asked Lam Lung Suen to repeat a phrase in Cantonese, but he repeated the phrase in Mandarin and it wasn't quite right... audience laughed.

Viv: Since you're so good at Cantonese, then how about singing the next 2 songs in Cantonese?.."In Unspeakable Terms" and "Heart Full of Troubles" (2 Mandarin songs)...sing in Cantonese. (audience screamed "waaah!")
Lam Lung Suen (Mandarin): I think Mandarin is quite difficult, so I'll sing them in Mandarin. (audience laughs)
Viv: Really? ok. so you'll be singing "In Unspeakable Terms" and "Heart Full of Troubles"..two songs that you wrote for me.


Viv went backstage to change, while Lam Lung Suen sang and played "In Unspeakable Terms" and "Heart Full of Troubles" on the piano. After he finished singing and left the stage, Viv came out with the dancers and sang "Automatic Actions," "Curse," and "Move Out of the Way" (she didn't have the same dance steps for "Automatic Actions" as in the past). She was wearing the same outfit she wore a few minutes earlier, except she had removed the champagne color top and was now wearing a beige color top. When she was singing the chorus part of "Automatic Actions," she shook her tail (the tail on the back of her pants) a few times...cute move!..hehe. At the end of the song medley, cannons shot silver/gold colored streamers in the air.

Viv said, "Was my dancing great? (audience screamed "yes!") I was tricked this time... at first they said they didn't need me to dance..just do a few small movements and it's ok...but in the end, Sunny choreographed this whole dance..wah..almost made my wig fall off. Was it good? (audience screamed 'yes').. come back tomorrow night..it will be even better, ok? Not talking just about dancing, or tonight's show, even coming back to live in HK long term is also unexpected. In 2003, I came back to HK to celebrate Chinese New Year with my mom. I would usually just stay for 2-3 months and was planning to go back (to Vancouver) in April. But at that time, SARS happened. Everyone was very worried and afraid to leave their house, and I certainly was afraid to take an airplane, and my boyfriend Joe was afraid to come back to HK. But I really missed Pal.. I felt very sad, so all I could do was rely on Joe to send me pictures of Pal everyday, and that's how the naked Joe/Pal photo came about. (audience laughs) Everyone's seen the photo, right?..haha. When I saw the photo of Joe and Pal looking so fit, I felt relieved and didn't need to worry anymore. Then in May (2003), Joe gave me an even bigger surprise and said he and the cats would return to HK and that I wouldn't have to come back. So suddenly the whole family moved back to HK...and I didn't even have a chance to say good-bye to any of our Vancouver friends...so I really miss them and I'm sorry I couldn't say good-bye. After this concert, I don't know if there will be another concert again, because we never know when the last time will be." (one guy in the audience screamed "I'll wait for you!") Viv said, "You'll wait for me? Would you wait another 12 years?" Audience screamed, "yes!" Viv said, "I'll be very old by that time...haha. Thanks everyone. You've all loved me for a long time...you've really waited 12 years for me and you're all here tonight...waah..please give yourselves a round of applause. (audience applauds) Excellent! Every time I work, I think of it as being the last time I'll be doing it and hope I can do my very best so that I won't regret it. Since everyone is here tonight, how about we get a little closer?" Audience screamed, "Yes!" Viv said, "How about we......" (fans already out of their seats rushing to the front for a handshake) Viv continued.."wah, you're all so smart! You should get into position..I have to shake everyone's hand in just one song."

Since we were sitting in the 2nd row, we could stay at our seats and reach out for Viv's handshake. Viv sang "Misunderstanding" when she was shaking hands. Viv came down from the stage and started shaking hands with the people sitting in the Yellow section... you could totally feel the excitement of the fans. I was super happy get a handshake from Viv! ..hehe. I've been to 2 of her concerts before in Las Vegas, but that night was the first time I ever shook her hand at a concert. Although she shook hands with her left hand (she had to hold the mic with her right hand), her handshake was still very firm!..which kinda surprised me and a few of the fans..hehe..cuz Viv doesn't look like the type who has such a strong grip..hehe. Viv only shook hands with people sitting in the Yellow section and Red section (only 2 sides of the stage). She had finished singing "Misunderstanding" before she could shake hands with the people in the Blue and Green sections...she didn't shake hands with Joe and family/friends (they're in the Blue section)...not sure why she didn't shake hands with the other 2 sections...everyone who's seen an HK concert knows it takes 2 songs or at least 7 minutes to finish shaking hands with the people on a 4-sided stage...it would be impossible to shake hands on all 4 sections with just one song unless the song lasted longer than 7 minutes or the singer is shaking hands with the fans really quickly.

Viv told the fans who didn't get a handshake to come back tomorrow night and stand in a different location. Then she said, "After I came back to HK, I got to know a lot of new friends. I think it's fate which brings two people together to become friends. There's one friend which I've known for just a short amount of time, but our relationship quickly became very strong and the feeling is just like a family member. She's just like a younger sister to me. Have you all listened to 'Cool Valley?' She's the smaller one....who is she?.. Small Jo.

Then Jo Kuk Jo Lam came out on stage and sang the duet song "Man's Heart" with Viv. After this song, they talked a little..

Jo: How is everyone? I'm Small Jo.
Viv: Did she sing good? (audience screams) The way you look tonight really matches you.
Jo: Your look really matches you, too.. Big Sister
Viv: Really? actually, you deserve to be loved.
Jo: Really?
Viv: You look cool and cold, but when Big Joe (Joe) found you to be the host of "Cool Valley" (radio program), do you know what your uncle Vincent Kuk said? He told Joe, 'Joe, Small Jo is really quite 'tasteless' (boring)..you should think it over before choosing her.' He really said this. But then later after you worked on the radio program, I found out you're not that 'tasteless'..you're quite 'salty'...hehe.
Jo: If I'm not salty, then how can you look so sweet?
Viv: ehh..are you hitting on me?
Jo: Is Big Sister really sweet? (audience screamed 'yes!') Is big sister really pretty? (audience screamed 'yes!')
Viv: You're acting like you're trying to sell me off.
Jo: Is Big Sister really big? (audience laughs loudly)
Viv: Big in what way?
Jo: Don't be thinking dirty...well yes, she is....but now I mean her having a big heart and full of love, because Big Sister not only loves her own cats and dog, she even loves and cares about the abandoned animals and the ones who aren't loved by anyone. Big Sister, I really thank you and respect you. Big Sister's love has no limits.
Viv: Thanks.
Jo: I really respect you Big Sister. and today, everyone who's here to see the concert has done some charity, so everyone should give some applause to Big Sister and also to yourselves. (audience applauds)
Viv: Thank you. You, too. The best thing you can do is give me your cat (ah Ting)...hahaha.
Jo: waah..I know you really want my cat (ah Ting) .
Viv: I know this is the first time for you to sing alone at the HK Coliseum.
Jo: Yeah, I've never tried before.
Viv: But you used to be a singer.
Jo: yes..I really thank-you for giving me this chance to come on stage to sing.
Viv: ok, then how about I give you the stage now and let you enjoy this moment. I'll try and change a little slower.
Jo: ok..take your time changing.

Viv goes backstage. Jo then says, "She's really so beautiful. If I wanted to be the 3rd party (fake news about Small Jo being the 3rd party in Vivian and Joe's relationship and Small Jo going out with Joe), I would choose Vivian and not Joe... (audience laughs) ...you (Joe) don't even think about it..just forget it." Jo then sang her song 我有權投 .

After Jo finished her song, the video monitors were showing video clips of Viv and her dog and cats. There's Ju Jai (Piggy Boy)..Viv said he's a bigger-sized Pomeranian dog weighing 18 pounds. Then there's Silver (Fa Fa)..Viv said she's the youngest cat in the family..barely 1 year old. Next was Ting Ting (Jo Kuk's cat)...Ting and Silver are not very outgoing and kind of nervous most of the time. Then there's Pudding..a cat who became part of their family last year. Next was Meow Ju (Piggy Cat)..he likes to eat a lot and is a good cat. Then there's Pal... Viv explained that Pal would push the water dispenser cover on the ground every time he wants to eat...it's a sign he gives them to tell them he needs to eat. Then the video showed how Pal reacts when Viv sings..Viv says he has a strange reaction when she sings and that he doesn't like hearing her sing. The video showed Viv sitting on the couch singing a few notes, and then Pal ran up to her and pushed his head up against her mouth...and when Viv was standing up singing, he would keep circling around her legs with his tail wrapping around her legs. (audience laughing at the video clip) Pal would make a growling noise (kinda sounds like a dog's growl) when someone is trying to take away his catnip. When Viv says "Bye-bye" to Pal, he makes a squeaky noise as if he's saying bye!! Audience screamed "waaah!!"... that's amazing!!

Then Viv came on stage wearing a dark turquoise color dress and was singing "I'm Willing" (Faye Wong's song... Mandarin song). When she was singing this song, there were pictures of Viv and her pets showing on the video monitors. I was watching Viv sing, but I also wanted to see the pictures of Viv and her pets...the problem was the LCD screen with the pictures was not located near the center of the stage (where Viv was)...the screen closest to where we were sitting was on the side of the stage, so I had to look back and forth between the LCD and Viv..I missed seeing a few of the pictures...hope the pictures are included in the concert DVD..and hope all the other video clips from the concert are on the DVD, too!

After singing "I'm Willing," Viv said, "I think a lot of people would agree that small animals are our friends. I think if you're unhappy, when you go home and see them, you'll forget everything.. that's how I am. I think it's fate which brought me together with animals. Having cats and dogs as my pets, it let me learn a lot of things in life...I've learned how to be respectful and be forgiving. I don't think of myself as being the master of my cats and dog..and they don't need to learn any kind of special tricks to perform in order to please me, such as my 13 year old dog...he doesn't even know how to raise up his paw to say hello. I don't feel he needs to learn it..as long as he's happy, then that's enough. Doing something for the animals is probably my commitment in life. This year, my biggest wish is to help a group of caring people who are animal lovers to quickly open up the non-profit making veterinary clinic. For me to be able to make the first step in fullfilling this wish tonight and to share it with all of you is my biggest happiness tonight. Thank you everyone." (audience applauds)

Viv then sang "Meet." (Stephanie Sun's song ..Mandarin song) After this song, Viv said, "It's almost getting close to the end of the show. There's still one more guest to appear." The audience screamed "Joe!" Vivian said, "Joe? ...him?....where is he?...why can't I find him?.. oh.. over there... you guys don't force him...he doesn't sing and doesn't dance. Just let him sit there is ok. Let me blow you (Joe) a kiss, ok?" Audience screamed, "Waahhh!!" Viv then said, "I really feel 'lum' (sweet...heart melting) when seeing you (Joe)...hahaha". Audience screamed "Waahhh!..hahaha.." and clapping loudly. Viv said, "For the next guest, he and I both have a lot of the same hobbies. When we were kids, we liked to draw things, and now when we're grown up, we like playing pool. We can play pool from morning till night..he's the greatest...we're not tired at all.. playing from 11:00am in the morning till 3:00am at night... we're both still very active/awake, but everyone else was completely worn out." Then Leo Ku came out and sang the song "I Really Got Hurt" (Jacky Cheung's song...Mandarin) with Viv.

Earlier during the show, I noticed a lot of the people sitting in the first row in front of us had small signs which light up with words/letters, but up until halfway through the show, I still didn't see them use the signs at all..the signs were just sitting on their laps the whole time.. so I was wondering what they were waiting for...or should I say 'who' were they waiting for...a few of them had arrived late to the concert, too. But once Leo Ku appeared on stage, we all knew who these fans in the front row were waiting for. All the people sitting in the first row in our section, plus half of the 2nd row in our section were Leo fans...when Leo appeared, they were screaming and blowing on their whistles, too. Some of us were thinking...do the Leo fans really need to be sitting in the first couple rows?...Leo was only going to be singing 1 and a half songs...couldn't the Leo fans sit a few rows behind while the Viv fans sit in the front?...shouldn't the Viv fans be able to sit closer to the stage than the Leo fans?... after all, this is a Vivian concert, isn't it? If there were concert sponsors sitting in the first row, then that's fine...it's understandable...but for the Leo fans to have seating priority over the Viv fans??...that doesn't make any sense at all. Yeah, I'm sitting in the 2nd row, but I know some Viv fans who were sitting many rows back...it would have been great if we were all sitting near the front together.

Anyway, back to Leo and Viv..during the song, Leo gave Viv a hug, and they also held hands. After the song, Leo and Viv talked..

Leo: I'm really happy for you. How is everyone? Let me talk first, ok?
Viv: My hand is very wet. (audience laughs.. Leo has a problem of having sweaty palms)
Leo: aiya...sorry.
Viv: What should I do?
Leo: Everytime I see a pretty girl, I get wet and also get the pretty girl wet. (audience laughs) I'm referring to my hand..ok?
Viv: Hahaha..
Leo: My hand, ok!.. reporters..it's my hand.
Viv: I won't wipe it away. I want to keep it as a remembrance.
Leo: Stay wet till the end?
Viv: Yes..I won't wipe it. I'll stay wet till the end just for you.
Leo: I just made the Jade Girl Master all wet. (audience laughs loudly..clapping)
Viv: haha.. can those words actually be spoken in public?
Leo: hehe... just talking about the hand...the hand, ok!
Viv: haha
Leo: Let me talk first.. I've known Vivian for.. I usually call her as 'Pretty Girl'..I've known 'Pretty Girl' for a long time.
Viv: Handsome Boy...hehe. We're not ashamed about this (audience laughs) ..haha
Leo: There's something that I've wanted to say to you for a very long time.
Viv: really?
Leo: yes, but I've always felt embarrassed to say it. Actually... I think Vivian has good balls. (audience screamed "waahh!") Really good balls! (audience laughing) Don't think that only Joe would know about such a special thing. You think it's only Joe who's tried this? I've tried it, too! (audience screamed "waahhh!") I've tried it even more than Joe. (audience laughs) The place I've tried it is at Joe's pool hall. I always lose to her. Every time we're done playing pool, a lot of the men there would say, "Vivian, good balls!"

Viv: Hahaha.. (audience laughs)
Leo: They'd say, "Really good balls!" (meaning Vivian plays pool well).... like that.. so that's why when I see so many people praising Vivian for her good balls, I don't think you (audience) would disagree that Vivian has good balls. Do you think Vivian has good balls? (audience screamed "yes!"....audience laughs) I'm talking about playing pool.. does she have good balls? (audience screamed "yes!") With more than 10,000 audience members, let's all try to say 'Vivian has good balls!' ok?

Viv: hahaha.. (audience laughs)
Leo: I think any girl in HK ..more specifically any female pool player... after hearing more than 10,000 people say 'You've got good balls!,' then that girl should be very happy.

Viv: Actually I would really like to hear this..haha... (audience laughs loudly) I've never heard so many people say this together.
Leo: hahaha..really?
Viv: You have to scream loudly.
Leo: ok.. are you ready?
Viv: I'm ready
Leo: ok, let's say "Vivian has good balls!" (Chow Wai Man ho boh!)
Viv: Say it with feeling..
Leo: It's ok for the guys to scream more loudly. (audience laughs) Say it from the heart, ok?
Viv: I'll close my eyes to hear...
Leo: Ready.. 1,2,3 ... (audience and Leo scream, "Vivian has good balls!")
Viv: I really like it!...haha..thanks thanks!
Leo: I think you should tell everyone you have a son.
Viv: Everyone knows..they all saw the video
Leo: I saw him running around backstage..
Viv: really?
Leo: what has he been eating lately? he's so much bigger now.
Viv: really?

Leo: look, here he comes.. (dancer wearing a cat costume comes out on stage... audience screamed "waahhh"...very cute!)
Viv: This is Pal? my son!..what have you eaten to become so big?
Leo: What did you eat so that you can walk on 2 legs? (audience laughs)
Viv: how about you give your mom a kiss, ok? (Viv kisses 'Pal')
Leo: woooh..ooh..so happy... how about taking a picture of you and your cat?
(cat gives flowers to Viv...Viv screams "wah!"... cuz flowers hit her in the face.)

Leo: you bad boy! just throw the flowers on your mom. (Leo hits Pal.... audience laughing)
Viv: you hit my son!
Leo: sorry..I'm trying to discipline your son for you.. let's take a picture
Viv: Son, let me stand on this side.... don't put your arm on the wrong place. (audience laughing)
Leo: yeah, don't put your arm on a place that you shouldn't be touching. (audience laughing)

As Leo was taking the picture of Viv and Pal, he said "Vivian has good balls." (audience laughing loudly) Just as Viv was about to go offstage, the cat hits Viv's microphone, which hit Viv's mouth and Viv screamed "aiya!"

Leo: this son! does everyone know what happened? he put his paw on the mic which then hit Miss Chow's teeth.
Viv: my son..be a good boy!..relax.. or I won't bring you tomorrow.

Viv goes backstage to change to her next dress and then Leo sings his song "Love and Honesty." After Leo's song, a video clip is played on the monitors...Joe and Ngai Hong were sitting on a couch and were talking about Viv in the video......

Joe: There's 2 pairs of things on Vivian's body that I really admire. The first pair is her eyes. When she talks to someone, she'll look right into the other person's eyes..and when you're looking into her eyes, it's like she's looking really deep into your eyes....like a lost feeling...the way she's looking deeply into your eyes and you don't know what to do.. I feel it's really unique, so I really admire her eyes. The other thing are her legs. Her legs are long enough, but not too skinny...it's a good proportion... cuz some people's legs are very long, but too skinny and the feeling of the legs aren't that good (audience laughs loudly)...it would feel bony.. it's only good to look at.

Ngai Hong: I think the cutest thing about Vivian is that she has a very natural, down-to-earth attitude which is very attractive. When you're with her, you just see a beautiful young girl and don't feel she's a big superstar.

Joe: She really doesn't have any of those 'pretty girl' characteristics. I remember when I met her early on, even before I started to pursue her..like just after seeing her 2-3 times.. I remember there was a time when her back had some kind of allergic skin reaction or something and had grown little bumps all over, like little pimples..and she would actually let people see her back. She'd say to me, "Hey, look at my back! it's so ugly." At that time we just barely knew each other..haha.. I'm considered as a handsome boy..haha..and she would actually show her back to me and say it's so ugly..haha.. I thought that's really cute.

Ngai Hong: I think both of them (Joe and Viv) respect each other a lot. A few times, Joe might not have been happy, and Vivian wouldn't say anything, and then a few times, Vivian wasn't so happy, and Joe wouldn't say anything. They know how to give each other their own space. This is how to have a strong relationship.

Joe: We've been together for so long.. since 1989 until now..but one funny thing is... a lot of times at home, what's kind of strange is that.. we're living together and spending so much time together that we're getting confused as to whose personality belongs to whom. We often argue about this at home.. like I would say, "You're acting like me." and she would say, "No you're acting like me." and I would say, "No, that's my personality." and she would say, "No, this has already become my personality."

Ngai Hong: Vivian.. I have something to say to you. After having your concert, you really need to eat more. Don't avoid eating cuz you want to fit into some clothes. Eating is a big pleasure in life. You can't give it up.

Joe: From the outside, she might look like she really trusts anyone and that she's weak, but actually, she's really stubborn and has her own opinion. She knows what she really wants. Once she makes her decision on something, she won't change it unless you have a really good reason to convince her to change her mind. Once she chooses something, then that's the one... just look at who she chose as her boyfriend, then you know.. (audience laughs)

After the video, there was a few seconds of silence... and we could see from the center of the stage some cables rising to the top of the ceiling...but Viv didn't appear yet. It seemed like something had malfunctioned with whatever was in the center stage...Viv was supposed to be sitting on a chair that would rise up really high, but it didn't happen that night (only for the other 2 shows). So Viv walked out from the side of the stage instead and sang her song "For You." She was wearing a very light green colored dress with 2 long feathers in her hair. When she was singing part of this song, she was looking at Joe while she was singing... Joe got up from his seat and Viv walked over to him and he gave her a big hug!...so sweet!!..the audience screamed.

After singing "For You," she sang "When the Red Leaf Falls." After this song, she said she wanted to thank some people and picked up a 3x5 index card to read off the names of some of them. She gave thanks to all the sponsors, managers, friends, band members, choreographer, makeup artist, costume designer, concert workers, etc... Viv said, "Thanks to my family... thanks to Joe (audience screamed 'woooh!!')...thanks to my fans...a lot of them came from overseas to watch the show, right?" (yes!) Then Viv saw one of the fans Maggie holding flowers and asked Maggie to go on stage to give her the flowers, cuz Viv couldn't walk quickly in her dress to get the flowers from Maggie. After accepting the flowers, Viv said "I need to sing my last song for the night. This song was written for me by a very special friend (Leslie Cheung)... 'If You Knew My Reason.'"

Although Viv had said it was her last song for the night, most people still didn't leave yet after the song was over (although I did see a few of the Leo fans leaving..the ones sitting in the row in front of us) ...so a few minutes later, Viv came out again for her encore. The audience was screaming loudly when she reappeared at the center stage..she was wearing a grey dress with a tiara on her head...very pretty!!...and her mic stand had small lightbulbs with white feathers attached to the lightbulbs and were kinda shaped like flowers. Viv was singing "Wedding of Feelings." The middle of the stage rose up several feet and was rotating.

The stage descended towards the end of the song, and after she finished singing "Wedding of Feelings," Viv said, "Can this dress be considered as a palace dress?" (audience laughs) Someone in the audience screamed "Be careful! there's a hole behind you." (audience laughs) Viv said, "Don't worry..I know there's a hole behind me...I won't back up. I'd like to say a few words. Last year on the Internet, there was a poll for who's the best celebrity to choose to be Snow White...and surprisingly, I was the winner of the poll. (audience applauds.) At that moment, I suddenly remembered a childhood belief. I'm sure everyone has heard of the story about Snow White, right? Snow White was always strong during the difficult times and never gave up and was able to have a good beautiful life. Besides Snow White having her own dreams, what's really hard to come by is that there was also a prince on this earth who was willing to sacrifice love for her.. (audience screamed 'Joe!') ..I'm really lucky to have received everyone's love for so many years. Actually all of you are the Prince in my heart, letting me have the same happiness like a princess. Thank you all. Tonight I can feel everyone's love for me again, and tonight as all of us are here together, I feel that there are no barriers between people... everyone has genuine human warmth. I believe when I'm 70 years old, 80 years old, or 90 years old, I would still be able to see the good beauty in this world. Hope everyone can work to continue this fairy tale. Promise me." (audience applauds)

Then Viv sang her last song, "A Long and Lasting Love." There were some fireworks towards the end of the song... really looked nice together with her dress! The concert ended at around 11:30PM.

 

Back to top


Created by Janice Lo
Copyright (c) Janice Lo 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Created on June 22, 2006.

Back to
Vivian Chow's Place