Jack Daniel's Presents Grasshoppers Right Now Concert 2009
By Madeleine Chong
Date: May 9, 2009 Saturday
Time: 8pm
Venue: Singapore Indoor Stadium
They came, they wowed and they conquered the hearts of screaming fans at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on May 9. Resplendent in an array of snazzy costumes, the debonair trio from Grasshoppers powered their way through pulse-pounding Cantopop hits and tender ballads to deliver a concert that was nothing short of magical.
After more than 20 years in the music business, youth is clearly not on their side, but Edmond So and brothers Remus and Calvin Choy continue to whip crowds into a dizzying frenzy with their fancy footwork, dynamic performances and gallons of sex appeal.
Fans of all ages turned up in full force, acknowledging Remus's request in an early interview for concert-goers to come dressed in red because of its association with "celebration, good luck and popularity." And they certainly were a sporting bunch, waving their glow-sticks and dancing their socks off the whole night long, with nary a trace of fatigue, much like their idols.
The Grasshoppers pulled out all the stops from the get-go, launching into a pyrotechnic display of stage fireworks to accompany their catchy rendition of "You Are Everything". The trio was a glittering sight to behold, strutting their stuff in frills, capes and dandy hats, with a solid team of backup dancers clad in equally wondrous costumes to reflect the circus/carnival theme.
Sequined heels, fur shrugs and body-hugging hot pants were in tow, and the Grasshoppers reveled in their lavish and frequent costume changes throughout the night, pausing in between songs to cajole and tease the crowd. "Aren't our costumes beautiful?" Remus would ask cheekily in Cantonese to the resounding cheers of "Yes!" from an awed audience.
Not one to forget their roots, they paid tribute to their mentor, the late Cantopop diva Anita Mui, with a showcase of her songs, and also found time to cover Leslie Cheung's signature hits such as "Wild Wind" (不羈的風) and "Monica". Fan favorites such as "Fiery Red Lips" (烈燄紅唇), "Three-Minute Indulgence" (三分鐘放縱) and "Not Afraid to Love" (愛不怕) got the crowd singing along merrily, despite the tendency for the trio to be drowned out by the music, especially during the faster dance numbers.
Each of them had their turn in the spotlight, but it was Remus who shone with his flamboyant flair for the histrionics and natural showmanship. Every seductive hip swivel or smouldering stage pose was met with thunderous applause and catcalls. The trio worked the crowd with mock threats of "no encore" unless the audience behaved by "clapping hard and dancing", prompting a few ladies to exclaim in Cantonese, "So bad!"
In the end, the Grasshoppers did return for an encore, upping the entertainment level by several hundred notches (an exaggeration indeed, but the band was clearly deserving) with a selection of their popular hits and a promise to reveal some skin. Judging by their taut and toned bare-bodied slickness, one would never have guessed that they were in their 40s. The trio also previewed their new track, "What The World Needs Is Love" (人爱世人) and mingled with the crowd as they came down from the stage to shake hands and indulge in a spot of audience interaction.
Early on, the Grasshoppers had promised an immersive experience for fans, expressing their desire for the crowd to forget their worries and lose themselves in the music, as per their aptly titled concert (草蜢忘我演唱會). As the gig drew to a close with a final display of fireworks, no doubt remained in the minds of fans about the explosive performance that they had just witnessed.
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