I have just got back from Shanghai from having seen a truly fantastic show – although this is not the first post relating to the concert, I thought I would jot down a few lines in English.

It had been a hot day in Shanghai, and although there were a few dark clouds around, they didn’t look too threatening. There was the usual exciting buzz around the venue, and we were inside just before the scheduled start time of 7:30 pm. There was a programme on the seat which I opened and could see that it contained the playlist – as soon as I realised, I put it away for future reference, because I didn’t want to know what was coming and in what order, and I didn’t want to be thinking “we’re half way through” or “…it’s nearly over” throughout the show. I’m not sure exactly what time the lights were dimmed, but it didn’t seem too long after the scheduled start time, and by that time, it seemed that most people had found their seats. (It was interesting to see that obscured view areas, such as behind the huge sound and light station, had not been ticketed).

The show started with video footage of David losing control of a helicopter, and he managed to eject just before a crash. Then the band members started creeping warily on to the stage, not too sure of their new surroundings. Mohammed started on percussion, backed up by the others, and then during the overture David was lowered on to the stage from above. The stage and show had something more of a theatrical feel than his earlier concerts, but I’m happy to say that the stage was tastefully decorated in rain forest theme, but not too elaborate so as to detract from the music.

David started by cruising through Rain, and we could see he was with his strong team of many (but not all) of his familiar band members plus a few new faces. For vocals, he was supported by Singapore’s David Tan, who was also sporting a guitar (more on him later) and two female singers – for many parts of the show, they were stage front with David. Kheng Long (keyboards) again led the band and he was with Jamie on guitar, Andy on bass, Mohammed on percussion, Lewis on drums. From time to time, he was also supported by a small string section, with both Chinese and non-Chinese stringed instruments.

After Rain and Shanghaied, the pace slowed for a few ballads (Airport, Who Do You Love and Moon Over Heart). It became clear early on, that of course some of the concert material would be drawn from The Great Leap (and it would have been disappointing if this were not the case) but this was not going to be a show that was to be dictated by further album promotion or future demand for a concert DVD with as few songs as possible from Soul Power.

The crowd were on their feet for Let’s Fall in Love and Runaway, and then it was time for a medley. Kheng Long played the opening bars of Blue Moon, and David sang. Then the tempo quickened, and David broke into a very traditional sounding rendition of Ye Lai Xiang, which he clearly enjoyed performing, and a vocally gymnastic version of Spring Wind – something that literally blew me away.

From there, it was Everything’s Gone, Angel, Susan Said (something I was particularly looking forward to hearing live, and it didn’t disappoint), Small Town Girl, Melody and Seasons of Loneliness (at the end of which a girl camouflaged in a tree costume took hold of David and dragged him into the undergrowth. After being teased with Ghost overture, the strong thumping backbone of a bass line started and David rocked the stadium with Ghost. This was another (unexpected) highlight for me – the arrangement sounded very tight. After Ghost, there seemed to be a slight pause of a few seconds (which to David may have seemed to last for a few minutes) before the opening rift of Black Tangerine. Things stayed hot with the Art of War, during which doves were released – I confess to being worried because I thought they were going to be so disorientated that they would crash into speakers and lights and drop dead on stage in front of 40,000 people – but they all seem to have made it safely out of the stadium (eventually). Close to You followed (at which point, I thought the show must be in its final stages – but I still didn’t dare look at the programme), and then was possibly my favourite part of the show, a small unplugged section. David has been brushing up on his guitar playing, and the opening guitar solo for Regular Friends was his. To return the compliment, Jamie has been brushing up on his Chinese, because he seemed to be singing, or at least mouthing, along without any trouble.

I said earlier I would say more about David Tan. The unplugged section featured David Tao, Mohammed, Jamie and David Tan sitting casually at the front of the stage. Tan’s supporting vocals on Regular Friends (“… what can I do?”, “ … just give me a chance”), allowed us to hear what a great voice he has. I remember that I have heard Tan’s vocals on a studio track before, but we now had in front of us a different singer. He took joint lead on Fated and I really was amazed and impressed. And judging from his appearance, it seems that not only has Tao been coaching Tan vocally along the way, he has also dragged him to the gym.

My favourite from the unplugged section was 22, and it was refreshing to hear a casual, scaled back unplugged version.

I can’t remember at what part of the show, but David had some fairly lengthy dialogue with one of his supporting singers (I don’t like to refer to them as backing singers – they featured a little more heavily) - after she sang a few lines of La Vie en Rose, they entered into some French dialogue.

After the unplugged section, the band was back with Kung Pao Chicken, My Anata (complete with some tango dancing, flirting with his singers and having led them on, trying to win the affection of one of his violinists who rejected him flat) and Sula & Lumpa. From there, it was What’s Love, Amazing Grace from one of his female singers, some dialogue from David (sorry – can’t translate!), Dear God (with David featured in a video which reminded me a little of Talking Heads’ “Road to Nowhere”) and I Love You, which was used for a crowd singalong.

I think this is when the band left the stage, and they then returned to encore with Bastard (David got around the censors by leaving the “Wang Ba Dan” line for the crowd to help him out) and finally the wonderful “Love Can” which is my favourite from the Great Leap, the title of the tour and so a very fitting finish for a great show.

I of course have such high expectations, and I am happy that the show was simply wonderful. David was on absolute top form. The sound was extremely good, and you could hear each instrument clearly. (Some of the dialogue couldn’t be heard by those further from the stage, but I hope there was no problem with the music). David seemed to sing harder than he has done before. The band seemed to play stronger than they have played before. The concept and effects did not detract from the great music. And as with all David’s shows, the crowd was warm, supporting, really enjoying themselves and not spoiling the enjoyment of others around them. After the show, we struggled to get clear from the venue, finally got some food and then spent a bit of time exploring Shangai without having changed from our Davidcn t-shirts (thanks guys!!) – painting the town … orange.

Reposted from davidtao.com forum with thanks & permission from Mark