hey can fans stop complaining on the commercialism factor already??? its so passe. i'm super tired of it and in fact if u really cant accept that there has to be a tad of commercialism to survive (but i feel for a whole part dave is still true to his purpose, meaning in music and himself) what do u expect dave to do? same setup like in soulpower? just a fuss free stage. yes i truly enjoyed it thoroughly, it was fresh but he doing it again in "love can" then the media, fans, critics will say.. "dave, u keeping up with times? its always the same, you are no longer relevant."
WHAT IS DAVE THEN SUPPOSED TO DO?
the moment society, fans, other not yet david fans feel he has lost relevance, then he's out. (isn’t an artiste like dave supposed to aim and get more fans to like his music so they can receive the messages in them and be more aware abt society?) if dave were to have the same group of fans only for the rest of his career then wun that be sad?
So, understand dave does not only have to cater to us(ppl who are already his fans, dont be selfish) he has to balance all of these things! if u still cant accept this fact & keep complaining abt overly flashy stages and outfits then forget it (with respect to the outfits I still think they’re all right, cos look at other artiste’s concerts, it like watching a caberet)
I truly think dave has no lack of fans. and the day u are more concerned abt whether his stage sets are too showy rather than the meaning behind his music his purpose in this music industry then perhaps its time to move on. with all due respect, find someone else who can satisfy all ur requirements that u have for an artiste to be “perfect” cos to me dave is as “perfect” as he could ever be already.
Hi there. To tell the honest truth, I was a little taken aback at your posting. However, I do admire you writting about how you feel about it. It is healthy to talk about it in the open.
What I am writting is my own opinions, also.
The issue of complaining about the commercialism factor is as old as the eternal question: which came first, the chicken or the egg. AND for that matter, a case of: damm if you do, damm if you do not.
Because I don't have a very good command of Mandarin/Chinese, I can only rely on English online sites for news on David Tao/Tao Zhe.
Thanks to Zhaodi's blog (a BIG THANK YOU to Zhaodi for your efforts), I managed to get DT albums, INCLUDING his Soul Power 2003 concert DVD & VCD. Limited time that I've, I have watched about 50% of SP 03. That & what I read mainly on this site (plus some other English sites) about Love Can 2005 concerts, led to what I write now.
Yes "missred", SP time had less commercialism, LC had more. I think for some people at least, there is a "culture shock" from seeing what might seem as "OTT" commercialism; from "don't really have last time at SP" to become "a lot at LC".
THIS, I BELIEVE, is the bone of contention amongst the various camps of DT fans. I do know that DT has to cater (why I'm even using that word) to: himself, his fans, his family, his management, his sponsors, ...
The costumes, nah ... they're generally alright (have seen even more show-ier). The aircraft ... unless I'm very mistaken, it has not been done before?
As for accepting/understanding the meaning behind Tao Zhe's songs, I'm still trying to but am hampered by my lack of mastery in traditional Chinese characters.
Missred, Zhaodi & other David Tao fans, no hard feelings ok? You can hate me writting but do not take it personally, ok? ... and don't ban me, alright?
i think the missing point is whether the outfits (particularly the red one) suit him at all?
concert outfits can by showy by all means but do they suit the artistes? that's the question with the red outfit.
we can all accept sexy/flaunting/revealing/scanty clothes on like andy hui, karen mok, jolin tsai, aaron kwok... but why have many fans raised issue on the red outfit that it doesn't suit david?
its not becuz we cannot accept the outfit but we just simply don't like it on david. it doesn't suit him. period.
regarding commercialism, i believe david does have to achieve a balance. people who are already fans would be happy with music-only focus of Soul Power, in Love Can, the slightly more-showy part of it may be able to make non-fans sit up and realise david tao can do it!
lets be honest, majority of the fans attend a concert becuz they want something visual. if its only music, non hard core fans could just stay home and put on their cds.
david's commercialism is not abt getting more $ into his own pockets or make more monies for EMI but to expand his fanbase so that he can get across his message to more people.
it then come back to the question on the red outfit. do we present-fans want people to focus on his outfit or his music?
I thought you were going to write that I wrote nonsensical stuff/ should be banned or something to that effect.
DEFINITELY, the main focus should be the music. To use the courses of food as an analogy, the music should be the MAIN COURSE (lyrics, meaning, music, arrangement ...).
For me (at least), the red suit seemed a disaster was because of the design and/or the shade of red. Perhaps other people might have other reasons as to "why". At least, now that DT has wore that particular red suit, we can arrive at the answer: THAT don't suit him (if he did not wear that, we would not be writting about whether it suits him or not). Remember, in his Susan Says MV, David Tao wore red too.
David Tao's music is good; difficult for me to describe in more detail why it is so, other than he puts in much effort into each song. Same reason when my friends ask me about Coldplay (that is another totally different story).
When I buy a music CD, another measure of how the artiste sound in an actual performance is in showcase/concert, beside the studio album. Yes, I know the artiste will definitely sound "different" from studio; it is just "how different". That is why a fan would go listen to the artiste they admire. In this case, the artiste concerned is Tao Zhe.
Commercialism bit, 'nuff said about that. Your piece on it is interesting to read. Economically, it makes a lot of sense.
I really do appreciate all the honesty here. And like lunasy pointed out, people go to a concert to watch and see, it’s both a visual and aural experience.
But I think that the argument earlier was that his costumes and stage sets were simply too showy. And with regard to lunasy’s point on the reason why many fans disapprove of the red suit is because it doesn’t suit him. That, I agree, may be the reason of all the disapproval. But when it comes to clothes, style and fashion, there’ll always be both camps of people, the ones that like it and the ones that don’t. frankly I don’t really mind that read outfit, I don’t like LOVE IT but I think it’s absolutely fine and shows off his body well. (in case people start claiming I like all things dave wears, that is not true. He was a walking fashion disaster when he wore those pants that zhaodi featured in one of his photos earlier. And I didn’t like the musical notes shirt either)
yeah, I agree that that from SP to LC, that stage seems a lot more dressed up and stuff. but well, maybe when u go from such a simplistic and basic set up and u add a little in COMPARISON it’ll seem like a lot. And, of course they’ll be no hard feelings, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
Cookie, plse dun apologise for having an opinion. Thank you all posting how you feel. Actually should have repost to DT forum so more ppl can read & comment What do you think? Should I repost all your comments? There is actually a chinese thread there talking abt the very same thing. I feel David should be able to read our opinions If fans are really against the red outfit, its not too late to change it to something more acceptable. Maybe just get rid of the jacket and change the white shirt to red Or maybe no chest exposed at all, then he will have to take off his shirt as some of us still wanna see his bod Anyway let me know if you guys want me to repost okie
Glad to see you. Feel free to post my comments on DT.com forum, I've no problems with it.
Only thing is I can't read the traditional Chinese characters. Which accounts for why, even when I say I'm a David Tao music fan, I've not registered on DT.com.
Have we, as fans, such power to even ask Tao Zhe to tweak THAT red outfit a little? Oy, I didn't realise it could even happen.
Music-wise, I love it & have even bought almost the entire DT collection (including 11 Labour Room VCD) for my ang moh friend. Just lack his first 2 albums. He says (& not that I demanded) he will treat me to all-i-can-eat-lobsters!
Erm Cookie not sure if we can change the red outfit but still we can try if we feel its not good for David's image rite? David always like to have feedback from his fans. So is your non-asian friend a DT fan as well? If you cannot find I'm OK album, I do have a spare copy only its lacking the mtv vcd. Its original from Taiwan I believe. Given to me cos of cracked cover but the cd is brandnew, nvr been played. Let me know okie
THAT red outfit, David ... sure has caused a lot of hullaboo ... David Tao, if you DO read this, it is a tad, wee, a little ... OTT ... 'nuff said (by me)
We would all still support Tao Zhe/David Tao for whatever outfits he would pick, don't we? Heh, his music is THE reason we are listening.
Regards to the 1st album, nope but thanks for the offer. Am going to get the "limited AVCD edition" of "I'm OK" studio album. I know where I can grab a bargain (genuine), just that I'm super-lazy & in no hurry. And YES, he is a DT fan; he sms me "can't wait to receive DT albums from you. THANKS" The lobster dinner still applies, he said.
i'm super tired of it and in fact if u really cant accept that there has to be a tad of commercialism to survive (but i feel for a whole part dave is still true to his purpose, meaning in music and himself) what do u expect dave to do? same setup like in soulpower? just a fuss free stage. yes i truly enjoyed it thoroughly, it was fresh but he doing it again in "love can" then the media, fans, critics will say.. "dave, u keeping up with times? its always the same, you are no longer relevant." 
) he has to balance all of these things! if u still cant accept this fact & keep complaining abt overly flashy stages and outfits then forget it
(with respect to the outfits I still think they’re all right, cos look at other artiste’s concerts, it like watching a caberet) 
) 
What do you think? Should I repost all your comments? There is actually a chinese thread there talking abt the very same thing. I feel David should be able to read our opinions 
If fans are really against the red outfit, its not too late to change it to something more acceptable. Maybe just get rid of the jacket and change the white shirt to red 
Or maybe no chest exposed at all, then he will have to take off his shirt as some of us still wanna see his bod 
Anyway let me know if you guys want me to repost okie
