Anyone who is surprised by how geeky indie icon Crowd Lu (盧廣仲) achieved his meteoric rise to stardom need look no further than his gig on Feb. 28 at Riverside Live House (河岸留言西門紅樓展演館) for the answer.
In addition to being a superb musician who composes all his own material, Lu is a consummate entertainer. The concert was an evening of laughter and surprises.
Lu spent the first half of the performance delivering signature hits from his two studio albums, 100 Kinds of Life (100種生活) and 7 Days (七天).
The 24-year-old enjoyed a solid rapport with his fans, who were eager to chime in during the choruses.
He mimicked the sound of a mosquito, cracked jokes and played a Japanese flute.
For the second part of the concert he performed cover songs.
“I always liked female singers’ songs more when I was growing up. I guess it’s because I am more feminine,” he said.
He then went on to deliver a surprisingly poignant rendition of singer/songwriter Shunza’s (順子) I’m Sorry. For someone with such a clownish exterior,
he delivered the ballad with heartfelt emotion and
vocal precision.
Lu single-handedly performed a riotous rendition of the Hoklo (otherwise known as Taiwanese) duet Lingering Old Love (舊情也綿綿), in which he sang both the male and female parts.
Further comic gambits included his tongue-in-cheek rendition of Christina Aguilera’s Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti (But I Remember You) and a satirical interpretation of Aqua’s Barbie Girl.
The climax came when Lu invited
Hsiao Wan (小玩), his high school pal and lyricist partner, on stage to sing a ballad they co-wrote in tribute to two girls they pine for.
Hsiao Wan said that the girl he wrote the song for was in the audience. “I know she probably isn’t into me. But if you like someone, you should just tell her because it’s the rock ’n’ roll style, man.”
However, the evening felt curiously devoid of emotional resonance by the end. Lu had relied too much on his comic ingenuity rather than music to connect with the audience. The most moving number was his cover of Karen Mok’s (莫文蔚) Oh Lonely Lovers (寂寞的戀人阿), which he sang as the concert’s finale.
For a singer/songwriter who is acclaimed for his songs about everyday subjects, such as Good Morning, Morning Beauty (早安晨之美) and Happy Restaurant (開心餐廳), Lu resorts to covers of other singers’ famed numbers to get the crowd going. A gifted musician and performer, Lu’s next challenge lies in how to write songs that go beyond his Average Joe repertoire.
ON THE NET: www.facebook.com/pages/
lu-guang-zhong/25444417410
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