The 4 roses (JT, Loti, Divey & yours truly) & 1 thorn (hehe, Roentgen) had previously arranged to meet up for an early dinner at Outback. I've been raving about Outback (their chunky fries!) and hence the gang decided to go there for dinner before the concert. As the concert starts at 7:30pm, we foodies met up at 5:30pm so that we have ample time to savour the food (instead of woofing it down :P) and take a stroll to Esplanade.
Wow, everyone was dressed very nicely for the concert. Roentgen was in a multi-striped (hmm, forgot to test whether he can discern the different colors of the stripes ... great way to confirm ONCE AND FOR ALL that he is indeed color challenged*evil luff*) blue shirt & pants. Very smart !!! *clap clap*. The gals fared even better! My very FIRST time seeing JT in a dress! She looks simply RAVISHING in that dress, hair blown neatly in place. SHWEE! Loti is in her LBD and eye-catching accessories (which somehow remind some very unHIP among us to associate those beads on her necklaces as hard candies -_-"). Divey is in her hip smart cheong wear. In her flattering top & jeans and heels to match, she looks all set for a cool nite out. HAPPENING!! Very seldom get to see everyone dressed not in their normal work wear or running attire, a pity that no pictures to remember this beautiful sight by! *bang head*
Ok, back to the serious stuff. Food! As the servings at Outback is pretty generous, I suggested that the group (made up mainly of nibblers except myself and Roentgen) ordered appetisers & mains to share. Ended up we only ordered one main (Fresh catch of the day which happened to be Dory Fish), 2 salads (Chicken Queenland Salad & Caesar Salad), Bushman shrooms (deep fried mushrooms) & a dessert (Chocolate Thunder from Down Under). They also served complimentary bread and I have to say all the dishes, including the bread are nice. The dessert brownie was a tad too soft but well, I'm not too picky when it comes to dessert :P
After a hearty meal, we all took a quick walk through Marina Square to Esplanade. I love the xmas decor in the Marina Square atrium. Their color theme was this very beautiful purple - my fav color! They have loads of purple balls of varying sizes on strings illuminated by bulbs hanging beautifully from the ceiling. The place looks so dream-like, very beautiful!! Too bad we were in a hurry and I couldn't stay longer just to admire the sights.
We got to Esplanade and settled down comfortably. The concert started promptly at 7:30pm and Corrinne May walked confidently up the stage in this gorgeous evening gown. When she started singing, I was just in awe of her beautiful voice. Powerful, slightly low at times. As this is a xmas special, so naturally most of her songs were xmas carols from her recently released xmas album - The Gift. This is my first Corrinne May concert, so I didn't know what to expect. But from the projection screen showing her face up close, it seemed that she is very at ease performing and the way she played her piano, I can almost feel her joy in performing, in playing the piano, in singing the songs that she believes in. Very good feeling really. She interspersed her songs with a few xmas stories of her own, which unfortunately is pretty flat IMHO :P Almost the -_-" feeling but ok lah ... good try, better luck next time :P
According to Roentgen who has been to her other concerts (what a strong supporter eh!), this was the first time Corrinne has ever sat right in front of the audience to belt out a few songs (sans the piano / guitar). Previously she would always be sort of hiding behind one of those instruments. But I didn't sense any of that discomfort or uneasiness in this concert (though I have no basis for comparison) and she carried herself very well!
We were very very fortunate to also get to hear a few of her new songs! One of which (5 loaves & 2 fishes - that's the title i tink? :P) was about how we each have our own strengths and can contribute no matter how insignificant we thought it is. She gave an analogy about how she has the talent in piano, but she sucked in math. Key is to find our strength, everyone has their own strengths. I'm so waiting for her new album to be out ...
I went to the concert thinking that I will definitely be able to hear Corrinne sing Flyaway, but was disappointed. Ah well, I guess this being a xmas concert, she wouldn't want to be belting out sad songs which is obviously not in keeping to the theme :P And being a non-Christian, and not one who celebrates xmas, I have to admit I'm not particularly touched by those xmas carols except for this one - The Answer. The song started with the piano playing and somehow I just felt very touched by the simplicity of the music and the lyrics... which goes like this
I belive You are the answer to every tear I've cried
I believe that You are with me / My rising and my light
Give me strength when I am weary / Give me hope when I can't see
Through the crosses I must carry / Lord, bind my heart to thee
That when all my days are over / and all my chores are done
I may see Your risen Glory / forever where You are
Her voice calms me and for that 110++ mins, I just feel very safe and almost serene. Though she wouldn't get to read this, but still .. Thanks Corrinne! :)
Apart from Corrinne's gift in playing the piano and also her very beautiful voice (what a gifted woman!), I noticed her consideration and appreciation of the people and crew around her. She introduced her band one-by-one, remembering each and every of their names. Wow! I didn't know whether this is the norm of all performing artistes but I sure would feel nice if I'm remembered like this. It just shows at least I'm appreciated ? And at the end of the concert she also thanked all of the crew that made the concert possible (from the CEO of Esplande Mr Benson Puah to the sounds and lighting crew). I could also see how she admired her hubby's talent (he played the keyboard/piano too) and appreciated all that he did for her (he put the whole concert together). When the hubby was playing the piano, she just let him shine and gave him the attention. Its very heart warming to see this husband and wife duo on stage. With the hubby quietly supporting and guiding the wife/concert while the wife showed her appreciation in her little ways. So sweet ... but of course, this is just my own ideal interpretation of my observation, for all I know backstage they are constantly strangling each other or screaming their heads off :P
While listening to the concert, I told myself all 5 of us must take a group pic outside the concert hall to mark this very special nite. But alas!! Guess the buzz outside the hall made me forget everything and we didn't have a picture to remember this night by!!! *CRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY*
After the concert, we headed to this place in Owen Road that Divey knows about. Didn't know what I was getting myself into (basically misplaced my trust !!!) when I agreed to go to wherever they have suggested. It was only when they started laughing that I knew I had gotten myself into a trap, one that I couldn't wriggle myself out of. The place, right smack in Serangoon, thankfully was closed for a private function when we got there. I was all too happy to get out of the place and after some suggestions thrown by the rest of the gals (geez, these gals are way HAPPENING! they sure know where the watering holes are! I felt sooo sua ku lor :P) we ended up at Robertson Walk. Finally found The Chocolate Factory that Loti talked about. Sadly it was already closed for the evening, but the place looks really interesting (and the ang mo chef/waiter or whoever looks simply delicious too!!! haha) and we will definitely check this place out soon! The gals took us to Cafe Iguana for their famous margaritas. The place was crowded but not packed and we got ourselves a seat. It was pretty nice hang-out place, not smoky as the entire place was open, no blaring music and pretty clean and decent (geez, I sound like an ah soh hor??? cannot cannot, I must learn to be more HIP hehe). I was trying to decide WHICH margarita to order as they have one whole page of their menu dedicated to this drink. With different concoctions I suppose. A check with the HIP gals who had been here drew a blank too and not knowing what to order i delegated this important responsibility of ordering to the HIP ones and just sat back to relax. We ended with the safe choice of House Margarita (mango) and 7-up for our "bus driver" (Roentgen). They also ordered some finger foods (nachos & calamari) which unfortunately weren't any good. I really really have lost touch in drinking as I could feel the effect with just one little cup of margarita (and I don't even feel that it is strong!!). So disappointed that I cannot even hold my liquor now ... boo hooo. So amid the drinks and food, we chit chatted some more. About the nearing of yet another year, how we feel about the new year, about whether we use diaries and how we use them (haha) and anything else under the
We left the place right at midnight (like Cinderellas hor? :P) and went home thanks to the bus driver who sent most of us home.
Thanks to everyone for the wonderful company!
3 comments:
Great post KJ! The Corrine May concert was fantastic... always nice to hear her sing in person :)
BTW, have you all paid for the bus fare? :P
bus fare dun have, screw driver want or not ? :P
Oh i was at brewerkz that night too.. cafe iguana was mad pack so did not hang out there :P
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