Lam @ Coliseum!

You may recall that, near the end of last year, a senior alumnus of our residence hall invited Katherine and I to attend the amazing wedding of his son. This week, that same alumnus asked if we would like to join his family for another special event: The sellout concert of a Hong Kong entertainment legend, George Lam (more commonly known as simply "Ah-Lam"). We didn't hesitate to accept!

Ah-Lam, now 62, has been entertaining audiences for over 30 years as both an actor and a singer. He began his career at a time when very little Cantonese music was being produced (it was generally stigmatized as being uneducated), but his work in the 1970s helped define Cantopop and solidify it as the new dominant art form in Hong Kong. He is a rare breed, able to cross generational and cultural boundaries with his craft, and he puts on a great show.

We began our evening with dinner at The Metropolis restaurant in Hung Hom's Harbour Plaza Metropolis Hotel...

The hotel was an extremely convenient meal spot because it sits right beside the concert venue, the Hong Kong Coliseum...

This is where the big boys play

We walked over to the Coliseum, entered, and found our 8th-row seats right on time...

Our group (everyone looking at the camera)

Ah-Lam didn't use an opening act to warm up the audience, he just exploded onto the stage with dancers in tow...

He went solo for awhile...

He was joined by a 20-person choral group for a few numbers...


And there was even a surprise appearance by one of Hong Kong's most famous and influential young artists, Eason Chan, for a duet...

I would describe Ah-Lam's music as somewhat "blue collar" - inspired by the pulse of the working class - and his singing style is akin to crooning. Something that really makes Ah-Lam unique, though, is his talent for weaving Cantonese into songs from other times, places, and cultures. During this concert, there were a few notable examples...

Gloria Estefan's "Conga" converted into Cantonese rap

Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl"

Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us"

...and plenty more (which I didn't capture on video), like Mason Williams' "Classical Gas", The Trammps' "Disco Inferno", and even Bach's "Minuet in G Major".

It was a sensational evening that we will not soon forget, all thanks to the amazing generosity of a senior alumnus!