I'm a music lover, so when my friend offered to take me to a Vietnamese rock concert, I thought it would be an excellent way to gain a perspective on what kind of music Vietnamese people are enjoying today. What better way to get an idea about a culture than to listen to what they are listening to?
As we approached Quan Ngua stadium, speakers were thumping, crowds gathering, lights flashing and noise rising. Of course, there were the usual crowds of motorbikes and onlookers, as well as people trying to sell a last minute ticket. We entered the gates, tickets in hand, and on the stage there were four gorgeous women dancing in what is by far, the best mix of rhythm and style I've yet seen in Asia when it comes to dancing. The crowd was still building and the area near the stage was already filled. There was no alcohol nor the familiar smell of a certain kind of smoke common at many concerts I've been too, but there were plenty of cigarettes and bottled water.
Pham Anh Khoa performing on stage.
I received many curious stares and glances as I moved in towards the crowd, nothing bad, I think people were just surprised to see a foreigner at a Vietnamese concert. Being tall does sometimes have its advantages as I could see right over all of the heads of the people in front of me and I generally received the benefit of a little extra elbow room since nobody wanted to be stuck standing directly behind me. I had an excellent view with nothing to distract my vision from what was happening on stage.
As the techno music faded and the women left the stage, an advertisement for "Clear Men" came on showing impressive highlights of football jugglers along with images of people supposedly using the product. It was interesting enough, even though I hate the idea of having commercials at a concert. Then the gentlemen I had just been watching in the ad appeared personally on stage. I could see where this was going. Basically, I was going to have to watch what I just watched, only now it would be live. "Cool enough," I thought, shrugging my shoulders.
When the skilled footballers were finished, the lights dimmed and the tension in the crowd became noticeable. As the announcer introduced the next band, the excitement in the audience was high and the crowd was roaring. I kept hearing him say, "Recycle!" This being the only word I recongnised I cheered every time it was mentioned as did the rest of the crowd. I'm all for recycling, and Hanoi, like most places, could use more recycling. There I was and I thought the concert was actually encouraging people to recycle, which was really refreshing. Suddenly I didn't care about the ads with a good cause like this. I was wrong. "Recycle" was the name of the next band...
The stage lit-up as "Recycle" began to play to the raucous cheers of the growing crowd. The lead singer was wearing a sport-coat with a t-shirt and from what I could guess was sort of a "metro-metal" singer. The crowd enjoyed it and jumped to his songs, waving shirt's and singing along. He was followed by special guest singer Hai Yen, who reminded me of Gwen Stefani when she performs as "No Doubt". The crowd really seemed to enjoy her. Her voice was strong and demanded attention; she also had a powerful stage presence.
The next band, "Thuy Trieu Do" appeared on the surface to be little more than a preppy boy-band. One guitarist looked to be about 15 years old but it turned out this guy could really play. After the first song, I could see that these guys were quite talented and the crowd loved 'em. As I listened to the words that I couldn't understand, the band reminded me of "Korn". They all had long hair and were sporting Converse All Stars.
After these performances, I was thrilled to see an acoustic guitar. Walking out, holding the guitar, singer Pham Anh Khoa took the stage and began playing. The guitar would only last for one song, but it was nice to hear some Vietnamese acoustic nonetheless. He was dressed in a leather vest, shades, and a long pony-tail. As I listened, the sound reminded me of "Nickelback". He really got the crowd revved up by jumping off the stage and conjuring them to sing along. Lastly, Ngu Cung took the stage. I really couldn't make out what was going on, it was loud with a lot of fast-paced screaming, and by now we had been standing for about 3 hours. At this point, I had heard enough and I decided it was time to leave. I offered my friend to buy him a beer.
My back hurt, my ears hurt and I was ready to go relax and scribble some notes about the concert. I realised that I was older than most of the crowd, many of whom I would guess to be about 16-22 years old for a median age. Because I couldn't understand the words, I only had what I heard to go by, and the sounds reminded me of bands that I had heard years ago. I was still impressed with the enthusiasm of the crowd, and happy to see young Vietnamese enjoying music because I think that expression is important. It's the pulse of a culture.
The most fascinating part of the experience for me was seeing the crowd jumping up and down, screaming, a small mosh pit, shirts waving, water flying, and then, men wearing the government's green uniform, standing right next to them, looking deadly serious and standing practically at attention but bothering nobody. Beyond this, you could look around and see a five or six year old on the shoulder's of his or her dad. It was another glimpse into the changing landscape of culture and attitudes in Vietnam. Another example of the old and the new. The tug-of-war that seems to be happening with traditional and modern pushing this country's speedy development in whichever direction it will end up going. Anytime you see people peacefully gathered and enjoying music is a time to be appreciated. This was only the first of many concerts for me, and I can't wait to see some more. Rock on Hanoi.
* Write to David Cornish at davidcornish@dtinews.com
