A Unique Rehearsal Exeperience
(i wrote an article for wangleehom.com but it's not posted yet... might as well post it here first)
they posted it up!!! with photos!
When I heard that Gerard Salonga was going to work with Leehom, I immediately looked for a way to contact him and let him know that Leehom has fans here in the Philippines and we were really excited for the first ever collaboration with a Filipino artist. I got to contact him and ended up helping him out with the Leehom stuff like recommending some of his songs, looking for lyrics and translations and some of his performances on youtube. He was saying that the concert will totally be a different one because Leehom was going to be performing differently from his other concerts. But sadly no more tickets were left for December 22 (the only day I can surely go). I asked him if there was a chance of meeting Leehom if ever I go to Hong Kong to meet him and he said yes probably during the rehearsal. I was so happy to know that he can get me in the rehearsal that I got my parents to let me go again for another overseas trip without them. Last time I went abroad was to watch the MUSIC-MAN concerts in Taipei last September with my friends. This time I went with my brother who is a professional photographer (and he takes the best photos!) He was going to document and capture Gerard doing his work. I was scared I wouldn't be able to go because I got sick the week before we were scheduled to leave. I felt a lot better two days before we were about to leave. I wouldn't miss this chance just because I got sick!
December 21, Sunday:
We woke up early to get ready to meet up with Gerard and go to Tuen Mun Town Hall Auditorium. We arrived early got to see the stage being set up. After less than an hour, Leehom arrived in his white shirt, jacket, jeans and boots. It was my third time to see him but not this close and he looked so natural. First thing I thought that he was too skinny! ...and he was wearing his glasses! We didn't have the chance to take photos because we weren't allowed.
They started off the rehearsal with Leehom's songs first. The arrangement for 放開你的心 was really good. I'm glad Gerard pulled it off very well. They also played Kiss Goodbye, Forever Love, 一首簡單的歌, Last Night and Everything. It was really nice to see him play my favorite songs live. I'm also glad he chose to play Last Night since it's one of my favorite English songs and I really loved it when played with the guitar. As for Everything, I really felt lucky to hear him sing the full version of the unreleased song. He sang a bit of it during the concert but it was only accompanied by the piano. Hearing it with the whole string ensemble made it a whole lot more special.
Aside from his songs, he also sang Jingle Bell Rock and Mi Mancherai. I was looking forward to hearing him sing Mi Mancherai as soon as I heard that he was going to sing it. He wasn't satisfied at his first attempt so while we had our 1 hour break, he kept on practicing along with the piano.
We got back and it was time for the classical pieces and the conducting. Honestly, I have to admit, I found the conducting very funny. He really needs more lessons, practice and tons of experience to be as good as Gerard. I could see he was having a hard time but watching him conduct Mambo, he looked like he was enjoying it. Leehom also did one classical violin solo and another piece to conduct. Then they finished the remaining songs, 龍的傳人, 盖世英雄 and finally 落葉歸根. Eventually it was already time to pack up and go home. I had fun watching but was kinda disappointed that I didn't get to meet Leehom. I was hoping the next day would be better. It was.
December 22, Monday:
I was planning on going to the HKCC an hour before the rehearsal but because we went out shopping first, we ended up arriving just 30 minutes before it started. We arrived and saw that a lot of people were already there setting up the stage and their instruments. Found myself a nice position while my brother was getting permission to take photos. The rehearsal officially started right after Leehom gave a message to the orchestra. They followed the song list already. They started it off with Mambo. 盖世英雄, 一首簡單的歌, and Mi Mancherai came next. He got off the stage while the orchestra played their own classical piece. Last Night was up next. The guitar he used didn't sound that good when connected to the amp. Next songs were Forever Love and 放開你的心. He ran up the makeshift stairs toward the organ and played his piece. After he was done, it was time for the break.
I was hesitating to go up the makeshift stairs but I eventually went up to go to my brother who was up there because he was taking photos. By the time I saw him, he was talking to Bruce about their cameras. My brother introduced me to Bruce and right after Leehom already came down from the organ. My brother complimented Leehom and his organ playing skills. Leehom thanked him and shook his hand while my brother introduced himself. Leehom then turned to me and shook my hand as well. He then asked us if we were the people who arranged the songs for Gerard. My brother told him no we weren't and we were just Gerard's assistants. He then told us that he thinks Gerard is really good. I just had to agree and said yeah. He then went down to go back to work.
After the break, they started off with 龍的傳人, and Everything. The orchestra then played another classical piece. Next classical piece had Leehom play a violin solo. It was followed with two more of his songs, 落葉歸根 then Kiss Goodbye. He then sang Jingle Bell Rock. I loved this one especially the end part where he says "Merry Christmas Hong Kong!" in a cute voice. They ended with another classical piece which Leehom conducted. His conducting got better compared to the day before. The rehearsal wasn't over yet. They had to do Last Night and the end of 放開你的心 again. Leehom got the guitar he used the day before and decided to use it instead. It did sound a lot better than the first guitar. I felt so lucky to watch him perform Last Night live. They also had to test the timing for the run up to the organ again. After the end of 放開你的心, he ran up the stairs, had to remove his boots then play the organ. It took him a long time to remove them that the timing was off. I was glad they pulled it off during the actual concerts. Then it was the end of the rehearsal.
I handed Gerard the card I made for him on behalf of OurHome Philippines. I was still thinking how to hand Leehom the card and letters we prepared for him. After my brother got photos of Gerard, we headed to the back stage and thought we should leave already. I decided to go back on stage to just hand the stuff to Bruce since Leehom was still busy talking with some of the musicians. As I was walking towards the center of the stage, Leehom suddenly appeared out of nowhere and was already in front of me. I said excuse me and handed him the envelopes when he turned around. He was probably surprised that I gave him something from the fan club so I decided to tell him that I was president of OurHome Philippines. He shook my hand again telling me it was a pleasure to meet me. He then asked me how I helped Gerard. I told him I helped him look for lyrics, videos and stuff. My mind stopped working. Then my brother saved the day and came along and asked Leehom if he can take photos of us. He gladly said yes and my brother got me nice photos. After we had the photos, I asked him if he can do a greeting for OurHome Philippines. He asked if I was prepared and I took out the video camera I've been dying to use the whole afternoon. He asked me to hand the camera over to Bruce since he always does it for him. After he did the video, he wanted to redo it because it was pretty noisy. As soon as we decided to move to a quieter place, he had to go back to work again. I didn't even had the chance to really thank him for everything. Leehom, if you're reading this, thank you so much for letting me get the best Christmas present I can give our fan club. :)
It was a really nice experience to watch how a concert works behind the scenes. It was truly one of the best early Christmas presents I got.
they posted it up!!! with photos!
When I heard that Gerard Salonga was going to work with Leehom, I immediately looked for a way to contact him and let him know that Leehom has fans here in the Philippines and we were really excited for the first ever collaboration with a Filipino artist. I got to contact him and ended up helping him out with the Leehom stuff like recommending some of his songs, looking for lyrics and translations and some of his performances on youtube. He was saying that the concert will totally be a different one because Leehom was going to be performing differently from his other concerts. But sadly no more tickets were left for December 22 (the only day I can surely go). I asked him if there was a chance of meeting Leehom if ever I go to Hong Kong to meet him and he said yes probably during the rehearsal. I was so happy to know that he can get me in the rehearsal that I got my parents to let me go again for another overseas trip without them. Last time I went abroad was to watch the MUSIC-MAN concerts in Taipei last September with my friends. This time I went with my brother who is a professional photographer (and he takes the best photos!) He was going to document and capture Gerard doing his work. I was scared I wouldn't be able to go because I got sick the week before we were scheduled to leave. I felt a lot better two days before we were about to leave. I wouldn't miss this chance just because I got sick!
December 21, Sunday:
We woke up early to get ready to meet up with Gerard and go to Tuen Mun Town Hall Auditorium. We arrived early got to see the stage being set up. After less than an hour, Leehom arrived in his white shirt, jacket, jeans and boots. It was my third time to see him but not this close and he looked so natural. First thing I thought that he was too skinny! ...and he was wearing his glasses! We didn't have the chance to take photos because we weren't allowed.
They started off the rehearsal with Leehom's songs first. The arrangement for 放開你的心 was really good. I'm glad Gerard pulled it off very well. They also played Kiss Goodbye, Forever Love, 一首簡單的歌, Last Night and Everything. It was really nice to see him play my favorite songs live. I'm also glad he chose to play Last Night since it's one of my favorite English songs and I really loved it when played with the guitar. As for Everything, I really felt lucky to hear him sing the full version of the unreleased song. He sang a bit of it during the concert but it was only accompanied by the piano. Hearing it with the whole string ensemble made it a whole lot more special.
Aside from his songs, he also sang Jingle Bell Rock and Mi Mancherai. I was looking forward to hearing him sing Mi Mancherai as soon as I heard that he was going to sing it. He wasn't satisfied at his first attempt so while we had our 1 hour break, he kept on practicing along with the piano.
We got back and it was time for the classical pieces and the conducting. Honestly, I have to admit, I found the conducting very funny. He really needs more lessons, practice and tons of experience to be as good as Gerard. I could see he was having a hard time but watching him conduct Mambo, he looked like he was enjoying it. Leehom also did one classical violin solo and another piece to conduct. Then they finished the remaining songs, 龍的傳人, 盖世英雄 and finally 落葉歸根. Eventually it was already time to pack up and go home. I had fun watching but was kinda disappointed that I didn't get to meet Leehom. I was hoping the next day would be better. It was.
December 22, Monday:
I was planning on going to the HKCC an hour before the rehearsal but because we went out shopping first, we ended up arriving just 30 minutes before it started. We arrived and saw that a lot of people were already there setting up the stage and their instruments. Found myself a nice position while my brother was getting permission to take photos. The rehearsal officially started right after Leehom gave a message to the orchestra. They followed the song list already. They started it off with Mambo. 盖世英雄, 一首簡單的歌, and Mi Mancherai came next. He got off the stage while the orchestra played their own classical piece. Last Night was up next. The guitar he used didn't sound that good when connected to the amp. Next songs were Forever Love and 放開你的心. He ran up the makeshift stairs toward the organ and played his piece. After he was done, it was time for the break.
I was hesitating to go up the makeshift stairs but I eventually went up to go to my brother who was up there because he was taking photos. By the time I saw him, he was talking to Bruce about their cameras. My brother introduced me to Bruce and right after Leehom already came down from the organ. My brother complimented Leehom and his organ playing skills. Leehom thanked him and shook his hand while my brother introduced himself. Leehom then turned to me and shook my hand as well. He then asked us if we were the people who arranged the songs for Gerard. My brother told him no we weren't and we were just Gerard's assistants. He then told us that he thinks Gerard is really good. I just had to agree and said yeah. He then went down to go back to work.
After the break, they started off with 龍的傳人, and Everything. The orchestra then played another classical piece. Next classical piece had Leehom play a violin solo. It was followed with two more of his songs, 落葉歸根 then Kiss Goodbye. He then sang Jingle Bell Rock. I loved this one especially the end part where he says "Merry Christmas Hong Kong!" in a cute voice. They ended with another classical piece which Leehom conducted. His conducting got better compared to the day before. The rehearsal wasn't over yet. They had to do Last Night and the end of 放開你的心 again. Leehom got the guitar he used the day before and decided to use it instead. It did sound a lot better than the first guitar. I felt so lucky to watch him perform Last Night live. They also had to test the timing for the run up to the organ again. After the end of 放開你的心, he ran up the stairs, had to remove his boots then play the organ. It took him a long time to remove them that the timing was off. I was glad they pulled it off during the actual concerts. Then it was the end of the rehearsal.
I handed Gerard the card I made for him on behalf of OurHome Philippines. I was still thinking how to hand Leehom the card and letters we prepared for him. After my brother got photos of Gerard, we headed to the back stage and thought we should leave already. I decided to go back on stage to just hand the stuff to Bruce since Leehom was still busy talking with some of the musicians. As I was walking towards the center of the stage, Leehom suddenly appeared out of nowhere and was already in front of me. I said excuse me and handed him the envelopes when he turned around. He was probably surprised that I gave him something from the fan club so I decided to tell him that I was president of OurHome Philippines. He shook my hand again telling me it was a pleasure to meet me. He then asked me how I helped Gerard. I told him I helped him look for lyrics, videos and stuff. My mind stopped working. Then my brother saved the day and came along and asked Leehom if he can take photos of us. He gladly said yes and my brother got me nice photos. After we had the photos, I asked him if he can do a greeting for OurHome Philippines. He asked if I was prepared and I took out the video camera I've been dying to use the whole afternoon. He asked me to hand the camera over to Bruce since he always does it for him. After he did the video, he wanted to redo it because it was pretty noisy. As soon as we decided to move to a quieter place, he had to go back to work again. I didn't even had the chance to really thank him for everything. Leehom, if you're reading this, thank you so much for letting me get the best Christmas present I can give our fan club. :)
It was a really nice experience to watch how a concert works behind the scenes. It was truly one of the best early Christmas presents I got.