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A Beautiful Night: |
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Emil Chau Wakin in Concert, February 10,
2006 |
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San Francisco, CA, USA |
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Determination
For
going on six years or so now, I’ve admired the
music of Wakin Chau beyond all others
musicians. That his music is mostly in a
different language than mine is completely
irrelevant to me. That I had yet to see him in
concert, however, has been a point of irritation
and frustration since the earliest days of my
fandom. The last time I missed his show
in Las Vegas in 2004, I finally had enough of missing out.
I was so upset that I decided then and there,
wild horses wouldn’t keep me away from the next
one.
Well, predictably enough, the wild horses
mustered their usual assault on my plans to
attend, almost before the date was finally
announced. But I had waited nearly two more years
for this opportunity to come around again, and so
I dug my heels in, summoned all my stubborn
Irish nature around me, and stood my ground
against the horses. And miracle of miracles—I
prevailed. When the stampede had ended, and the
dust settled around me, I had my ticket. I
could hardly believe it--I was going to the
show!
Anticipation
 It
was a beautiful night in San Francisco,
California, when we
arrived at the doors of the Bill Graham Civic
Center. The entrance to the concert hall
was crowded with people, all eager to get in!
Across the street, two searchlight trucks were
parked. It was clearly going to be a very
special night.
Wakin’s concert was fifth in a concert series
called Papillion, and was put on by
Q
Production Inc. The seats on the floor were all
part of a VIP package that included in the price
of the ticket a full gourmet dinner prior to the
concert. (Complete with champagne and caviar, no
less!) Most of the people sitting at the round
tables that filled the floor were dressed in
black tie evening wear. A very high class
group!
 Those
of us with more ordinary means all filled into
the balconies. I was very excited to be able to
see the concert with my friend Andrea Kurita of
the WWS
in Japan, whom I had not seen since the
World Party in 2004. Andy had
gotten us some excellent seats, just off to the
right of the stage in the lower balcony level.
We had a great view of everything!
On
my right side was a friendly lady from
Hong Kong. She was kind enough to translate
bits of Wakin’s jokes and conversations from
stage--a novelty I’m not used to when watching
concert DVD’s at home! Ha-ha! But even so, I
still didn’t catch everything that was said, since I didn’t want to
pester her too much.
Opening
Ceremonies
The
concert actually opened in what appeared to be
the continuance of
ceremonies that the VIP’s had enjoyed before our
arrival. Two MC’s-- Laurie Sanders and
Larry Ickies of 96.5 KOIT radio, the #1 radio
station in the San Francisco Bay area--took a small podium in the center of the floor,
and began to hand out lovely door prizes to
those whom were privileged enough to be in the
VIP section. Every seat in the VIP section
came with a numbered ticket, and the winners
were drawn at random from a glass bowl. Among the prizes were small golden
statues, necklaces and other pretty jewelry
pieces from Baccarat jewelers, one of the local
businesses and concert sponsors. I didn’t
think to count the number of prizes offered at
the time, but there had to be something close to
like ten different pieces given away. Not bad!
 A
special guest in the audience was also invited
to draw numbers for door prizes—Mr. Leeland Yee
of the California State Assembly! He was greeted
with applause from the audience, and told us all
that his wife had decided he needed a cultural
experience, and so convinced him to come to the
show! Obviously, she is a woman of exceedingly
good taste! [Many thanks to
Ms. Lulu Bagaman of
Q
Production Inc. for providing me with the
names of the two MC's and of Mr. Yee.]
Once the prizes had been distributed, the MC’s
announced that there was one prize still left to
be given. The grand prize—a lovely diamond
butterfly necklace—would be awarded by none
other than Wakin himself! Furthermore, he
didn’t need to draw names or numbers from a
bowl. It would be entirely at his discretion
who received the prize! At this point, even the
MC’s expected Wakin to appear and
award the prize. But he didn’t. He kept us all
in suspense until the very end of the concert!
Who would get the necklace? It must have been
quite an exciting wait for the ladies in the VIP
section, who were all in contention!
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