Sam Hui, the People's hero 許冠傑 人民英雄 :

Thanks to me mate Peaks' generosity, I finally got to see Sam Hui live in concert, 12 years after his retirement. With 40 odd sold-out concerts and a total audience of 420,000 (that's 7% of HK) , there can be little doubt that Sam Hui's still the King / Godfather of Cantopop. And for a 56 yr old singer who hasn't publicly performed in more than a decade, he did a damn fine job, singing almost non-stop for four hours (making this the best valued concert I've EVER been to.) In stark contrast, his 40-yr-junior guest stars Cookies , Cowgirls (wtf?) and his Barbie-like students merely highlighted the fact that HK aint making popstars like we used to.

If Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui were relics from the 80's decadent, lavish excesses, then Sam Hui must be the icon for the 70's tougher times. Sam and his two brothers almost singlehandedly invented Cantopop, with their folksy numbers and cheeky lyrics throughout the 70's and 80's. Their songs about economic hardship, droughts, shanty towns and salarymen's daily grind made the grassroots' voice heard. For a post Asian economic crisis and SARS stricken HK, there is no better soundtrack.

Thumbs Up:

* The whole "family affair"-ness of the concert -
Little did I realise how sorely I missed the Hui Brothers' unique s.o.h. : cheeky without being too offensively crass, witty and smart in their not-too-high-not-too-low way. Even Stephen Chow 's "mo lei tow" movies pale in comparison. Sam's two sons Ryan and Scott are particularly to be applauded for not being embarrassed about performing with Dad in front of a stadium jam-packed with 12, 000 people.

* The goodie bag -
Love the cheap and cheerful small red white and blue polystyrene bag, (the type that amah's and Filippino maids use when they go home) packed with equally cheap thrills: a giant rubber band, glow-in-blacklight paper boat, a miniature Sam action figure, whistle and all.

Thumbs down:

* The guest stars -
They sucked. Groups of 4 and 16 girls singing off pitch does some serious goosebump spiking. And with 16 voices you can't even hear what they are singing. Not even qualified to be backup singers.

* The leopard costume theme -
on a 56 yr old can be a bit strange. Oh well, he's Sam and we HKers love him anyway, however weird his dress sense.