APR 1, 2000 The Straits Times Interactive
By Suzanne Sng
NKF PREVENTION PROGRAMME ROAD SHOW AND CONCERT
Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza
From 1 pm. FreeEVER wondered if twig-like comedienne Patricia Mok would fail a body fat analysis test? You can find out at the National Kidney Foundation's outdoor event. Besides performances in the day by celebrities such as Kym Ng, Bryan Wong, Jack Neo and Mok, they will also have their blood pressure tested and body fat analysed. You can have free health screenings, too, from 1 to 5 pm.
At 7.30 pm, Taiwanese singers Emil Chau and Huang Pinyuan take on the challenge of performing unplugged in the great, noisy outdoors. The duo Walkie Talkie are also appearing in the 1-1/2-hour concert. Watch out for sly jokes flying from Chau, well-known for being quite the joker onstage.
The Straits Times Interactive APR 3 2000Emil's the top draw
Health Kick
Never mind the side acts, it was him they came to see --
and the NKF ambassador had them on their feetMUSIC
NKF PREVENTION PROGRAMME CONCERT
Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza
Last SaturdayBy SUZANNE SNG
THERE was only one reason more than 10,000 people turned up for the free open-air concert put on by the National Kidney Foundation.
Nope, it was not to listen to the numbers performed by the Taiwanes duo, Walkie Talkie (also known as Jin Xiu Er Chong Chang), or singer Huang Pinyuan.
It was also unlikely they had camped out since 6 pm to get health tips on how to prevent kidney failure.
The draw of the evening was definitely Emil Chau -- live-wire performer, idol of the aunties and NKF ambassador, all rolled into one.
It was clear from the moment he stepped on stage that the audience -- ranging from babes in arms to grey-haired men carrying the latest 4D results -- was biding its time till he appeared.
The crowd had clapped along to the watery vocals of Walkie Talkie. It had sung along to Huang's golden hit, How Can You Bear For Me To Be Sad (Ni Zhe Me She De Wo Nan Guo).
But when the effervescent Chau burst onto the stage dressed in a beige suit, he set off an explosion among the audience seated on the floor in front of the stage.
Shaking off the pins and needles that immobilised their limbs, the fans sprang to their feet to snap pictures whenever this Energiser bunny charged from one end of the stage to the other.
They clapped, they sang along and, of course, they snapped pictures of the singer, who practically exuded good health from every pore --very appropriate for his role as the ambassador for the prevention of diseases. In addition to delivering the message that prevention is the best solution, he belted out a couple of his hits, Friends (Peng You) and Proposal (Qiu Hun). Fooling around with Huang, his buddy of over a decade, he played another two of his sing-a-long-type songs unplugged.
The strains of the final song of the night, Flowery World (Hua Hua Shi Jie), which he had penned specially for the prevention programme, faded as the 1-1/2-hour concert drew to a close.
As one, the fans put away their cameras, slung their bags on their shoulders and trotted home.
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