Vanessa Mae strings together on entertaining concert

Vanessa Mae strings together on entertaining concert

By Hera Diani

JAKARTA (JP): Less than five minutes after watching
Singaporean-born violinist Vanessa Mae's concert at the Grand
Melia Hotel on Thursday night, we, reporters and photographers,
knew that we had learned a lesson.

Next time, just buy the regular ticket instead of watching it
for free with a press pass.

The concert organizer only allowed media to enter the ballroom
after the concert had started and Mae was in the middle of her
first song, Art of War.

As there were no seats provided, we then had to struggle to
find a comfortable place in the aisles.

Just as we found the perfect spot to stand and watch, and
while guessing the title of the second song Mae was playing, the
organizer told us to leave the venue.

They said Mae's manager was very upset and that we would be
given the opportunity to go back inside to hear the last four
songs.

Excuse me?

For the next 20 minutes, we were stranded outside the
ballroom, waiting to see what would happen next, before finally
being called back in.

The frustration has already worn off of course, but hey,
someone has got to write about this.

Inside, Mae was playing Sebastian Bach's Toccata. Well, she
was not actually playing it, more bashing it, but in a forgiving
way.

The classical composition was transformed into a rocking
instrumental number, with the sprightly musician running from one
side of the stage to the other.

Rearranging classical compositions into more contemporary
numbers is indeed the 22-year-old violinist's trademark, besides
wearing sexy clothes.

Mae learned to play violin at the age of five, after having
moved to London a year earlier. Exhibiting a talent for music, at
the age of eight she studied at the National Conservatory of
Music in Beijing.

She then returned to London a fully-fledged virtuoso and
continued her studies at the Royal College of Music.

After that she performed all over the world with a number of
different orchestras. Between the ages of 11 and 13, she recorded
three classical albums.

In 1995, Mae's debut pop album was released, where she created
her signature sound, combining classical and contemporary music,
like pop, rock and fusion.

Despite criticism from some die-hard traditionalists, her
style has won her millions of fans worldwide. She has now sold
some six million albums and holds 32 international platinum and
17 gold awards.

The 90-minute show was Mae's first appearance in Indonesia.
She is apparently quite popular here, with tickets selling out a
week prior to the show, despite the relatively expensive prices
of Rp 250,000 (US$26.30), Rp 500,000 and Rp 750,000.

The show was aimed at promoting Mae's latest and seventh
album, Subject To Change.

Back on stage, Mae was tuning her violin, preparing for the
next number for her 1,400 audience members.

"I'm sorry about this. But with new environment, air
conditioning and everything, the violins get a little confused,"
said Mae, who used two violins (one white, one brown)
alternately.

She then kicked out Vivaldi's Storm, which was followed by "a
little song about love", Love Is Only A Game.

It was a Spanish song taken from Subject, where Mae flaunted
another ability, singing. To be honest, her soft, almost
inaudible vocals proved that it is not her strongest point.

Two sexy leather-clad backing vocalists accompanied Mae, who
was wearing a shiny silver sleeveless top and black hipsters.

She was also backed by a keyboard player, guitarist, drummer
and a small orchestra. The latter were members of Indonesia's
Yazid Djameen orchestra.

The next number was really hard rock, which made me wonder if
the older people making up most of the audience really enjoyed
the show.

For the next two songs, Mae put down the violin and sang two
numbers from Subject, the French Jamais and White Bird.

Following those two songs, Mae performed her final piece,
Destiny, which again came from the album.

Mae then said goodbye and the cliched "We want more!" was
screamed out.

She came back, repeating White Bird, said goodbye again and
the audience screamed "We want more!" again.

And there she was, back on stage again, and again, repeating
Storm, ignoring the fans who shouted "Red Hot! Red Hot!",
referring to a hit from her previous album.

At 9.40 p.m., the show finally ended, to a standing ovation.
Surprisingly, it was quite an entertaining performance. And I was
wrong about the older audience. Anton Warouw, 77, said he enjoyed
the show and was amazed by Mae's talent.

"The music got too loud for old people like me, but it was
quite refreshing," he said, adding that Mae was really pretty.