What a trip we had on 1/19-21/2002 — it was the best out of 3 we've made to Taipei so far. The Taiwan fans are wonderful hosts, so generous, kind and cheerful. We were treated like royalty there, and we are so appreciative.
That concert on the evening of the 20th — plus the rehearsal that afternoon! — was pure heaven. Wakin was energetic and sounded great, even though we'd heard that he'd been getting over the flu. He seemed to be in fine shape, thank goodness~! And so the whole charity event, not even counting all of the wild and wonderful activities we enjoyed during the rest of our trip, was simply magical!
At Wakin's "O2 — Take a Deep Breath" charity show we two were invited to sit among the Stars Ferry's Friends in the 2nd row, right at the front — what a perfect spot! We were decked out with lightsticks of all kinds and colors (glowing rings worn on the head were quite fashionable, I found from my own experience!), singing along with Wakin and laughing and waving signs like our lives depended on it. It's not so hard at all to remember Chinese lyrics when one is surrounded by an entire arena full of singing people!
Then Bobby Chen strolled casually onto the stage......we all could not help but yell out his name in surprised delight! Grinning, he glanced at us with his lazy eyes and said "Shut up." Heh heh! Soon he noted that Wakin should go change his pants, which were a funky, blocky monochrome plaid, and so while Wakin was off-stage Bobby wanted to sing one of his own songs. He was in absolutely excellent form — it was one of the best onstage performances I've ever seen him do, and we were right there watching him live for the first time.
When Wakin returned, dressed to the nines in jeans and a leather jacket, he and Bobby bantered humorously and sang a bit together. There were other guests too, such as Victor Wong, another fave of mine.
But it was definitely Wakin's night! And it's really no exaggeration to say that he spent a good chunk of his time hovering around the SFF area of the stage, only a few feet away and singing his heart out right in our direction! (Then it was like, 'Ooops, I'd better head back over to the other side of the stage for a while....') He did an absolutely great job all evening, including fantastic Wakin-ized versions of What a Wonderful World, the 1967 Louis Armstrong classic, and Elton John's Your Song. In fact, he had confidently started off his concert by singing in English, bless his soul! Such memories we will cherish always.
