Venue: Kallang Theatre, Singapore
Date: 3rd December 2013
Promoter: LAMC Productions
Review by: Maisha G.
Special Thanks: Andre, and the LAMC Productions team
Photos by Alvin Ho: Adrian Wee | Nile Rodgers & CHIC
We celebrate the many popular numbers of yesteryears like Diana Ross’s “I’m Coming Out” and Madonna’s “Like A Virgin”, but we’ve missed out on one of the bigger parts of the successes of these songs; the man who produced them. Many music enthusiasts of late have acknowledged his contributions to the people’s favourites, and we have Daft Punk’s new album to thank. To be specific, the song “Get Lucky” featuring Pharrell Williams and the man of the show, none other than Mr. Nile Rodgers.
I was rather skeptical having the gig held in a theatre as that only means that my boogie moves would be restricted with the seats around. That was all playing in my head but knowing me, I won’t exactly demonstrate any moves.
The night started promptly with Zouk resident DJ Adrian Wee, who positioned himself at the console and played some sweet mixes of songs both old and new. It was definitely a boost to hype up the crowd’s energy. I could see from where I was seated, people were already crowding right in front of the stage. It was soon enough when they did the stage set up, we knew we were in for a fantastic dance night.
The band, CHIC, clad in all white filled the stage. The crowd roared with cheers, beckoning Nile to come on stage. Soon enough, he greeted us with a camera in his hands and took photos of the crowd. I must say, this is the first ever gig that I experienced the artiste doing as such and I’m pretty sure he just earned himself a spot as one of the most respectable artistes.
He greeted the crowd like an old friend, never would I thought that you could feel thoroughly comfortable in a gig, connecting with the star of the show like good friends hanging out for coffee.
The night was graced with one of the popular numbers of Ms. Ross. We weren’t told of the title, we were made to guess the tune as the band played the song. I could hear a resounding cheer followed by the string of lyrics the crowd sang and prompted the band to start the song. The crowd was working their moves, be it young or old. It felt like a legit boogie night and it had only just started.
“I’m happy to be here in Singapore with my band CHIC. But let me get this straight, we are not a cover band. Every song that we’ll be playing tonight is all produced by me, all my works.” Said the man of the show. He didn’t come off as douchy at all sounding as such. In fact, my respect for him grew and he has all the rights to make such a statement so that the fans are informed and they won’t make such assumptions.
The night transcended to many more amazing songs, accompanied by the two beautiful vocalists of whom one of them got my goosebumps going on. Ms. Davis has an impeccable voice and she owned the songs like they were written for her. She definitely got people going “Woah, that’s massively rad”. I knew I felt that way.
Songs from Duran Duran’s “Notorious” to Madonna’s “Like A Virgin”, to their own popular number “Le Freak” got us dancing through the night. Though we were all confined to a small space, that didn’t stop us from singing along and perhaps shaking our bums from side to side, from time to time.
My favourite for the night has got to be the mash up of “Upside Down” and “Getting’ Jiggy Wit It”. I couldn’t believe myself when I started moving in tandem with the drum beats; that sure did put a smile on my face!
A huge number of the crowd got invited up to stage to dance with the band and a little boy who was wearing the CHIC shirt was showing his moves, poppin’ and lockin’ and air guitaring every now and then. This goes to show that the music appeals to people of all ages and that little boy was a true example of starting out at a tender age.
I have to admit, I was a bit bummed when they didn’t perform “Get Lucky” live on stage. However, dancing along to the other tracks and witnessing the man who produced the song was good enough for me and my appreciation for his music kicked up a notch. It was a great start to the week and we have LAMC productions to thank for such a wonderful show.
Mr. Nile Rodgers is truly an amazing musician figure. Not only is he multi-talented, but he’s down to earth as well and that is what that makes a musician all the more beautiful. Thank you for the years of music and for teaching me how to have a good time.