Saw Erasure a few times in small venues, once with front-row seats in a theatre that sat perhaps 800, and another time in a club that maybe held 300. Small venues make for quite an intimate experience. I imagine the ecstasy of a shared experience with 60k other fans is quite an experience, too.
It was quite something! But I do prefer the intimacy of smaller venues. I'm paying to see the performer and it's nice to actually be able to see the person on the stage as opposed to the screen.
In September of 2019, amongst the backdrop of Hong Kong's largest-ever protests against the new extradition bill, I secured front-section seats to the Hans Zimmer's concert. I have always been into movie soundtracks, and in fact after I got my first ever Sony Discman in the 90s, the Jurassic Park soundtrack was the first CD I ever bought.
I brought one of my closes friends, a childhood friend from the US who had a similar interest in soundtracks. Rolling into the HKCEC in Wanchai we took a taxi as numerous MRT stations were closed due to the mass protests. It was surreal as the taxi navigated closed streets, with improvised barricades here and there. Though America was where we were both born and raised both of us had spent some of our childhood in HK, and the situation weighed heavily on both of us.
Entering the concert venue I was thrilled I was able to get a seat near the front, we could see the expression on every performer's face clearly from here.
The concert started and each song evoked powerful memories and emotions from the movies they were composed for. The performers were all world class and I found myself moved to tears multiple times as each song brought back memories. From the haunting beauty of the vocalist singing Gladiator's "Now We are Free", from the scene were Maximus succumbed to his wounds, with visions of reuniting with wife and son in heaven. The slowly building "Chevaliers de Sangreal" from The Da Vinci Code starting with a single violin and then the mystery is finally solved culminating in a full blown orchestral powerhouse with full choir. The tension and urgency of the Interstellar Theme with the brilliant use of organs brought back memories of humanity exploring the fringes of space and time while being heartbroken and lonely being so far away from their loved ones. The concert ended with "Time" from Inception evoking thoughts and questions around life, dreams, and memories. As the concert neared the closed I turned to my concert partner who was in tears as well as we both knew that Hong Kong as we knew it was over and perhaps this is the last time we could see a concert like this here.
Saw Erasure a few times in small venues, once with front-row seats in a theatre that sat perhaps 800, and another time in a club that maybe held 300. Small venues make for quite an intimate experience. I imagine the ecstasy of a shared experience with 60k other fans is quite an experience, too.
It was quite something! But I do prefer the intimacy of smaller venues. I'm paying to see the performer and it's nice to actually be able to see the person on the stage as opposed to the screen.
In September of 2019, amongst the backdrop of Hong Kong's largest-ever protests against the new extradition bill, I secured front-section seats to the Hans Zimmer's concert. I have always been into movie soundtracks, and in fact after I got my first ever Sony Discman in the 90s, the Jurassic Park soundtrack was the first CD I ever bought.
I brought one of my closes friends, a childhood friend from the US who had a similar interest in soundtracks. Rolling into the HKCEC in Wanchai we took a taxi as numerous MRT stations were closed due to the mass protests. It was surreal as the taxi navigated closed streets, with improvised barricades here and there. Though America was where we were both born and raised both of us had spent some of our childhood in HK, and the situation weighed heavily on both of us.
Entering the concert venue I was thrilled I was able to get a seat near the front, we could see the expression on every performer's face clearly from here.
The concert started and each song evoked powerful memories and emotions from the movies they were composed for. The performers were all world class and I found myself moved to tears multiple times as each song brought back memories. From the haunting beauty of the vocalist singing Gladiator's "Now We are Free", from the scene were Maximus succumbed to his wounds, with visions of reuniting with wife and son in heaven. The slowly building "Chevaliers de Sangreal" from The Da Vinci Code starting with a single violin and then the mystery is finally solved culminating in a full blown orchestral powerhouse with full choir. The tension and urgency of the Interstellar Theme with the brilliant use of organs brought back memories of humanity exploring the fringes of space and time while being heartbroken and lonely being so far away from their loved ones. The concert ended with "Time" from Inception evoking thoughts and questions around life, dreams, and memories. As the concert neared the closed I turned to my concert partner who was in tears as well as we both knew that Hong Kong as we knew it was over and perhaps this is the last time we could see a concert like this here.
Wow, what a powerful account of an evening to remember. Thank you Hans for sharing this moment with me!