Let's sing about love
Eight performers take on the romantic ballads of Dee-Seefa
Last week’s concert in honour of two veteran writers of love songs served up four hours of happiness and fun and, surprisingly, some discontent too, to the fans of the genre who packed Siam Paragon Hall to capacity.
“Dee-Seefa: The Lyrics of Love” featured more than 40 songs written by Nitipong “Dee” Hornak and “Seefa”, the penname of Kalayarat Waranawat, each with more than two decades of songwriting behind them and dozens of hits to their credit.
The songwriters kicked off the show by singing with “I Write the Songs” along with eight guest singers. Written by Bruce Johnston for then teen-idol David Cassidy, it was recorded by Barry Manilow in 1975 and became a massive hit. It’s since become Nitipong’s signature song.
Next, the four male singers and four female singers took turns to sing two medleys of sad songs.
Jennifer Kim thrilled the audience with her sweet rendering of “February”, and was rewarded with long applause and cheers at the end.
Mai Charoenpura also succeeded in pleasing the audience with her powerful vocals on “Chan Tham Pid Eng” (I Was Wrong).
Ben Chalathit sang “Siajai Daiyin Mai” (Do You Hear I am Sad?) with so much energy that he was left panting at the end and was rewarded for his efforts with a large teddy bear from an audience member.
Most members of the audience sang along with almost all of the songs performed during the concert.
The sound was well balanced and not too noisy even for those seated near the speakers. However, during the first round on Saturday (there was a second round on Sunday), the supposedly live images of the concert on the large screens never synched with the actual show but were slightly delayed, infuriating many in the audience.
Christina Aguilar, who was known as “Dancing Queen” during her heyday almost two decades ago, danced energetically while singing “Rak Thae Yang-ngai” (Is It True Love?), and was later joined by Ben and Aof Pongsak. Earlier in the concert, Aof also thrilled the audience with his award-winning singing talent.
Other singers Am Saowalak, Jo Jirayut, and Boy Peacemaker sang their hits as well as covering songs written by the two songwriters. They also contributed a good share of funny remarks and impressive moments.
But a problem with covering songs written for other singers is that you can never get them quite right. That was evident on that night, with many of the performers singing not only in the wrong key but also getting the lyrics wrong.
The concert ended with “Khongkwan Chak Kondin” (Presents from Clods of Earth), a song written by Nitipong in honour of His Majesty the King. It was sung by all the eight singers and the two songwriters, as sand artist Kongkiat Kongchandee created a series of sand paintings, finishing with an image of the King.
