A few weeks ago I saw this at Eastpoint.
Ron Korb in Sembawang
And today I went to Eastpoint to catch him live.
All truth be told. I had no idea who this guy was. All I knew was that he had an extra large (cough) flute. And I wanted to give him a listen. We are after all, professional bandsman.
And as luck would have it , my sandals became a pair of flip-flops. Literally. Apparently the bottom sole came apart which made every step I took mildly annoying. Not to mention the looks I got when the bottom sole slaps against the top one. Bata came to the rescue and I bought the exact same pair. Just don’t ask me why.
Eastpoint never looked so crowded before today. Usually the Eastpoint I know is about as dead as shopping centres get.The only stores that seems to make enough money to sustain themselves are the Best denki Stores and NTUC fairprice. Which is why I like it here. Peaceful and quiet.
Even after my business with Bata, the stage was still empty. No host playing mind-numbing games. No flashing lights. Just some chinese sounding music (which I later learn is actually one of the tracks in Ron’s CD) and a Booth set up beside the stage.
Half an hour and still no sign
The weird thing about this event is that just in front of the stage was a Watsons sale.
I don’t really know what Watsons has to do with the concert but I’m pretty sure their business was affected. The minute Ron came out, tupperwares were dropped, Children seated and the spotlight followed Ron like his shadow.
The first thing Ron said was in heavily-accented Chinese.
” Da Jia Hao”. Hello everyone.
Salegirls treated to a free show.
The canadian born flautist then interacted with the emcee who asked him about how many flutes he could play. Then came the mind-blooging answer.
“117 “
And he left it at that. I didn’t even know there were that many kinds of flutes.
The first song he charmed the audience with was a song which has a vague Chinese New Year feel to it. Using a Di zi( Chinese flute) look-alike he played this piece with all the grace of a swan. Ok. He and the accompaniment background track played with all the grace of a swan.
The seond song I had no recollection of because I was running around trying to get a good shot.
The third song that caught my attention was the Japanese themed Okaido. Sounding like a theme song from some Samurai movie it basically just sounds very japanese.
Playing to the tune of more moola
The fourth song…
Wait.. there was no fourth song.
I left after the third for band practice, but I assume he must have played at least six because when my bus arrived 15 minutes later, he was still playing. Or was it the DJ?
Don’t play play.
Conclusion. Lose the Watsons sale. Get a live band. If not, for free, this is pretty good entertainment. What’s more if you buy the CD from the booth, you get free tickets to his performance at DXO and get this, a bottle of body spray.
That’s quality for money.
