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Earlier this evening, we just attended the Lobo concert in the Max Pavilion at the Singapore EXPO. A majority of the audience were in their forties and fifties, but there were also a number of younger people, including small children - obviously brought along by their parents. It was very entertaining, and the music transported us back to the 70s.
It started around 8:20pm (only twenty minutes late :-) The opening act was a local duo of brothers, Mel and Joe, who sang a combination of country and rock-and-roll. They also did a good rendition of "Imagine". Apparently these two were quite well known as child singers, having made waves when they won the (Radio Television Singapore) Talentime singing contest in the Singapore of the 70s. Later they were also part of the band Gypsy.
Then Lobo came on. He looked older and somewhat more frail this time round, but his voice was still pitch perfect, and sounded exactly like in all his recordings. His delivery seemed effortless.
He sang almost all the popular songs we knew - "A Simple Man", "Don't Expect Me To Be Your Friend", "It Sure Took A Long, Long Time":, "Universal Soldier", "Love Me for What I Am", "Rock and Roll Days", "Rings", "Who Will Stop The Rain ","Yellow River" and of course "Me and You and a Dog named Boo" (and he assured the audience there really was a dog named Boo, someone's Alsation which was fortunately passing by when Lobo was mulling over what rhymed with "you" as he was penning the song).
In one part of the show, his partner went down among the audience and cajoled members of the audience to sing the chorus of "Stoney". Here's one of them ...
"Stoney, happy all the time, Stoney, life's a summertime ..."
There was also a cute little boy who bravely sang the Stoney song - a little out of tune, which made it even more adorable - and this brought a huge smile to Lobo's face. Clearly his music can transcend generations.
Here' a view of the audience ...
Something new about Lobo that we learnt tonight was that he has been married for 34 years, and that his son (shown below) is the drummer for the band.
The show ended around 11pm, with one of his signature songs "How Can I Tell Her".
A most nostalgic night indeed ...
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