Pink Martini in concert – 31 March 2015

I believe I started listening to Pink Martini when I was a young adult. I cannot remember how I got to know of them, probably through a recommendation from a friend (probably the same one that I attended the concert with), but I know that I feel worldlier and sophisticated just by listening to them. The wide range of musical styles and genre, songs from various parts of the world in a variety of language, the jazzy bossa nova style, yep, I feel all grown up. I also like their interpretations of familiar songs, like “Que Sera Sera”, which unfortunately, they did not perform that night.

Nevertheless, simply listening to them is not enough. As with all music that feature a multitude of instruments and strong vocalists, you have to watch them live. My friend and I thought that it was not important to watch them up close; I doubt that they have theatrical stage effects and dancing, so we bought the cheaper tier tickets.  After the concert we were satisfied and happy, declaring that we did indeed get “good seats” (third level front seats of the Esplanade Theatre Hall).

China Forbes, lead vocalist for Pink Martini, did not disappoint. She sounds as good as the recordings, no, scratch that, even better. She has the ability to sail from the lows to the highs with good control. Who can top that? But surprise surprise, out sprung Timothy Nishimoto, vocalist and percussionist. I had forgotten that there was a male vocalist in Pink Martini as well. So out came this tall lanky gentleman, a skinhead and wearing hipster glasses (exuding nerdy charm), who sang “Donde Estas, Yolanda?” and “Zundoko”. Moving to the beat comes effortlessly to him. You can see that he enjoys music and performing, not only through singing and playing instruments, but with his body as well. Every time he steps into the spotlight to perform, I had to smile at his infectious energy and his salsa-esque dance moves (which were jarring at first because he does not look like he can dance at all).

What was even more remarkable about both vocalists was their ability to sing in other languages. I am not a native speaker of anything other than English and Cantonese, but to me, their foreign-language accents and enunciations sounded good. They were perfectly at home singing in foreign languages, effortless and confident. Except for Mandarin. I am not nitpicking, but it is obvious that they have difficulties. When Forbes sang the popular Mandarin oldie, “等着你回来” (loosely translated to “Waiting for your return”), she encountered problems even though she was reading from the lyric sheet. Then both of them teamed up for the Chinese New Year classic “恭喜恭喜” Pink Martini-style, which was a good reinterpretation but felt weird somehow. However, kudos to them for trying. It was still a joy to watch and listen.

The band was stunning. There were a few percussionists juggling various percussions including the drums, a trumpeter, a trombonist, a pianist, a cellist, a guitarist, an English horn player, and a violinist. You could not tell, by listening to their recordings, that that many instruments go into making their music. To see them play and hear everything meld into one fantastic sound is nothing short of jaw dropping. They also invited a guest performer from Kuala Lumpur, Sean Ghazi, who did a duet with Forbes for “Let’s Never Stop Falling in Love” (he sang the lyrics in Malay) and “Get Happy/Happy Days”. He is good. He also sang his own song, titled “Semalam” (“Overnight” as translated from Malay).

So yes, Pink Martini is one to watch LIVE. On hindsight, watch them up close, to catch all the nuances, all the emoting and the musical prowess. It would be an entirely different experience, I promise you that. I believed we would have been even more blown away (than we already were) up close.

They ended the concert with “Brazil”, an up-tempo song that got some of the audience out of their seats, ending the night with an exhilarating high.

Note: I am sorry that there are no photos accompanying this post.