At 7 PM, about 30 minutes before Phuong My Chi's "Folk Music Enthusiasts" concert was scheduled to begin, heavy rain poured down on Ho Chi Minh City, causing concern among many. Once again, a significant milestone in the singer's career began amidst a torrential downpour. With a stage featuring complex staging like "Folk Music Enthusiasts ," weather can significantly impact the experience for both the artist and the audience.
Fortunately, after the show was delayed by about 15 minutes, the weather began to calm down. Any raindrops, if any, only fell lightly under the lights, inadvertently becoming a rather beautiful part of the stage, which had already been meticulously designed visually.
In fact, it would be more accurate to say that "Folk Music Enthusiasts" is an interesting album rather than a truly outstanding product, as the investment in ideas and the way various folk elements are blended doesn't always yield effective results. Furthermore, bringing a meticulously recorded project to the stage presents Phương Mỹ Chi with significant challenges in terms of singing, vocal technique, and maintaining energy throughout the performance. And at the age of 23, the female singer shows why she is one of the most prominent faces of the new generation.
Phuong My Chi overcame obstacles but the journey is not yet complete.
With its storytelling approach, Folk Music Enthusiasts is structured as a journey with a clear destination, revolving around the idea of "treasure hunt." From that starting point, the audience is guided through layers of culture from the North, Central, and South of Vietnam, while the already rich material in the album has more space to connect and appear more naturally on stage.
The appearance of artist Dai Nghia as the narrator was therefore a rather interesting choice. Familiar with the theater stage, he helped the different parts of the program flow more naturally, avoiding the feeling that each segment stood alone. In addition, acting, dancing, and puppetry were incorporated just enough as embellishments, contributing to a lively narrative.
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The music stands out thanks to its blend of folk songs with pop, electronic, hip-hop, R&B, and rock. |
Music is also a key element that keeps the show engaging throughout its approximately three-hour runtime. The "Folk Music Enthusiasts" album itself is quite substantial in terms of material, constantly blending traditional music with pop, electronic, hip-hop, R&B, and rock. When performed on stage, some arrangements are structurally altered, adding drops or increasing the tempo to enhance audience interaction.
The band played solidly and maintained a good level of energy throughout the performance. In tracks with a strong tempo, the drums, guitar, and electronic layers were pushed just enough to create a climax without overpowering the vocals. Conversely, when the music returned to folk or ballad styles, the accompaniment was toned down, leaving more space for the vocals.
The diversity was quite evident in each performance. "Choosing the Righteous" blended pop/electronic and hip-hop with the colors of Thai folk music, the zither, and the bamboo flute. "Testing the Gentleman's Heart" combined electronic pop, rap/R&B with the call-and-response style of Xoan singing, while "The Weak Willow and the Tender Peach" juxtaposed deep house with Cai Luong and classical opera. In "Xam Construction ," the Xam style was transformed into alternative rock with thicker guitar and drums, creating one of the sonic climaxes of the evening.
Phuong My Chi also has an advantage as most of her performances fall within her area of expertise. Her long career in folk music has given her a natural ability to articulate words, use vocal embellishments, and create soft nuances. Even more commendable is her adaptability to various folk genres. From call-and-response Xoan singing with its Central Vietnamese influences to Xam, Cai Luong, and classical opera, each genre requires different word choice, emphasis, and expression. While Phuong My Chi hasn't delved deeply into all of them as a specialist, she switches between them relatively flexibly and maintains a natural singing style.
However, blending multiple elements isn't always seamless. In some songs, the transitions from folk to pop or ballad, then back to traditional styles, are quite abrupt and even more noticeable during live performances. Some compositions also fail to skillfully connect the musical sections, resulting in awkward and somewhat cheesy transitions, especially when familiar pop or ballad phrases are immediately followed by parts heavily influenced by folk music.
Overall, the music in "Dân chơi dân ca" (Folk Music Enthusiasts) performed quite well on stage. The well-planned arrangement, the band's solid playing, and Phương Mỹ Chi's performance skills made many songs more appealing. The album features some interesting compositions, but the number of truly outstanding songs is not large, resulting in inconsistent musical quality throughout the show.
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The way different elements are blended in some of the songs isn't really cohesive. |
Large-scale staging
Besides the music, the staging also demonstrates the level of investment in "Folk Song Enthusiasts ." The stage is spacious, with multiple layers of visuals, yet overall maintains control. Each stage of the journey from North to Central to South Vietnam is concretized through lighting, costumes, props, and different spatial organization. As a result, the story of "treasure hunt" is quite clearly depicted visually, effectively supporting Dai Nghia's narration.
This approach is evident in the performances that draw on specific cultural elements. "Choosing the Right Objects" includes bamboo pole dancing, xòe dance, and flute music; " Dắt anh chơi hội đưa hò Bả Trạo" incorporates imagery associated with the Nghinh Ông festival; and "Thiên đường với người thương" expands to Khmer culture and Robam dance. The amount of material is quite substantial, but it's distributed relatively well, each performance has its own space, and it avoids feeling overwhelming.
The LED screen system was also effectively utilized, constantly changing throughout the program to expand the stage space and support the narrative. With a show featuring multiple layers of choreography, acting, and scenes happening simultaneously, this visual approach made it easier for the audience to follow.
The guest lineup was also quite well-chosen. Huong Lan and Quang Le appeared in "Bài ca đất phương Nam" (Song of the Southern Land) , creating a meeting of singers from different generations who share a connection to Phuong My Chi's journey. In "Liễu yếu đào tơ" (Weak Willow and Silk Peach), the participation of Meritorious Artist Trinh Trinh added weight to the traditional Vietnamese opera and theater genres when placed alongside a modern arrangement.
The subsequent collaborations were also calculated based on the characteristics of each vocalist. Kay Tran or Shiki, for example, were better suited to parts with a more youthful rhythm and spirit.
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The concert was highlighted by its multi-layered stage and well-invested visual system. |
Overall, the staging of "Folk Music Enthusiasts" feels polished and purposeful. A program lasting about three hours, traversing many cultural regions and using a large amount of material, could easily fall into ostentation or triviality, but the team largely maintained cohesion.
Phuong My Chi herself also showed clear signs of maturity in her stage presence and interaction with the audience. The singer was calmer and more natural in her conversations, not trying to create extra gimmicks or constantly liven up the atmosphere. This sincerity helped shorten the distance between her and the audience, and at the same time made "Folk Song Player" a milestone of greater maturity in her career.
Source: https://znews.vn/phuong-my-chi-vuot-the-kho-post1687356.html
