Paris By Night 91 - Hue Saigon Hanoi
April 12th, 2008
I get excited every time Thuy Nga releases a new video, because I get to rip their piece of crap product into pieces on my blog. However after watching Paris by night 91 — Hue Sai Gon Ha Noi, I walked away utterly thwarted. There will be no ripping of any sort this time.
The program takes its audience on a musical journey from Hanoi, Hue, to Saigon. The transition between each region flows beautifully with a well-scripted documentary, followed by a collaboration of singers in an arrangement by composer Pham Duy.
The selection of songs celebrating Hanoi is simply amazing. In “Hướng Về Hà Nội,” Thu Phuong poured out her soul on every note, rendering the live performance nothing short of breathtaking. Quang Dung finally lived up to his star quality in “Hà Nội Ngày Trở Về,” though I find the arrangement a bit banausic. I was also unimpressed with Thanh Truc’s and Tu Quyen’s tasteless rendition of “Em Đi Chùa Hương.” The Son totally butchered one of my favorite Ha Noi songs “Hà Nội Mùa Vắng Những Cơn Mưa.” His cover is no where near Cam Van’s.
The Hue section of the program is a snore fest, barring the number by Khanh Ly and Quang Le, where the collapsing bridge was brilliantly simulated on stage. The comedy was smartly written. Huong Thuy acted as well as she looked, and shortie Be Ti cracked me up with her dead on Hue accent.
Huong Lan proved she’s still the queen of Saigon in a Tân Cổ with Minh Vuong. Tam Doan’s bubbly performance brought the beautiful imagery of Vietnam’s countryside to life, though she seemed just a bit too old and slightly too pudgy to be pouncing around like a 20-year-old. It’s nice to see Minh Tuyet fully dressed, yet again.
What baffled me is the inclusion of Top Chef winner Huynh Hung in the program. I totally don’t get it. Also, Nguyen Ngoc Ngan needs to get his head out of Mai Thien Van’s ass. Thuy Nga has hoped to replace the vocals of Ngoc Ha and the beauty of Nhu Quynh with this new comer. What they got instead is an average singer with horse teeth and a mustache. Before they can bring her to stardom, they need to bring her to Hanh Phuoc Cosmetic Surgery first. No hard feelings MTV!