You Oughta Know: Singapore's 20 Greatest Gigs Ever

Pick up this week's issue of I-S Magazine...it contains an interesting list of Singapore's top 20 gigs. Here are the Top 20 according to I-S mag:

1. Michael Jackson, Dangerous World Tour, Aug 29-30, 1993
2. The Rolling Stones, Mar 24 & 26, 2004
3. Buena Vista Social Club, Feb 18, 2001
4. Bjork, Feb 23, 1996
5. Tortoise, Mar 17, 2005
6. David Bowie, Reality Tour, Mar 4, 2004
7. Robbie Williams, Oct 21, 2002
8. Tina Turner, Apr 13, 1996
9. Santana, Apr 18, 1994
10. Pet Shop Boys, Discovery Tour, Oct 26, 1994
11. Travis/Coldplay, Jul 29, 2001
12. Grace Jones, Jun 26, 1997
13. Suede, Mar 7, 1997
14. Metallica, Apr 13, 1993
15. Asian Dub Foundation, WOMAD, Sep 2, 2000
16. Depeche Mode, Devotional Tour, Mar 1, 1994
17. Ryuichi Sakamoto, Trio World Tour, Aug 8, 1996
18. R.E.M., Feb 7, 1995
19. Jay Chou, Incomparable to Jay World Tour, Nov 26-27, 2004
20. Sonic Youth/Foo Fighters, Jan 16, 1996

Number One is Michael Jackson's Dangerous World Tour...why am I not surprised? It was the biggest concert Singapore ever had, no doubt about it. MJ performed at the National Stadium for 2 nights and both nights were sold out. 90,000 people watched him perform and he earned a reported $9 million from the gigs.

It was a real pity I wasn't a fan of him yet at that time. What a waste. But I did go for the HIStory tour in 1996, which was good, but wasn't as huge as the first time he came.

The great thing about the Dangerous Tour is that the National Stadium is a huge arena and only the biggest names can afford to stage a concert there. These days, artistes opt for smaller venues like the Indoor Stadium, which can sit about 8,000 to 11,000 people, depending on the stage layout. Even then, they hardly sell out.

Even stadium rockers like The Rolling Stones held their Forty Licks Tour at the Indoor Stadium, where the atmosphere is considerably less electrifying then an open-air venue like the National Stadium. So it's an amazing feat that MJ sold out both nights of his concerts at the National Stadium.

For those who remember, MJ was embroiled in the child-molest allegations at that time of the tour, and he was suffering from "dehydration" in Singapore, leading him to postpone one of the nights. Thousands of fans queued up for nothing but they got to watch him perform on August 29th, which was his birthday. And Singapore sang "Happy Birthday" to MJ, how cool is that!

Alright, I know I'm waxing lyrical about MJ, but then again, it's rare that he gets positive news like this, so I'm milking it for all its worth.

Anyway, regarding the list, I'm sad that No Doubt/Cranberries' double bill concert wasn't in the Top 20. To me, it was the best concert ever, so far at least. But then again, I realise that I've never been to any of them Top 20 concerts listed here, so I can't really say.

Anyone realised that there's only one Asian pop artiste in the Top 20? And it's gotta be Jay. Goes to show how far the gulf between Asian and Western pop is.

Anyway, do you agree with the list? Feel free to comment :)