Music Night Remembering Tran Lap: Warm Fire Lights the Way Home

(Baonghean) - Tran Lap passed away at the age of 41, but his voice and the songs he left behind with the band Buc Tuong still have warmth, transmitting heat to thousands of spectators present at Quan Ngua Sports Palace, even though it was only 15 degrees Celsius outside.

Tran Lap moments

Amidst the bitter cold of Hanoi, thousands of spectators crowded together to listen to the rock music of The Wall, showing the attraction of the event. Many students held hands and sang his songs such as “Return”, “Soul of Stone”, “Father and Son”, “Girl with Red Scarf”, “Faith for Dust”...

In the dim space, a figure resembling Tran Lap appeared on stage. The audience applauded enthusiastically when that figure - singer Hieu Tran, member of the Hotsky band - broke the silence of the concert in memory of Tran Lap with the song Rock Through the Night.

Artists turned to the resilient image of Tran Lap when he was alive when singing "Road to Glory".

Director Pham Hoang Nam and the crew of the music night “Tran Lap - See You Again” cleverly interspersed the performances with images and documentary footage about him. Sometimes it was an excerpt from the MV “Men say”, sometimes it was a video of Tran Lap impromptu singing “Tro ve” on a New Year’s morning, or an image of friends recording the moment he and his wife hugged each other on a motorbike trip, or Tran Lap’s confession when he learned he had a serious illness.

In each song such as: “Going out to sea”, “Long trips”, “Return”, “White ban flowers”, “Black eyes”, “Yesterday”, “Soul of stone”… the audience can hear Tran Lap’s voice singing at each climax. Tran Lap has passed away, but his music and his personality still “live” in such a vivid way.

Willpower and passion burn forever

Tran Lap is not an artist whose name can be compared to the world's music stars. But his life and his voice have created a different value. This year's stage does not have him, but that does not mean that Tran Lap's image has faded.

It was not because of the stage setup with the motorbike launched by MC Anh Tuan from the wings, the standing microphone with a strong beam of light shining down, along with the strummed guitar of Tuan Hung and the shrill cello of Anh Tuan that thousands of audiences felt that Tran Lap was singing.

He is still present to "connect" the reunion of the brothers, creating a reunion of the band Buc Tuong on stage after more than 20 years of sharing the joys and sorrows together.

A year ago, music lovers across the country had wonderful memories of a Rock music night honoring The Wall - Tran Lap and his friends. At that time, Tran Lap, despite being tormented by physical pain, still sang with all his heart, still passed on the flame of passion to his friends.

Not long after that call-to-arms song, Tran Lap passed away, leaving behind much sadness and regret for his fans and Buc Tuong. Everyone was choked up by the life of the talented but ill-fated musician and leader who built the map for Vietnamese Rock.

Many artists such as: Tung Duong, Pham Anh Khoa, Ta Quang Thang, Ngu Cung, MicroWave, Ha My, Hoang Mario, Tuan RC, Dung Joon... sang songs by Tran Lap and the band Buc Tuong. The music night was full of Rock spirit, but also had moments of choking and calmness. Not colorful, minimalist but filled with music and love.

All 10 members from the founding of the band Buc Tuong until now were present. They were present to make the documentary about Tran Lap's life "Like Yesterday" more complete and meaningful.

The concert ended with singing and the promise of "See you again". Those who love Tran Lap will certainly continue to keep the flame of his passion and determination burning forever.

Hue Anh