Concert «Jimmii Nguyễn – Lê Hiếu» at SOL 8

   Mây Lang Thang brings its Đà Lạt formula of close-range concerts to Hanoi: on the last Saturday of October, Jimmii Nguyễn with his own band and Lê Hiếu sing at SOL 8 – Live Stage, where the audience sits at round tables rather than in theatre rows. Love songs from the 1990s heard from a few metres away are a different thing from the same songs through a speaker.

   In brief:

   — vocals: Jimmii Nguyễn and Lê Hiếu
— backing band: Jimmii Band
— indoor stage SOL 8, round-table seating
— four seating tiers

   Jimmii Nguyễn (born Nguyễn Thanh Dũng Ngọc Long) is a Vietnamese-American songwriter, singer and producer and one of the big names of the overseas Vietnamese scene since the early 1990s; «Hoa bằng lăng», «Bên em là biển rộng» and «Chuyện tình buồn» are still covered everywhere. Lê Hiếu (Lê Trung Hiếu) is a familiar ballad voice of domestic pop, best known for «Ngày mai em đi».

   The night suits Hanoi listeners who grew up on overseas Vietnamese tapes and CDs, and anyone who prefers ballads in a large lounge setting — seated, with a drink, not standing in a crowd. Two voices a generation apart on one stage usually produce a duet or two nobody predicted. SOL 8 is in Giảng Võ, a short ride west of the Old Quarter.

   Good to know: SOL 8 – Live Stage at 8 Nguyễn Công Hoan in Giảng Võ seats its audience at round tables, so study the seating plan before you pick. Children under 1 m sit with a parent free of charge; from 1 m to 1.2 m they need their own seat at a 70% surcharge, 30% of which is refunded at check-in. Groups of 10 seats get 5% off, 20 seats 10%; prices include VAT.

   Four seating tiers on the night:

• — PREMIUM / Thảnh Thơi — 2,200,000 VND;
• — VIP / Bềnh Bồng — 1,800,000 VND;
• — STANDARD 1 / Mơ Màng — 1,400,000 VND;
• — STANDARD 2 / Nhởn Nhơ — 900,000 VND.

   Tickets go by table position, so pick your tier with the seating plan open.