Minishow «Đức Long & Minh Thu»

   An evening shared by two singers works differently from an evening built around one: the programme lives on the switch between two ways of phrasing a line. On Friday the small stage in Đống Đa, a short ride west of the Old Quarter, belongs to two names from Vietnamese lyrical song and the pre-war repertoire — both of them holders of state honorary titles.

   In brief:

• — two voices in one night: Duc Long (Đức Long) and Minh Thu
• — the venue announces them with the titles NSND and NSƯT
• — repertoire: tình ca, pre-war Vietnamese songs, songs about Hanoi
• — guests sit at tables, the sound is fully live, seats go by advance booking

   NSND (Nghệ sĩ Nhân dân, People's Artist) and NSƯT (Nghệ sĩ Ưu tú, Meritorious Artist) are Vietnam's state honorary titles for performers, conferred by the country's president: Meritorious comes first, People's Artist is the higher rank and usually goes to someone who has held a stage for decades. Đức Long comes from Hòn Gai in Quảng Ninh and worked as a coal miner before he sang for a living; he took first prize at a national singing contest in 1980 and received the People's Artist title after 47 years in the profession, building his name on tình ca and the pre-war songbook while teaching voice. Minh Thu has spent more than 25 years on stage singing lyrical repertoire and songs about Hanoi, and has recorded the music of Phú Quang and Phó Đức Phương; «Hà Nội của tôi», «Chiếc lá cuối cùng» and «Thu rất thật thu» are regulars in her sets.

   The evening suits you if you like lyrical Vietnamese repertoire, prefer a concert where you sit at a table instead of standing in a crowd, or want to hear two different timbres set side by side. The songs are sung in Vietnamese — the classic repertoire the tea-room audience knows line by line.

   The room matters here as much as the set. Trixie Cafe & Lounge in Đống Đa has been running minishows by Vietnamese singers for years, hosting Mỹ Tâm, Hồ Ngọc Hà, Tuấn Hưng and Vũ Cát Tường on the same small stage. By day it is a garden cafe with a menu of more than a hundred main dishes; by night it turns into a tea room with live sound.

   The venue has not announced a price for the night: its listing gives the performers' names but neither an entry fee nor a table surcharge, so ask about the terms when you reserve a seat.

   Two voices, a small stage and a few steps between them and you — a weekend night worth booking ahead.