Concert «Tăng Phúc – Thiên Minh»

   A small hall with tables, a live band and a voice carrying just a few metres to the listener — that is how a phòng trà works, the Vietnamese tea-house music room. In one of them, right in the centre of Saigon, two pop singers share a stage, and the venue announces the night as their first programme together.

   Tăng Phúc and Thiên Minh carry the whole evening between them: no arena wall of sound, a live band behind them and talk with the room between songs. The pull of the night is already visible in the seating plan — of the six zones in the hall three are closed, both of the priciest ones in the centre near the stage and the most affordable one at the side.

   The short version
two singers, billed by the venue as their first programme together
phòng trà format — tables, a live band, a small room on an upper floor of the theatre
six seating zones, three of them already gone
the side Bình Tây zones do not see the whole stage and are served by a support LED screen
a few seats in the middle of the room are partly behind columns

   This one is for you if you would rather hear a voice than a sound system: for listeners of Vietnamese pop, for couples and small groups who want a table and a conversation rather than a standing crowd. If what you are after in Saigon is live music instead of a club night, this format is the closest thing to it.

   The venue itself is Nhà hát Bến Thành, a city theatre that on its own website describes itself as a public arts and culture institution in the centre of phường Sài Gòn. It holds two stages under one roof, which is worth knowing in advance. The first floor runs the shows of The Starry series, while the phòng trà room used tonight sits higher up, on lầu 3. Both stages share the same street address, so it helps to say at the entrance that you are heading to the phòng trà.

   A few things to plan for: the room runs its own kitchen and bar, outside food and drink are not allowed, and a guest who orders no drinks pays a surcharge of 80,000 ₫. Some central seats are partly blocked by columns, and at the door you will be asked for the name and phone number you entered when paying.

   If a concert where you can hear the singer draw breath between songs appeals to you more than a big stage with screens, this is exactly that scale of evening. Pick the zone that matches how you like to listen, and take a table early: the seats nearest the stage are the ones that close first here.