The crisis on San Francisco’s streets shocks many international visitors, including a Chinese superstar singer.
Eason Chan, a Hong Kong-based pop star, made his Chase Center debut Wednesday night as part of his North American tour. About 13,000 fans packed the sports arena, home to the seven-time basketball champion team the Golden State Warriors.
During the concert, Chan didn’t waste too much time talking, but he shared his unexpected experiences walking on the city streets.
In Chinese, Chan said he had been in the city for several days, and when he walked on the streets, he would see people in behavioral health crises. And then he imitated a zombie with half-closed eyes and appeared to be unconsciously dragging himself walking, triggering laughter from the audience.
He also fired a shot at the city’s dirty streets by jumping around the stage pretending to avoid something unpleasant—a veiled reference to human feces.
It was unclear where in San Francisco Chan was staying. However, he shared on his social media that he had taken a ride on the California Street cable car line Downtown.
Chan still thanked his San Francisco fans for supporting his concert and sang many of his popular Mandarin and Cantonese songs, including "Long Time No See (好久不見)," "Seven Hundred Years Later (七百年後)" and "Tuo Fei Lun (陀飛輪)."
“San Francisco show tickets were sold out in the shortest time compared to other North American shows,” he said in Cantonese. “Thank you. It’s all because of you!”
Chan, 49, is one of the most successful Chinese singers in Asia and has been Hong Kong’s most-streamed artist on Spotify for years. The resale ticket price of his Chase Center show ranged from $300 to over $1,000.
As The Standard first reported in July, Chan was the first Asian singer ever to host a concert in Chase Center—a feat he mentioned multiple times during Wednesday’s performance. His appearance in Vancouver, the next step on the tour, is scheduled for next week.