A new review of Anh trai vượt ngàn chông gai's October 17–18 concerts in Ho Chi Minh City praises the scale of staging and musical arrangements while questioning the programme's emotional continuity. These are assessments by the reviewer and interviewed audience members.
Technology brings performers closer
The production used a 200-metre zipline over the audience, a 35-metre catwalk, satellite stages, layered LED screens, kinetic lighting and 3D mapping. Đinh Mạnh Ninh, Will, Toki Thành Thỏ and Duy Khánh combined aerial movement with live singing in Tan biến, while circus artist Phùng Minh Cương performed acrobatics.
A boat model and appearances from the rear of the audience created additional staging perspectives. Under music director SlimV, arrangements combined folk influences with rock, rap, EDM and R&B. The reviewer praised vocal distribution that allowed individual singers to demonstrate their live technique.
Overall storytelling draws criticism
The article argues that the nine-chapter structure lacked a strong connecting narrative. Abrupt moves between energetic scenes and ballads, technical pauses and conversations between songs sometimes disrupted momentum.
Hanoi audience member Thanh Hằng found individual performances visually impressive but missed the nostalgic connection of the first season. Some attendees also reported intermittent microphones, uneven volume and uncomfortable bass. Those observations are audience experiences, not measurements of sound throughout the venue.
The article's estimate of nearly 100,000 attendees across two nights describes reported scale rather than audited revenue. The review asks whether technical ambition is matched by control of pacing and a coherent artistic message across the full programme.