Live4MusiC

By Victoria Barker

 

British rock band Kasabian have been called many things, from Britpop wannabes to troublemakers, thanks to their penchant over the years for mouthing off.

But they have also been hailed by many as one of the best live bands today.

The quintet's maiden Singapore gig on Wednesday night proved that they are worthy of that title.

But, if anyone was expecting to witness some of vocalist Tom Meighan's signature barbed wit - the guy has a reputation for slagging off fellow musicians, even taking potshots at U2 - he'd have been disappointed.

Meighan, as well as vocalist-guitarist and main songwriter Sergio Pizzorno, both 31, were extremely well-behaved, and were perfect gentlemen throughout their blistering 95-minute set.

The two, though not exactly chatty, frequently praised the 6,000-strong crowd and encouraged them to clap, sing and jump along to their electro-rock tunes, kicking off with Days Are Forgotten at 9.30pm.

That song was one of several on the setlist from the band's fourth and latest album, Velociraptor!, although it was older songs like L.S.F (Lost Souls Forever) and Club Foot - from their 2004 debut - that truly enthralled.

Judging by the audience's frenzied reaction to those numbers, it was clear that the headliners far outshone their opening act, lauded Brit up-and-comers The Vaccines.

The latter - a London outfit that formed in 2010 and which have been garnering major buzz in Britain - served up a 45-minute set mostly consisting of songs from their debut album, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?, which was released last year.

Though tight musically and enthusiastic, it was clear that The Vaccines still have some way to go when it comes to perfecting a live set.

But perhaps they learnt a thing or two from Kasabian that night.

After all, the glorious rock 'n' roll swagger most prominently displayed during the three-song encore - comprising Switchblade Smiles, Vlad The Impaler and the infinitely-infectious Fire - has surely been perfected after 15 years in the business.

Talk about living up to expectations.

- My Paper 

This completely sold out show of 3,500 strong fully deserved it! The queue before the show was one of the longest I've seen at Fort Canning. 







Before we move on to Foster The People, let's begin with the local alternative/electro/indie opening band, Auditory Effect. It's not common practice to have local opening bands but the response from the crowd was welcoming. And when the music began, the quality of their compositions and performance just spoke for themselves. Kudos to Chugg for taking this initiative to provide talented local musicians with exposure.





And after a lengthy wait, Foster The People finally took the stage and the crowd just went crazy! Even more so as Mark Foster dashed to the front! The band, which was formed just 2 years ago are now halfway round the globe and performing to capacity crowds.

by Zhang Weifang

 

Bless the Scissor Sisters' bellies, for the Sisters - excluding Babydaddy - were struck with a bout of food poisoning from their previous stop in Bali. Thankfully, that didn't stop the quintet of Jake Shears, Ana Matronic, Del Marquis, Randy Real, Babydaddy and two female back-up vocalists from churning out an astronomical show at Fort Gate at Fort Canning Park on Monday night.

Despite the 90-minute hold-up that left many a punter irascible, any bad mood was swiftly disposed of when the band took to the stage. Flanked by the rest of their team, Shears and Matronic pounced into the arena - in all their shredded denim and yellow polka-dot glory - with opener track Night Work. Unfortunately, their introductory ditty didn't quite hit the ground running, with the sound system drowning out Shears and Matronic. 

Later, Matronic called out to the sweaty 2,500-strong assembly. "We are all feeling a touch of a Bali belly ... The louder you scream, the better we'll feel," she rallied, before she and Shears launched into T*** On The Radio, replete with high falsetto sing-a-longs, rapturous cheers and wolf whistles from an adoring crowd.

Gloriously shameless, Shears peeled off his jacket to reveal not very much else and joined Matronic in Running Out, a fast-paced piece of glam pop introspection. Later, the front woman whipped out her tambourine and slipped into Pink Floyd gear with Shears in the band's rendition of the gorgeous Comfortably Numb. 

The evening was a winner - but not just because the Sisters belted out popular numbers like I Don't Feel Like Dancing, Take Your Mama Out and Filthy/Gorgeous (even though there were one too many languid numbers from the third album on the set-list). 

Success came from the way Shears and Matronic delivered a mellifluous harmony that shows just how hard they've worked over a decade; their dedication and perseverance despite having their own country (that would be the United States) under-appreciate them terribly. It's their adoration for the music that places them on a pedestal far from the reaches of the pretenders. ZHANG WEIFANG  

It’s Starry Nite XIV, for the XIV^th time! The organiser, SMU Soundfoundry, never fail to make it a rocking blast! Amidst their intensive exam preparation, SMU students know there’s always the time for Starry Nite.

And the one thing for sure that Starry Nite will bring to you, it’s awesome live music. It’s the event we all look forward to.

So what was rocking the stage this time round!

We saw some new bands, “The Flying Yam Cakes” and “Uncle John’s Moon Party” joining the line-up this time and to no surprise, the crowd just loved them.

Guest Band, Run Neon Tiger mesmerises the crowd with their rock originals!

 

And the familiar faces we never got enough of.

Chordless

Like always, turning the crowd wild with their energetic music, it's head-banging time with St. Helens!

 

And finally the all-time favourite, Yelyn and Her Boys, engaging the crowd with popular covers and getting them all up and dancing!

 

Thank you once again to SMU Soundfoundry for the invitation, Starry Nite has always been a great entertainment and it's a pleasure to be involved.

Cheers,

Terence

Santa Monica, CA / Singapore (Nov 30, 2011) — Music luminaries Dr. Dre
and Jimmy Iovine kick-started the Beats By Dr. Dre inaugural tour of Asia this week, making Singapore their first stop. Hong Kong and Taipei are to follow, before they wrap up in Tokyo and mark their first post-tsunami visit to Japan. Partnering with top collaborators and celebrities in the region, this will be the first opportunity for Asian music fans to experience Beats with its founders and see why it is a world-class brand with a strong foothold in the lifestyle, pop culture and technology markets.

“The Asian and Japanese market has long been one of the world’s hottest
and biggest trendsetting markets for music as well as a flashpoint for
technology and creativity,” said Jimmy Iovine, Chairman of Beats by Dr. Dre and Chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, which is a
division of Universal Music Group and a stakeholder in Beats. “We are excited to showcase our product line to the region’s market, which will allow them to finally hear music the way that they artist intended.”

Beats By Dr. Dre has recently launched its stunning new fall collection which
includes Beats By Dr. Dre Colors, the Beats by Dr. Dre MIXR, the Beats by
Dr. Dre Wireless and the Beats by Dr Dre Beatbox. For more information,
please visit www.beatsbydre.com

It was the first time in 11 years that Snoop & Dre have performed together for television - it was seen in 20 countries worldwide.



Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine and Luke Wood (President of Beats by Dre) then stopped into Hong Kong to meet fans at an exclusive Apple Hong Kong consumer event, and then onto Taipei yesterday for a HTC event. Today, onto Tokyo, where Dr Dre and Luke Woodwill stop to chat to fans at the Apple Ginza store, and wrap with a Beats party at the infamous Le Bar



Corporation, a global designer of mobile devices, to celebrate their new
strategic partnership. Collaborating to pioneer the future of the smart phone
industry, HTC and Beats aim to create superior mobile audio experiences for consumers, which will result in a line of HTC devices integrated with Beats’ sound innovations. The Taiwan leg of the tour will also feature a celebrity-packed party at the popular club, Luxy, with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.



To wrap up the Beats regional tour, Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine will head to
Japan for their first post-tsunami visit. After meeting and chatting with fans at an Apple Japan consumer event on December 2, Beats will specially host a
party at the infamous Le Baron, to be attended by the city’s biggest celebrities and top-tier media guests.

Focused on redefining the global audio market with its Beats by Dr. Dre™
audio experience, Beats is known for its unique consumer brand appeal and
ability to reproduce the full spectrum of sound captured in professional
recording studios, allowing consumers to hear music the way the artist
intended.

For more pictures, head on here.

Photos: Kevin Mazur
All Singapore Images: Courtesy of Beats By Dre Photos: Aloysius Lim

Children of Bodom first time in Singapore in their 15 years of touring. Alexi Laiho and gang can't believe and we can't believe it too. They're one of my must-see-before-i-die band and they were perfect. 

Lamb of God was the band that started the earliest of all the gigs I've attend. They started at 830pm but Children of Bodom has now broken the record. They started just ten minutes past 8pm, which honestly caught me by surprise.  

In what is the first gig organized by a new promoter in Singapore, Figure8 Agency, that we have attended, the effort put into this gig has to be applauded. Bringing 3 great bands on one night: Headliners, White Shoes & The Couples Company from Indonesia, Supporting Acts Saycet from France and our very own B-Quartet from Singapore.



The gig opened with musicians from a faraway land, France, Saycet. An electronic band that classifies themselves with Ambient/Pop/Visual. This band brings progressiveness, a feeling of melancholy and solitude in most of their tracks. Music that goes far beyond audio but an entire experience. And with any experience, it is never complete without the visuals, which is something Saycet has crafted so well into their stage performance. Their genre of music is not familiar territory to me but their musical talent is apparent. 



2nd act of the night comes B-Quartet, which really is the band I was looking forward to for this gig. Having caught one of their last performances at Esplanade, you just cannot turn down the opportunity to watch them a last time before they go into hiatus. This is one of the bands that I can confidently say makes Singaporean musicians proud. The originality, musicality, complexity and expressiveness in their music is one of a kind. However reluctant we may be, let's wish them all the best in their endeavours. What we can be sure of, is that they've left behind masterpieces that will live on.



The headliner of the night from Indonesia, White Shoes & The Couples Company spots a retro outlook apparent from their hairstyle and costumes. With a traditional retro take mixed with indie pop elements, they certainly managed to bring out their own style. The vocal abilities of most of the members enable them to pitch their vocal harmonies to perfection, which is impressive by any standards. With the music heavily fronted by strong basslines, you can be sure about the groove of their music. Dancing will not be an option.  

For the rest of the videos, please click here.

We thank Figure8 agency for this fantastic opportunity to work together and we look forward to their next event, UpToTheSky Festival on 3rd Dec featuring The Trees & The Wild (ID), White Shoes & The Couples Company (ID), Tenderfist (MY), The Great Spy Experiment (SG), The Cambodian Space Project (KH), Deerhoof (USA) and much more to come. 

RockOn!
Yuda 

This is a song for ya!!!! *Trademark Coverdale Shrieks* 

This gig didn't start well for me at all...I forgot my tickets, which meant i didn't make it early enough for the merchandise...and I brought the wrong SD card, which meant i only managed to take one video. But as the sending home song after the entire gig sings...always look on the bright side of life :) I realised I didn't bring my tickets early enough not to miss the gig and since i brought the wrong SD card, I might as well enjoy the concert to the fullest!

With a setlist similar, if not exactly the same as their recent concerts before landing in Singapore, they kicked off with "Best Years". Just when you think they've hit their best, they just keep getting better!

What struck me the most from the start to finish was the tonal bliss throughout the entire performance. Doug Aldrich's and Reb Beach's guitars were piercing through the air with the searing solos, Michael Devin's and Brian Tichy's groove and beat pumping the hearts of the crowd, Brian Ruedy's keyboards creating an intense atmospheric sound and last but not least, David Coverdale's trademark vocals that could touch the souls of every single person at the venue. The sound was one of the best I've ever heard live. 

The build-up through the gig was perfect and personally, the highlights of the concert was the trademark ballad, Is This Love,



to the title track off their latest album, Forevermore, to the Whitesnake classics, Fool For Your Loving and Still of the Night, and the encore of Burn/Stormbringer and Bad Boy. 

It's like a dream to have heard Forevermore, Still of the Night and Burn live from Coverdale and Whitesnake will remain as one of the best classic rock bands to have ever lived.

Best of all, for all that attended the gig in Singapore, we had the privilege to experience an exclusive encore with "Bad Boy", something that wasn't part of the regular setlist. That's how hard you guys managed to rock the band.

Whitesnake, you guys will live on...Forevermore!

RockOn!
Yuda 

Text by: Eunice Lim

Photos by: Natalie Ho

American pop-punk outfit All Time Low’s latest effort, Dirty Work, might not have fared too well amongst pundits for being an album chockfull with mainstream pop songs laced with the themes of girls and booze, but the hardcore Hustlers – as All Time Low fans are known – certainly did not feel the same way. When the band stopped by our sunny shores for a gig this month, they were greeted by an outpouring of love from the hundreds of fans in attendance.

It rained down heavily on the crowd who was waiting for the four-piece band to take the stage at Wave House, Sentosa,. However, the dismal weather and a painstaking delay of more than an hour and a half did nothing to dampen the spirits of the dedicated fans.