Live4MusiC

AN IRATE Indonesian concert-goer - one of the 4,000 disappointed by singer Tom Jones' walkout last Friday - has issued a letter demanding compensation from the veteran singer and concert organiser Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).

Mr Hotman Paris Hutapea, 50, a litigation lawyer and founder of law firm Hotman Paris & Partners in Jakarta, wrote that his firm is preparing to file a civil suit against RWS, its agent in Indonesia and the singer.

He is also seeking compensation for his and his friend's expenses on flight, accommodation and transportation, and punitive damages of US$2 million (S$2.8 million).

He and his friend each bought a $368 concert ticket. He paid $540 for flights for both of them, and stayed two nights at the Mandarin Orchard Singapore.

Jones, 69, had cut short his gig after singing two songs. A specialist later diagnosed him with acute laryngitis, or inflammation of the voice box.

The gig has been rescheduled for 8pm tomorrow at RWS. Those who cannot attend can get a refund at the Singapore Indoor Stadium's Sistic box office.

Mr Hutapea will not be able to make it as he had to fly back to Jakarta on Sunday to prepare for work on Monday.

He told my paper he was filing a civil suit because he wanted to teach the singer and the concert organisers "a lesson".

He was incensed at the way the concert ended abruptly, especially since he had postponed a meeting last Friday to fly specially to Singapore to catch the gig.

He said: "Tom Jones simply said a few words and left.

"It was very impolite and disrespectful. The organisers also didn't even come on stage to comment or apologise.

"I was very frustrated and disappointed with how they managed it.

"The issue isn't the money... I have a moral obligation to tell other people what happened."

He said that he would file the lawsuit in Jakarta next week, regardless of whether the singer or RWS responds to his letter.

RWS is looking into the matter, and has referred the case to its legal department, its spokesman said.

Concert organisers and lawyers said yesterday that such lawsuits are rare.

Mr Ross Knudsen, director of concert promoter LAMC Productions, said that a concert promoter is obliged to refund concert- goers only the cost of the tickets, or reschedule the show.

In this case, RWS and Jones are making a good effort to accommodate the fans, he said.

"I'm sure Tom Jones felt really bad about it and, to his credit, he is staying on in Singapore to redo the show. A lot of artists wouldn't do that, they would just get on the plane and come back next year," he said.

Mr Jispal Singh, a lawyer who has specialised in litigation for more than 10 years, said that he does not think Mr Hutapea has a strong case.

"Usually, the terms and conditions are all stated on the ticket. So, if the conditions for cancellation fall within them, he has no case," he said.

A Singapore litigation lawyer, who declined to be named, said that Mr Hutapea might succeed in claiming his expenses if he could prove that the concert's postponement was a breach of contract, that the terms and conditions did not limit damages to just the value of the tickets, and that the expenses resulted directly from the postponement.

- My Paper

IF THE audience at British singer-songwriter Imogen Heap's maiden Singapore gig on Monday had to liken her to a fictional character, they would likely have chosen Alice In Wonderland's Mad Hatter.

Like a femme version of the whimsically weird but wonderful character, the 32-year-old Londoner was every bit the eccentric genius-type as she took fans on a two-hour romp through her ethereal fairyland.

When she arrived onstage at 10.15pm, after two opening acts (and an intermission which ran a tad long thanks to wardrobe issues, as Heap sheepishly explained later), she quickly launched into the live creation of her music.

And that's where the magic was. The Grammy-winning electronica sorceress - who recently released her third album, Ellipse - wore tiny microphones on each wrist and flitted between instruments, from her transparent piano, to keyboards and cool high-tech joysticks (which record and loop sounds).

Heap - who released her first solo album, iMegaphone, in 1998 before becoming part of acclaimed electronic duo Frou Frou - took her time winding through the 18 songs on her setlist.

After opening with First Train Home from Ellipse, the oddball and her three band members launched into Bad Body Double - a lively ode to body image.

Stripped-down ballads like Let Go allowed Heap's melancholic vocals to shine.

In between songs, the chatty musician waxed lyrical about the inspiration behind the music she has written, speaking in an almost stream-of-consciousness manner.

At times, it seemed as though she had forgotten that she was onstage, playing to a large audience.

During the encore, the crowd was treated to the seminal Hide And Seek (which gained popularity after being featured on American drama series The O.C.) and joined in a complicated three-part harmony to Just For Now.

And then, after an almosteerie rendition of The Moment I Said It (2005), it was over, and the lady of the hour forlornly said her goodbyes, promising to return (hopefully) by year-end.

- MyPaper

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- After years of keeping quiet about his personal life, pop star Ricky Martin has announced that he is gay.

"I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man," Ricky said in a message posted on his offical Web site. "I am very blessed to be who I am."

Ricky said writing his memoir and thinking about his two twin sons led him to go public.

"To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids where [sic] born with. Enough is enough. This has to change. This was not supposed to happen 5 or 10 years ago, it is supposed to happen now. Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment," he wrote.

Though the 38-year-old kept his sexuality private throughout most of his career, Ricky said he drew strength from that time.

"These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn't even know existed," he continued. "What will happen from now on? It doesn't matter. I can only focus on what's happening to me in this moment. The word "happiness" takes on a new meaning for me as of today. It has been a very intense process. Every word that I write in this letter is born out of love, acceptance, detachment and real contentment. Writing this is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution."

Earlier this month, Barbara Walters told The Toronto Star that her 2000 interview with the "Livin' La Vida Loca" singer, where she grilled him about coming out, was a misstep on her part.

"In 2000, I pushed Ricky Martin very hard to admit if he was gay or not, and the way he refused to do it made everyone decide that he was," she told The Toronto Star. "A lot of people say that destroyed his career, and when I think back on it now, I feel it was an inappropriate question."

Ricky also Tweeted a link to his coming out announcement on his Web site, simply writing, "my life."

In an earlier Tweet on Monday, the singer posted a quote attributed to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. M.L.K.Jr.," he wrote.

- http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/stopthepresses/132331/ricky-martin-i-am-a-fortunate-homosexual-man/

有一种爱，叫成全

他刚进初中那年，母亲抱回哇哇大哭的她，她哭是因为饿，尚不知失去双亲之痛。天上掉下个“林妹妹”，他异常欣喜。数据恢复 他读高中时，牵了她小小的手，送她进幼儿园，她总是在他松手的刹那，用力扯下他来，踮起小脚，柔软的小嘴在他颊上，亲一下，再亲一下，旋即转身，跑向她的教室，他总担心她摔跤，跟在身后喊：小妹，慢一点！她快乐的应答着，却不转身，裙裾上的蝴蝶结在奔跑中，展翅欲飞。google优化 高中毕业，他考进本地学府，她正好7岁。医生说，7岁，是做心脏手术的最佳年龄。他请假，和妈妈一同照顾她，他看到父亲签字的手在颤抖，心便紧了又紧，却买了她喜欢的卡通画册，一字一行，惟妙惟肖的读给她听。术后她醒来，费力的叫一声“哥”，声音飘渺如云烟，惹得他跑出病房，抱着医院的水杉树，如孩童般大哭。 网站推广 他大学毕业，很多次机会可以去更大的城市，找更适合他的职位，可是他始终不肯。母亲催促，他只是沉默，急了才说：我走了，小妹会死掉！母亲骂他乱讲话，却不再逼他去外地。 初夏，菱角新上市，她便吵着要他买来吃，他不肯，怕硬硬的菱角磕破她的手或唇，她便假装呜呜哭泣，却透过指缝看他的反应，他明知，也不揭穿，依了她，买下两斤菱角，一个一个用菜刀拦腰切断，再一个一个挤出粉白的米来，她只顾捡了丢进嘴里，急得他连声喊：慢一点哎，小祖宗！她得意的笑，捡一个大粒的，扔进他的嘴里。 机票 她高中，身体更虚弱，成绩总是不及人家，他索性换了一份清闲的工作，薪水少了很多，却可以每日下班回家辅导她，她哭，他哄，她笑，他亦笑：“小妹，你几时才长大？” 她进大学，他已近而立，依旧单身。她开始带男孩子回家，开心甜蜜的模样。母亲催他结婚，他只好谈下一个女友，她见了，很礼貌的叫他女友为姐姐，彼此牵手去那个叫阿呀呀的小店买女孩子的红妆。保健品 翌年开春，他在女友的要求下去北京发展，担心着她，她轻松笑曰：老哥你怎么那么罗嗦，什么事，爸妈和男朋友替我罩着啦！秋天，没有任何预言与铺垫，她心脏病突发，他匆忙赶回，已再也不能听到她叫他哥。 翻译公司 她曾带回家来的那个男孩子叫住他：我从来就不是她的男朋友，她只说哥不是亲生胜亲生，为她牺牲太多，要给他正常的生活。 他细心替她收拾卧室，宛如她同往日一样放学就要回来，却在梳妆台上，碰到他送她的不倒翁，剧烈的摇晃中，他看到底部刻有细如蚊蝇的两行小字：前尘往事断肠诗，侬为君痴君不知。除湿机 那是她的字体，大概是在他去北京后刻上去的吧？他抱着不倒翁，跌坐在地，心痛如裂。 他一直在等她长大，却不知道，水逝流年里，她已然懂得，世间有一种爱，叫成全……

Pics of the fray are up!! Go to my facebook!! Heres the link!!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054947&id=1033143789&l=71f7bc1d5e

WHOSE fault is it when an artist cancels a gig?

That was the question on the minds of the confused audience at the Tom Jones gig last Friday night.

Though British crooner Engelbert Humperdinck must have been rubbing his hands with glee when his rumoured long-time rival pulled the plug just two songs in, claiming that he wasn't feeling well, the audience was left dumbfounded.

Why, why, why, some concert- goers jokingly began singing in a nod to the guy's 1968 hit Delilah. And unlike his other 1965 smash, the situation was, to put it simply, highly unusual.

Later, the singer's camp revealed that Mr Sex Bomb himself was suffering from acute laryngitis.

Now, this is not the first time an artist has pulled out of a show on little or no notice, and it certainly won't be the last. Back in 1996, American alt-rockers Smashing Pumpkins cut short a gig here because of technical difficulties and frontman Billy Corgan being unwell.

Powerhouse diva Mariah Carey, too, called off a 2003 concert here in the aftermath of the Sars crisis, less than a month before it was scheduled to take place. She promised to reschedule the concert, but has yet to deliver on that promise.

Janet Jackson, on the other hand, finally performed here in 1995, after postponing shows almost a year earlier.

And who could forget Kylie Minogue, who cancelled her first gig in Singapore in 2005, a month in advance? The singer had been diagnosed with breast cancer then, which she beat. She played her first Singapore show in 2008.

And, in January, mega rockers The Killers bailed just days before their Asian and Australian tours, due to "a serious illness of a close family member".

Fans were incensed.

As for Sir Tom, his track record has not exactly been stellar.

Last year, he was forced to scrap a string of United States tour dates when he contracted bronchitis.

But, while there's no denying that last Friday's turn of events left fans disappointed (not to mention inconvenienced, especially for those who'd flown in for the gig), the question of where the blame lies is unclear.

Can the man - at 69 years of age, mind you - really be faulted for falling ill?

Sure, he could have made the decision to postpone his gig a little earlier, when he felt unwell.

That, at least, would have saved his loyal fans the trouble of travelling to the event venue with high hopes of a rockin' concert.

But, hey, we can't say he didn't try, managing to belt out two songs before he stopped the show. By choosing to put off the gig, he avoided straining himself further - and robbing attendees of their money's worth.

What's the point of giving fans a half-hearted concert, right?

Plus, the guy has quickly made good on his promise to reschedule, and will take to the stage on Thursday to, hopefully, make up for the trouble.

And it's unlikely that the concert organiser, RWS, is to blame either. After all, it had received no indication that the singer was unwell and could not have foreseen the postponement.

Perhaps, in the end, it is up to concert-goers to make exceptions - and perhaps be a little more understanding - when it comes to circumstances beyond the control of event organisers and even, in some cases, the artists themselves.

For now, let's just hope for the sake of the concert-goers still willing to go to Jones' gig, that the singer manages to recuperate before Thursday's show.

- My Paper (Victoria Barker)

An early Sunday morning, a scorching sun, a hangover, a (almost) dead crowd. Not exactly an ideal combination for a metal band to take the stage for the Baybeats 2010 round 2 auditions.

As frontman Dannie says, "Sunday mornings are for recovery of the hangover from last night."

Read more here! 

Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose threatened to walk offstage during a recent gig in Peru.

The star stopped their performance in Lima and told fans through an interpreter, he would leave after they threw objects at him.

Watch video footage of the incident below.

"If you wanna throw shit, we will leave," he said. "We would like to stay and have fun with you for a long time tonight. So we're gonna have fun? Let's try that again."

Fans were made to wait over an hour into the early hours of Friday morning (March 26) for the band after support act, former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach, finished his set at 11pm.

During the concert, Guns N' Roses played tracks from 'Chinese Democracy' including the title track alongside their classic singles 'Welcome To The Jungle' 'You Could Be Mine' and 'Patience'.

The incident happened after court papers were issued by Rose's ex-manager Irving Azoff, who is planning to sue the star for $2 million (£1.3 million) over earnings.

- NME

“I don’t really want to stop the show/but I thought you might like to know...” - Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles

IT WAS to be a night to remember. And it was. But for all the wrong reasons.

 

I was quite happy to be at the Tom Jones gig because the last time I saw him, he did a powerhouse show. I mean, I don’t care much for his sappy stuff like Green Green Grass Of Home or Delilah, but Thunderballand his versions of Kiss, Momma Told Me Not To Come, You Can Leave Your Hat On and Sex Bomb were fairly fun.

So there we were all happy campers when he comes out slinging withSugar Daddy and then moves on to Give A Little Love. Then he says, “I’m sorry to do this, but I have a slight problem with *hack hack*…My voice isn’t good and I can’t continue, I hope we can do this some time soon. Sorry.” Then he turns and walks off stage. Quickly followed by his musicians. A little too quickly. Hmm. Was it all staged?

Meanwhile the audience, thinking it’s a joke start singing Delilah and saying stuff like, “Yeah, right” or “Come on back”. Then the house lights go on, and send-you-home music is played. Then people start looking confused. One lady walks up to a security guard saying, “Is this for real?”

An official hurriedly assures us that he’ll get to the root of the matter. Although he also says, “I don’t even know what’s going on.”

Funnily enough, just a couple of weeks ago, Tom Jones told me, da Abang, that he always took care not to lose his voice. It happened before in Germany and Las Vegas. Then he said, “Oh, but Singapore’s pretty humid, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” If Alanis Morissette was here, she would have burst into song, “Isn’t it ironic?”

Of course, he was in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur before coming here, and maybe he strained himself too much, you know? So who knows? Any conspiracy theories???

In the history of short gigs in Singapore, this takes the prize. Normally, artistes cancel the concert before they start singing or before they come here, like The Killers. The last time a gig was cancelled after it started was, what, Smashing Pumpkins? They stopped the show 45 minutes in and walked out.

Meanwhile other audience members are asking not only for their money back but also for to be compensated for their hotel stay, etc, because quite a few of them have flown in from overseas to see his gig.

“Will there be a refund?” asks one ang moh expat lady. “Because next week is a holiday week and many of us won’t be here.”

“There will be a refund,” says the rep.

“A full refund?” asks the AMEL.

“Yes.”

“Are we getting anything else on top of the refund?” Hmm, lady, are you sure you’re not Singaporean? Have you been living here too long?

Anyway, shocked and frazzled Resorts World staff are doing their best to make sure the crowd leaves in an orderly and that they don’t suddenly put on red tees and start screaming for the government to step down. But they comply. Nicely, too. Although, yes, they soon lament to whoever will listen.

Someone who missed Tom Jones’ last gig here – and brought her mum along too – was sorely disappointed. “I guess I’ll have to go home and listen to his greatest hits,” she said.

A couple spent $400 for their tickets and were pretty bummed out, although they later admitted they’d already seen him in Las Vegas.

“I thought it was a joke at first. But everyone has sick days. But I was proud of the audience reaction. They were very nice about the fact that the concert was cancelled,” said Alicia Waters, Australian, living in Singapore, didn’t ask for anything other than a ticket refund.

For Alicia’s friends Nadiaand Sue, who had brought panties and flags to be thrown, the night was a disappointment. “I’ve never seen a Tom Jones concert,” she says.

“I still haven’t seen a Tom Jones concert,” quips one of her friends.

“Look at it on the bright side,” said another concertgoer. “At least you got to see two songs for free.”

True true. Oh well, another time perhaps. As long we keep our ticket stubs.

For more information on refunds and other cool things pertaining to the Tom Jones gig that wasn’t, visit the Resorts World website:http://www.rwsentosa.com.

- Poparazzi