Live4MusiC

Day 3, the final day of Baybeats 2012 kicks off with this group of humble musicians, Pep Talk. Dressed in sailor tops, this guys play a slightly progressive style of music with folk/country influences. Nervousness can be seen but their musicianship shines through. 



Moving on to the first band over at the Powerhouse, A Town In Fear, this guys kickoff the start of a truly Hardcore night. The stage presence of Hardcore bands never fail to impress me and this guys are no different. A proud representation of the passion of local musicians.

Day 2 really kicked things up 2 notches with, once again, many musical surprises. PLOT from Thailand was a huge revelation to me. A 3-piece progressive punk band, their music is full of surprises and intriguing melodies. And as usual, these folks from Thailand remain humble.

Day 1 of Baybeats consisted of a largely local line-up but still holds much promise. Only having managed to reach the festival during the Godzilla set at the Powerhouse, this group of young teenagers with a median age of 15 proved to hold lots of potential. Tejo D'Cruz on lead vocals and guitars, despite having the smallest build on the stage holds plenty of presence on the stage and worked the crowd like he does it for a living! Their musicality is still far from perfect but keep your eyes on these guys in the near future!

The Gush Chase is on the hunt for music acts and social media influencers to be a part of Gushcloud's concert in San Francisco!

Winners will be sent on an all expense paid 4D3N trip to Gush 2012 San Francisco on 25 August, where the influencer gets to interview and the music act gets to perform as the opening act for bands like The Cab, Hellogoodbye and Mayday Parade.

The Gush Chase runs from 4 July to 6 August. Surf over to www.gush2012.com for more details. #gush2012 #gushchase

And so we had the honour of being invited to this very intimate series of MTV Sessions with James Morrison in which the show was recorded live and will be aired on MTV! 

This semester SMU pays tribute to music legends who have passed on- from the Greats in 'The 27 Club' (read: Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin etc.)

Having started Starry Nite since Starry Nite X, we've really seen some of the bands and musicians grow over the years. 

One of the most recognizable voices in the 90s rock scene and some would argue not just in the 90s. Coming back to Singapore for the 2nd time in 2 years, I had the honour of catching them this time round thanks to Hype Records for the invitation. A rock band that grew up with the late Gen X and the early Gen Y definitely worth catching. 



With a 5,000 strong crowd, the band began with their standard but very signature opening songs, Dreams and Linger! And as Dolores sang the first couple of notes, the goosebumps just came! Her amazing signature voice sounded even better than what you would have heard off the record or on the radio. Simply awesome. The depth and clarity coupled with the tinge of raspiness and not forgetting the endearing Irish accent was oh so familiar but better and closer to heart as you hear her in person.  

It didn't take too long before the band got the crowd to stand up on their feet. It took just 2 songs as the sounds of Linger began. It's no surprise that the band would return for the 2nd time in 2 years. The Singapore crowd simply loved and adored them to bits.

The warm welcome from the Singapore crowd certainly paid off as the band pulled off a setlist that was vastly different (better) than the sets in Australia with a grand total of 23 songs compared the the 14 songs setlist in Australia. The Singapore crowd had the honour of gracing songs like Just My Imagination, Dreaming My Dreams, Animal Instinct, Promises etc were some of the additions amongst couple more. 

The vocal prowess of Dolores was impeccable but that wasn't just it. Her energy from start to finish with your constant moving around the stage, her headbanging and not to forget, her memorable hip shakes really resonated with the crowd as the energy continued increasing from start to finish.

If you think these guys are past their time, you'd better think twice. Whether it comes to their musicality or their energy on stage, they were faultless.

With the appropriate ending of the set with Zombie, I've witnessed one of the loudest singalongs ever. And as opposed to being treated to Zombie as the last song like our Australian counterparts, we were treated to an encore of 4 songs! The 4 songs being  Conduct, Roses, Salvation and Promises. It was certainly a strong finish to an awesome night of nostalgia. 

Once again big thank you to Hype Records for making this concert happen and for give us the pleasure to attend this concert.

Big thanks also to Donald Soh for the photography!

RockOn!
Yuda 

This is a night many would never have appeared in anyone's wildest dreams. It is the Classic Heavy Metal Band, Judas Priest's fare well tour. And to make the night even more special, it was graced by a much more modern metal in Lamb of God.





As the skies prepared to turn into darkness, Lamb of God took the stage and kicked off with their opening track in resolution, Desolution! If you haven't gotten your hands on their new album, don't wait no longer! 

My first Laneway ever and boy was I glad I had the opportunity! Close to 12hrs of non-stop music, good food and great beer! And to top it up, great weather! Looking at the huge 2-in-1 stage and the crazy setup, you just know it's going to be a great Sunday. But before I start let me put a disclaimer by saying I haven't been really connected with the Indie Rock scene a lot so do spare me. 

Getting the whole festival off to a start is Cults! You usually expect things to slowly start falling into place especially in terms of the sound and the energy from both the band and the crowd. However, that wasn't the case. The whole festival really started with a big bang as the frontwoman Madeline Follin got the attention of the venue with her very powerful and distinctly raw vocals and got the crowd moving!