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 

by Christopher Toh 



With three No 1 albums to their name and various accolades and awards for being the best band across various categories, you'd forgive a band like Kasabian for feeling, well, just a little cocky. After all, these were the same guys who called U2 fans "cardboard cut-outs" and said touring with that Irish band was "boring". 

Of course, these days, Kasabian have dialled down the cocky act. They're no longer the "loud-mouthed louts", as a critic once called them. In fact, singer Tom Meighan is positively polite during our interview - even when this writer asked inane questions that would bug lesser artistes.

"We did it because we thought we were being clever, but we made a lot of enemies in a very short space of time," explained Meighan, over the phone from Japan, about their attitude in the past. The band is currently on the Asian leg of their tour and will perform in Singapore for the first time on Feb 8 at the Fort Canning Park. 

"The critics called us this Manchester loud-mouth band - they really believed what we said. And by the way, we're from Leicester, not Manchester. But we were bored, brash and young. We were just punks. We were only 21 or 22 years old. We've grown up now. We didn't mean to hurt anyone or create attention. But having said that, I do think it was hilarious!"

The simplest record they've ever made

Kasabian began life about 10 years ago as Saracuse. Former member Chris Karloff chose the new name, referencing Linda Kasabian, a member of Charles Manson's cult and getaway driver when they went on their 1969 killing spree.

The band hit their stride in 2004 with their self-titled debut album and entered the UK Top 5. The second album, Empire (2006), shot to No 1, as did their subsequent offerings, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (2009), and Velociraptor (2011). 

Although the band seem to be turning what they do into music gold, Meighan admitted they felt a bit of pressure trying to top their previous releases when recording Velociraptor. "You want your record to do well, don't you? Bloody hell, of course you do! We put music out there and we see what happens. Listen, if this record flopped or failed or whatever, we'd just start making another record again. So far, we've been doing okay. It's been fantastic." 

Kasabian is one of those few bands that can come up with a collection of songs that are in equal parts dramatic, sensitive, thrilling and eviscerating. And on Velociraptor, they offer more of the same. Unlike the previous album, the multi-textural and layered West Ryder, which, according to Meighan was more of a concept album, Velociraptor comes across as a great soundtrack to a film never made. 

"Serge had a bunch of songs - and that was it, really. We never really thought about it," he said. "This is just a bunch of songs. It's quite simple, really. This is probably the simplest record we've ever made ... Everything really just fell into place. Working with (producer) Dan The Automator (real name: Daniel Nakamura) again, he's a good guy to work with, you know."

And fans around the world seem to not be able to get enough of the band's music - even if they have lyrics that sometimes seem to make less sense than one of Lewis Carroll's gobbledygook rhymes. Sample these lyrics from the title track of Velociraptor: "Shake down / Go get your suitcase / Call a director / Tell everyone in sight / This is an air raid / You wanna get laid? / But he is closing / He ain't toothless man".

Meighan explained: "It's a cartoonish thing. I suppose it's about being hunted down, or a gang mentality, that sort of thing. Yeah. I don't know. It's cartoon lyrics. It is what it is ... It's not about a dinosaur. It's just a cool song."

Indeed.

This time they're leaving the airport

But why waste time time trying to decipher what Kasabian is on about, when you can just head to their show and revel in the fact that it doesn't matter what those lyrics mean once they're added to cool pulsating beats and a high-octane show. That Kasabian have constantly been nominated for, or have won, various awards for their live shows says something about the band's commitment to their performances. The band put on an explosive performance the last time we saw them in Kuala Lumpur in 2009, and when they launched Velociraptor, they performed in a Boeing 747 airliner that had been hollowed out to accommodate a stage and their fans. 

But even that doesn't even begin to aptly describe what the guys do onstage. So, naturally, we asked Meighan to explain why so many people love their live shows. 

"Well, you're going to get a great rock 'n' roll show, because we're a great rock 'n' roll band," said Meighan. "And we're playing really well at the moment. We're very enthusiastic and energetic. I'm looking forward to it, you know, to playing in Singapore. Because we normally just stop off there and then get on a plane again. So it'll be nice.

"When you see us live, you'll understand it more. We really try and capture the record, but for the show we ... Oh, I can't explain it. You have to see it. I can't wait for you guys to see the show." 

If what we've seen so far - both online and live - is anything to go by, neither can we, Tom. Neither can we.

Kasabian performs on Feb 8, 8pm at Fort Canning Park. Guest band: The Vaccines. Tickets at S$98 (S$110 at the door) from Sistic. For more on Kasabian, visit Poparazzi (http://blogs.todayonline.com/poparazzi)

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  

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 

By Victoria Barker

 

GROWING up, Neon Trees frontman Tyler Glenn had what you might call a "Billy Elliot complex".

Glenn, 28, loved performing as a child, and began taking dance lessons at the age of four.

But, like the fictional Elliot, his hobby made him the subject of bullying in school. It got so bad that he abandoned his passion at age 12.

On the line with my paper from California, where the alternative- rock band were playing shows, Glenn revealed: "I ended up feeling like I wasn't allowed (to love dance)...so I left it behind."

That's why the guy - who was also part of the choir in high school - was stoked that Neon Trees' biggest hit to date, Animal, was featured on musical- comedy series Glee.

"I get a lot of the inside jokes and the vibe and the geekiness of it," he said. "I appreciate that (the arts) have been embraced in that very comedic, fantastical way...to show (those kinds of) kids that they belong."

Neon Trees - comprising Glenn, guitarist Chris Allen, drummer Elaine Bradley and bassist Branden Campbell - will play their first Singapore date on Tuesday at Fort Canning Park.

Since being handpicked by The Killers' drummer Ronnie Vannucci to open for the Las Vegas rockers on a slew of tour dates in 2008, the Utah-based outfit have gone from strength to strength.

Their debut album, Habits, was well-received, and Animal hit No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. Neon Trees - which formed in 2005 - have since toured with bands like My Chemical Romance and 30 Seconds To Mars.

Despite attaining fame and success, Glenn has his head screwed on straight.

"As much as I enjoy feeling that I can create this (rock-star) persona, I don't want to be looked at as someone to be idolised," he said.

But that doesn't mean he doesn't go all out to engage his audience, especially during live shows (he's known to incorporate his "unorthodox, flailing dancing" into the band's shows, as this reporter witnessed at a recent London gig).

Asked what people can expect at their show here, Glenn said: "I encourage people to really let their hair down... It'll be very energetic and entertaining, I promise you that." 

By Hester Tan, channelnewsasia.com



SINGAPORE: American Alternative rock band, Neon Trees, known for hits like "Animal" and "1983" is finally coming to town, to kick-start their first ever Asian tour. 

Set to perform at Fort Canning Park on 26 July, the four-member band says fans should pack loads of energy for their show.

"You can expect a lot of energy. We think it's really important to put on a good live show. We don't wanna be a band that just gets up and plays the album like it is, you know you could've just listened to the CD than come to see us" said drummer Elaine Bradley in a phone interview.

"We wanna make the live shows something really exciting, so I think you can expect energy, we like to kinda have a shared energy with the crowds. We demand a lot on the crowd, you know, to dance and sing with us and basically just have a good time with us." 

The four-member band from Utah which includes lead singer Tyler Green, base guitarist Branden Campbell, and guitarist Chris Allen are excited to be headed to Asia. 

"We're just excited to be in the country, because none of us have ever been [to Singapore before].

"It's a really big deal. We don't know what to expect but [we're] really excited to come. Hopefully we'll have a day off and have fun exploring. 

"We are the type of people that really enjoy finding good food, so we hope that someone from Singapore will tell us where the best local food is."

Food seems important for this young band, since as Bradley revealed, "we're the band that is named after a fast food restaurant!"

"Tyler and his friends used to hang out at 'In and Out' restaurant in California" said Bradley of the early high school days of her band-mates, adding that "in that particular restaurant's interior, they have these glass neon palm tree lights and he and his friends used to joke about being in the band called 'Neon Palm Trees'.

"Later when he and Chris got together and played music, the name Neon Trees kinda sticks, so they kept the name." 

There's definitely no lack of imagination for this group who are working on their upcoming album.

"[We are in] the process of doing some demos, and we're gonna get together after this Asian run and start writing some more new stuff.

"I think we really want the second album to be high energy and fun. We definitely don't wanna come out with a second album that's nothing like the first one."

After their first performance in Singapore, the band will be heading to Indonesia, Australia, South Korean, Japan and even China before going back to work on their second album.

-CNA/ht 

"Today is the greatest day I've ever known": Smashing Pumpkins

And what a day it was. The third and final night of SingFest featured the likes of Great Spy Experiment, Hail The Villain, Ian Brown, The Vines, 30 Seconds to Mars and Smashing Pumpkins rocking up Fort Canning Park.

As Jared Leto, frontman of 30 Seconds to Mars said: "We are going to jump so high that when we're done with the place, there's going to be crater that 1,000 years from now, people are going to wonder what happened...This hill is going to be a flat park".Singapore showed that it is a nation that rocks hard, especially with the best turnout for the last night and the massive 7,000 strong crowd at Slash's concert earlier in the week.

The young rockers were into American band, 30 Seconds from Mars, and had a chance to get close to the band when Leto asked about 20 members of the audience to join him on stage for his last song.

The all stood behind him, a few sneaking up to touch him ever so often, and jumped, sang along and cheered to his closing track "King and Queens".

Other crowd favourites were "This is War" and "The Kill".

Leto also noticed a mosh-pit developing at one point and encouraged those in the middle to join in and get crazy.

He also noted that mosh-pits weren't the norm in Singapore.

However, what caught AsiaOne's eye were the girls on the right hand side of the stage who moved to every tune and looked the part of 'groupies'.

Groupies are die-hard fans who follow their band everywhere. Those who are female and who manage to get in with the 'correct' crowd may end up getting really close with band mates, if you understand what we mean.

These girls with long dark hair and model-esque figures were constantly on the side of the stage, dressed in rock gear - knee high boots, black and grey outfits with silver and black leather accessories.

There were five groupie-looking girls - and five members in the band. We'll let you do the math.

Australian band The Vines, who came on before 30 Seconds to Mars, got the crowd somewhat rocking, but for me, the only memorable moment was when lead singer, Craig Nicholls, made what seemed like a feeble attempt to smash his guitar.

He seemed concerned that the equipment around him was expensive and as much as he tossed the guitar about, he couldn't quite smash it and instead threw it up and let it land sadly on the stage floor.

Not that much damage there, rock-notoriety-standards-wise.

The band that I had been waiting for were Smashing Pumpkins, with Billy Corgan as the only original band member left.

He actually brought tears to my eyes when he said, "This is for all the old 'skool' Smashing Pumpkin fans" and proceeded to sing what I remember them for - "Tonight", "Bullet with Butterfly Wings","Disarm" and "1979".

Those teenage grunge years came rushing back and the love I had for Smashing Pumpkins deserved a watery eye tribute.

Their second song was "Today", which set the tone for the evening - that being the greatest day ever known.

Corgan's antics for the evening were playing one guitar on the edge of the stage, meaning he used the edge of the stage to strum his guitar, and used his teeth to play his guitar - so cliche, yet so fabulous.

He also pulled out a ukulele and sang "Love is the Sweetest Thing". Very refreshing!

Much later, Corgan actually threw the ukulele into the audience and a very lucky, long-time Smashing Pumpkins fan, 32-year-old Marc Lim, caught it.

Grr, we are so jealous.

- AsiaOne

ONCE upon a time, the whole universe was in a hot dense state, then expansion started… the earth began to cool… and humans eventually walked the earth. And each human possessed a brain.

Now, this human brain became a truly remarkable organ. Every second it sends hundreds of thousands of signals, if not millions, to all the organs in the body, to the gajillion nerve endings, to the pulmonary and vascular systems, etc, just to keep us alive and kicking.