Live4MusiC

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! 

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)

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 

by Kevin Mathews



There's little doubt that American rock band Jimmy Eat World has exerted a strong musical influence on alternative rock bands around the world for almost two decades. Certainly, in Singapore, indie rock bands count Jimmy Eat World as a significant inspiration (just attend any local indie rock gig and that fact will become easily apparent). Which makes Jimmy Eat World's upcoming performance at the Hard Rock Hotel at Sentosa this Friday an eagerly anticipated one. 

And not just by fans, too. When asked about this intense popularity, Jimmy Eat World band leader Jim Adkins recalled seeing the occasional "Come to Singapore!" request on the band's social media sites.

"It's very flattering," Adkins gushed. "There are lots of bands out there whom we are fans of, and the fact that anyone else could think that way about us is flattering. We're excited. It's a warm, fuzzy feeling."

With six well-received albums (including the platinum-certified Bleed American and gold-certified Futures) under its belt, Adkins attributes the band's success and longevity to one thing: Friendship. 

"We were friends as kids before we even started the band, and that might have played a role - that we've known each other for so long," Adkins said. 

"We've done a good job at setting realistic goals for ourselves and keeping things fun and not getting too hung up on the adverse situations."

But Adkins said he wasn't able to pinpoint how Jimmy Eat World kept the songwriting and recording process fresh (new album Invented is full of the band's trademark infectious tunes and hooks). 

"We're just lucky!" he offered. "We know that we're on to our best work when we're challenging our own perception of what we are. If we're just doing the same thing, record a song and it sounds like something we just did ... well, we try to avoid that. 

"When we really get excited about a new idea, more than one of us is questioning whether we should actually do it, but that's what we look for now - what are we changing, what are we pushing here? It could be a subtle thing. 

"There's always some new challenge, something different in every tune." 

Adkins did own up to the fact that with each subsequent album, the songwriting process has become more difficult. "It's tough. In the past, it's been without thought with not a lot of self-analysis. Lately it's been more conscious refinement. That's something new - that is just different. 

"It's a hard thing to describe. What we all feel is that the advantage of being a band for so long is that we all look at each other and know when something is done or when we're on the right path or if something feels good. We don't spend a whole lot of time digging deep into why or how we got there. We kinda know we should keep working until we're there."

Obviously, songwriting is not an exact science. 

"The most important thing is just to be proud of your work," said Adkins. "And keeping that diligence has been ingrained into us to get the songs to a place where we feel is our best work and when we do that we're satisfied with it - a rewarding experience.

"We're all just excited about music - keeping excited about music in general is the best thing to do - we're always listening to new bands and watching people perform."

Watch Jimmy Eat World perform at The Coliseum, Hard Rock Hotel Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa. 8pm on April 1. Tickets from Sistic (www.sistic.com.sg).

SO while your Abang was in the UK with Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton and Sir Ben Kingsley, our Flick Chick Genevieve Loh went to see a reunited Tears For Fears in action at Sentosa. Here’s what went down:

SURE, everybody wants to rule the world, but on Tuesday night at Resorts World’s Compass Ballroom, ’80s chart-toppers Tears For Fears actually did. In spite of technical glitches that plagued them all night, no less.

But no pesky mic and sound system problems were going to stop the 4,500-strong crowd from swimming in the golden sea of nostalgia, courtesy of their favourite retro duo. After all, many had waited over two decades to see Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith (above) in the flesh. And if you think that the mostly “born before 1975 and proud of it” crowd was a little too middle-aged to party and dance with no shame, think again.

Right from the get-go, as the first haunting strains of Mad World filled the air, the audience went wild. Smith, older with less hair but still “the cuter one” stepped into the spotlight and brought the entire crowd to its feet. He strained on a few notes but nobody seemed to notice.

By the time Orzabal (below) joined in for the iconic Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Tears For Fears didn’t need to worry about actually having to sing a note at all – everyone in the room was belting out the words in perfect unison, reliving their long-lost youth lyric for lyric, note for note. 

Obviously aware of their rightful place in ’80s pop history, Orzabal and Smith bantered easily with their fans, wondering aloud why it took them this long to come to Singapore, and teasing about the many Mad World covers. ”There are so many versions, anyone here remember the original one? You have to admit it beats the crap out of every other one,” Smith proclaimed to cheers.

The pair interspersing their less familiar numbers like Secret World andEverybody Loves A Happy Ending with the songs people paid good money to hear – Seeds Of Love and Head Over Heels. The concert ended with the expected and very necessary Shout, to which everyone was shouting out the lyrics, fists pumping in the air.

Overall, their performance was only above average, but nobody cared. The audience had paid for a trip down memory lane and that was exactly what they got. 

- Christopher Toh (Poparazzi) 

 

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.

FANS of seminal British synth-pop duo Tears For Fears can expect to see a different side of the band when they play their maiden Singapore gig next Tuesday.

That's because they aren't "young, angry men any more", said bassist Curt Smith.

Speaking to my paper from his home in Los Angeles, where he lives with his wife and two daughters, the 48-year-old said: "We have to temper the emotions (of the songs) somewhat.

We have to make it relevant to what we are now."

You might think the duo simply churned out happy powerpop, but Smith and vocalist Roland Orzabal, also 48, were responsible for one big protest anthem: Shout, off their 1985 album, Song From The Big Chair.

That song was released in 1984, Orzabal had said in past interviews, when a lot of people were still worried about the Cold War. The song was reportedly a call for people to have questioning minds.

The duo have since mellowed a great deal. Orzabal is married with two daughters, while Smith admitted that his family - particularly his two daughters, Diva, 10, and Wilder, eight - is his utmost priority.

He said with a laugh: "They're unimpressed with me being a big ?rock star'. The only use I am to them is to get tickets to the shows of people like Justin Bieber."

The duo had their ups and downs, including an acrimonious split after just three albums.

Smith and Orzabal, former schoolmates in Bath, Somerset, formed Tears For Fears in the early 1980s. They went on to achieve tremendous, albeit short-lived, success in the New Wave scene.

They spawned instant hits, like Everybody Wants To Rule The World (1985) and Sowing The Seeds Of Love (1989), before Smith left the band in 1990 to move to New York. "I couldn't deal with the fame, the pressure and everything else... It was the best thing I'd ever done," he recalled.

"I probably wouldn't still be (making music) had I not done that."

The duo regrouped in 2000 and released Everybody Loves A Happy Ending in 2004.

These days, the guys are content to tour sporadically, while working on their own solo projects. "We appreciate each other's strengths a lot more these days," Smith said.

Orzabal is currently writing a novel, while Smith regularly releases his own music.

But their songs live on, sometimes taking on new life in countless covers by other artists over the years.

American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert performed a haunting rendition of 1982's Mad World in last year's show, which had everyone from the judges to the viewers raving.

That cover got the thumbsup from Smith.

"I was actually there on the night of the finals and I really liked Adam's version (which was based on a version by American singer-songwriter Gary Jules) because it was so dark," he said.

He added thoughtfully: "I appreciate when people take one of our songs and try to make it their own, (but) people who just copy the song are boring."

- Victoria Barker (My Paper)