Live4MusiC

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 Han Wei Chou

 

SINGAPORE: Cantopop diva Faye Wong has an otherworldly quality to her whenever she performs in concert.

Her performance at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Saturday was no exception 

Wong kicked off the evening with her classic hit "Promise", followed by the hauntingly beautiful "Red Bean" to the cheers of the 6500-strong audience.

She appeared to retreat into her own little world whenever she sang, closing her eyes and letting her voice ring through the venue.

Wong was in fine form. Her vocals were impeccable and brought the lyrics that pass her lips to life.

The brilliant lighting design and amazing sets, along with Wong's gorgeous costumes served to accentuate Wong's vocal prowess.

She went on to perform a medly of hits like "I'm Willing" and "Sky", with her performance of the latter being the absolute highlight of the concert.

Wong sat on an intricately decorate platform suspended from the ceiling of the Singapore Indoor Stadium and began to sing "Sky" even as the platform moved to the centre of the venue, just inches above the heads of her fans.

Seeing their idol up close caused a stir among the audience members and some literally ran down the aisle with their cameras to photograph Wong, who took time to wave to her appreciative fans.

Wong's detached performance style is well documented, and true to form, that segment of the concert was probably the only time Wong interacted at length with her audience.

The rest of the time, she mostly stood still, giving an occasional wave and saying only 12 words to her fans - "Thank You" in Mandarin five times and once more in Cantonese.

However, her fans loved her anyway, showering her with applause every time she spoke and even more so as the concert moved into its final minutes.

A mysterious end

Ironically, her fans could not give her a rousing sendoff after the show's finale, which saw Wong perform "Flower of Paradise" before a giant mirror.

They simply did not know it was the final song of the evening.

When the song ended, Wong slipped away wordlessly, like she had done after every song during the concert.

The only difference was that this time, she never returned.

The lights gradually went on, and a picture of a lotus along with words that translate roughly as "for them" appeared on the two video screens at either side of the stage.

It took the audience a good five minutes or so to realise Wong wasn't coming back and start shuffling out the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Some departing audience members believed that it is an esoteric reference, to how the rebirth theme prevalent in the last part of her concert is connected to Wong's own Buddhist beliefs.

Others did not read too much into it and expressed that it is just Wong's unique style.

"Don't care whether you like it or not, she just go, don't even want to say goodbye to you," one concert-goer said of Wong's wordless departure.

- CNA 

By Clara Chow

Whenever Kylie Minogue sashays into town on her platform stilettos, sequins and feather boas are fished out from the back of closets all over.

And on the Australian popstar's stadium outing here – her first, since 2008's Kylie X gig – the "camp" camp turned out in full force. Spotted in the audience: Adorable little showgirls, wing-eared Cupids and countless dudes in tight T-shirts.

By ewenboey 

Normally seen entertaining crowds in the local music scene, Jack Ho and Rai Kannu, also known asJack and Rai, are using their fame to appeal for support of a greater cause.

The musical act, who are goodwill ambassadors of World Vision Singapore, want to highlight the importance of the 30 hour Famine Camp to be held this year on 18 and 19 June.

At the camp, participating youths will go 30 hours without food and join in activities designed to replicate the experiences of people living in impoverished communities. The event aims to help the youth understand the challenges faced by those less privileged.

Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore, Rai said he and Jack appreciate how hard some people's lives may be. "We're not the richest people in the world, but we're definitely better off than somebody else," he noted.

SINGAPORE: International pop star Kylie Minogue will return to Singapore for a one-night concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on June 29.

The concert will be part of her "Aphrodite Live 2011 World Tour". 

Looking forward to the tour, Kylie Minogue said she is delighted that she will be able to perform for her fans in South-East Asia.

The multi-million-dollar production promises to be a visually stunning show with a host of specially-designed props such as a winged horse Pegasus, a golden Chariot, five video screens and a sweeping staircase set.

She will be accompanied by a huge cast of dancers and aerial performers.

Tickets cost between S$98 and S$348 and will be sold from May 6.

MediaCorp and Red Ant Touring are jointly organising the concert, which is also part of radio's 75th year celebrations.

To celebrate the landmark occasion, MediaCorp Radio will also be organizing a series of events from July to November

In July, Anugerah Planet Muzik (APM) returns to Singapore after being away in 2008 (Kuala Lumpur) and 2009 (Jakarta). 

Organised by Ria 89.7FM and Warna 94.2FM, 17 awards honouring the best in the Malay music scene in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia will be given out at Anugerah Planet Muzik 2011 (APM 2011) on 15 July at Max Pavilion.

In October, radio will take you back to celebrate the music of three big acts of the eighties with the return of the Retrolicious concert.

The concert will be held on October 8 at Fort Canning park and concert-goers can expect to re-live the timeless spirit of freedom and passion with some of the most memorable pop tunes.

In November, MeRadio Rocks @ The Padang! will feature performances by Singapore music legends and entertainers from the sixties till today.

Radio's 75th year celebrations will end on a high with the Singapore Hit Awards 2011 (SHA 2011) in November.

Into its 17th year, SHA 2011 will continue to foster the relationship between outstanding artistes and their ardent fans as it gives recognition to all the excellent local and regional artistes for the work done in the past one year.

- CNA/fa

Surprise, surprise -- the past few years have seen Singapore’s live music scene undergo a resurgence.

More local bands are emerging.

Slash, Taylor Swift, Eric Clapton, Janet Jackson, Santana and Stone Temple Pilots have already played Singapore this year.

The festival calendar's looking decidedly healthy, turning the Little Red Dot into one of Asia’s best live gig venues. And the country’s very own Timbre Group has been a major contributing factor.

• Last chance to enter!: Win tickets to Singapore’s Timbre Rock & Roots Festival

Starting off six years ago with one bar renowned for quality live music, Timbre now has three music venues, three restaurants and its own music academy. It also runs two annual festivals -- Beerfest Asia and Timbre Rock & Roots.

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).

TOKYO — Pretending to be obnoxious rock stars in the belief their band would never get noticed only became a problem for Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser when they suddenly became famous.

For the two core members of the psychedelic New York-based band MGMT, sharp and fast fame brought by the success of their 2007 debut album Oracular Spectacular also tested a friendship formed at university.

"It was a running joke for us when we would perform in college that we'd adopt these fake rock star personas when we played live, thinking that we were never going to get noticed," said Goldwasser on the phone from New York.

"But then we got noticed. And then we kind of freaked out."

MGMT (pronounced M.G.M.T.) are set to embark on an Asian tour that begins in Japan on Tuesday.

That will be followed by appearances in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Hong Kong and South Korea, having navigated the tricky follow-up to a successful debut album.

Fame, fortune and recognition as indie heartthrobs has drawn a complicated response from the band formed at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, a liberal arts and sciences school where the pair met as freshmen in September 2001.

An early song, Time to Pretend, was both a fantasy and satire of rock stardom written at a time when neither took seriously the idea of being in a band, Goldwasser says.

But Columbia Records thought differently and signed them, forcing the two fans of uncommercial psychedelia from late reclusive Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett, or self-destructive Dan Treacy of indie band the Television Personalities, to take life a little more seriously.

Which in part meant not playing the Ghostbusters theme for 45 minutes straight, as was reportedly their wont to do during early live shows.

Most musicians would dream of a record deal being handed to them, but keyboardist and co-composer Goldwasser says he and VanWyngarden, both 28, were troubled by the idea despite it parachuting them from students into stardom.

"We were in denial about it for a long time and didn't believe it was real," he said.

The band won audiences the world over with a debut album packed full of intricate pop melodies with a nod to psychedelia, rock and electronic music. Oracular Spectacular has sold more than one million copies worldwide.

But Goldwasser says he and VanWyngarden found themselves instinctively shrinking back from their success.

"We were getting bigger and bigger crowds but we felt it was just a phenomenon and not actually about what we wanted to be doing," he said.

"It felt like it was getting out of control," he adds. "It did affect our friendship -- we had to take something seriously that for such a long time was just a way to blow off steam for us."

Last year began amid accusations MGMT were about to commit commercial suicide with their follow-up album Congratulations and that they sought to pare away the fame and fairweather fans that their debut had brought them.

But it was far from the disaster predicted by some corners of the music press, instead a slow-burning homage to the band's core -- albeit distinctly uncommercial -- influences.

"There wasn't any sort of analytical or calculated side to it, we weren't trying to throw off fans," said Goldwasser. "That was kind of a tough period."

Congratulations went on to receive positive reviews from fans and critics, and Goldwasser says he and VanWyngarden have come to terms with the knowledge that ideas they might not take seriously nevertheless have a mass appeal.

"Having all this turn into a big deal was a test on our friendship but now we agree how ridiculous it all is. We know to keep at the back of our minds that no matter what happens, none of this is supposed to make sense."

- David Watkins (AFP)

Something I'm sure many metal fans in Singapore could never have imagined. The Gods of metal, Iron Maiden, setting foot on Singapore with their very own Ed Force One.



Definitely the biggest metal concert in Singapore to date with the 12,000 strong crowd! With a setlist identical to the one in Moscow, the band played a fair amount of songs from their latest release, The Final Frontier. Bruce mentioned before that the songs on this album sounds so much better live, and hell was he right.

THE King of Pop, Rock and Soul may have left the building - but music's royalty reigned supreme when another mem­ber of the monarchy graced Singapore last Monday night as a stopover for her 'Number Ones, Up Close and Personal' world tour.

 

Being invited by Singaporean or­ganisers, Offshore Entertainment Pro­duction Pte Ltd to witness the celebra­tion of herNumber Ones album tying in with the compilation of her best tunes, it was most definitely an honour to be granted an audience with the irrepress­ible Janet Jackson.

While Singapore did not become the city to kick off the 35-city tour as earlier announced, with Manila earning the honours, it did not in any way dampen the mood in Singapore who was edged out to number two in the list of venues, and that of the many Malaysian fans who made the 'pilgrimage' to see Miss Jackson dish it out.