Tuesday, 23 March 2010
A woman in sari
So this Indian student was asked how the India map looks like. And he said it's shaped "like an Indian woman holding out her sari". And he's right. What a lyrical way to describe the shape of the country.
Saturday, 20 March 2010
Mosaic Festival: Kings of Convenience Concert, Esplanade Concert Hall, Thurs 18 Mar 2010
Erlend (or was it Eirik?) said they never have a set list, and instead talk to each other after each song to see what they felt like singing next (usually they have the same song in mind). So I guess you won't hear the exact same group of songs in the exact same order anywhere else but during Thursday's concert:1. (missed this one)
2. 24-25
3. Love Is No Big Truth
4. I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (my favouritest KoC song, instrumental guitar part makes me swoon)
5. Peacetime Resistance (brilliant saxophone skatting from Erlend here)
6. Second to Numb
7. Power of Not Knowing
8. Mrs Cold
9. The Girl from Back Then
10. Rule My World ("...this one's for the people in Singapore...")
11. Me in You
12. Gold in The Air Of Summer
13. Thirteen (sang in sort of tribute to Alex Chilton of Big Star who just died this Wednesday) (if my note-taking is accurate this was their 13th song - spooky if it's not planned like they say they don't plan songs)
14. Know-How
15. (missed this one too, but KoC got the audiences up on their feet from this song onwards)
16. Misread
17. I'd Rather Dance With You
Encore
18. Homesick
19. Toxic Girl
20. Cayman Islands (this one came with popular demand from the audience, people have been randonly calling out this title all night long)
When KoC first performed at the 2006 Mosaic Festival, I absolutely adored them. The music was a dream, Erlend (with his too-small green tee) and Eirik were so cute and funny, the crowd practically worshipped every note emanating from their guitars/piano, and they even invited a group of audience (who had to battle the security guards) up onstage to dance with them during the last song. I thought it was probably the closest thing to Woodstock I would ever be a part of.
Back to Thursday's concert. (Photos below courtesy of KoC's relaxed no-photography-during-first-30-mins-only policy, so people started snapping away from 8pm sharp)
I have to confess. I was kinda underwhelmed. Still liked the music, the guys are still cool with sense of humour intact, crowd was still screaming their heads off... for some reason, I just never really got into the whole thing. I recognised a few songs, sang along to a couple of lines, but the songs seemed to be getting blurrily similar to me - at one point when they were strumming the intro to a song, I remember thinking to myself, "Wait a minute, haven't they already played this one?". And during the encore bit when the whole booked out concert hall of 1500+ people were close to bringing the roof down with their "woooooh"s and "I love you Erlend/Eirik!"s, I was more like, "OK I'm jealous. What are you guys so high about?".Argh. I'm getting tired of this "it was great but I didn't get it" refrain. Has it really become impossible for me to properly enjoy a concert? Or is too much of a good thing, well, too much? Gonna spend money next few weeks on movies instead. SIFF coming soon anyway.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Mosaic Festival: Pink Martini Concert, Esplanade Concert Hall, Wed 17 Mar 2010
Edit: Went back to Esplanade Thursday and snapped this photo from the poster:
and this one from the Mosaic snapshot board:
It was a good concert, great, even. The audience gave rousing applauses after each song and a standing ovation at the end. But it wasn't quite nearly an enjoyable concert for me. More on that later.
Song list.
1. Boléro. Interesting choice for an opening song. But in a way, it encompasses what every good piece of music, and musical performance, should be - quiet but intriguing at the beginning, with more instruments and layers coming in throughout the middle, and a grand smashing finale.
2. Let's Never Stop Falling in Love. Lead singer China Forbes sang the second half of this in Malay. Pretty decent diction. The audience went mad.
3. Anna. Apparently the theme song from a movie about a nightclub singer-turned-nun.
4. Sympathique. Probably their biggest hit, and the reason I bought their first album and tonight's concert ticket. They got a laugh from the audience when China translated the famous chorus into English, "I don't want to work, I don't want to lunch. I only want to forget. And then I smoke."
5. Lilly.
And this is where someone from the back row tapped me on the shoulder and said in a gruff voice, "Can you please turn that off? The light is very distracting." I was typing the song names on my handphone and the backlight had gotten too much attention. So I put away my phone, dug for pen and paper from my bag, and spent the remaining hour making notes in the semi-dark, trying to be as un-distracting as possible. I can't help it. I'm thin-skinned, I over-think, and comments like these get to me, especially when they're not entirely without a point. Nevertheless. Tried my damndest to concentrate on the performance.
6. Cante e Dance.
7. And Then You're Gone. About a angry woman who slams her door at her always-disappearing lover ...
8. But Now I'm Back. ... who shows up at her door explaining that he's just gone for a snack. A pair of songs from two opposite perspectives. I love this group's sense of humour. This article does a good job describing the inspiration behind the song pair.
9. instrumental piece, dunno which. Gave some members of their 11-piece band to have solo showcases. The drummer stands out in my memory. They also have a pianist, guitarist, bass guitarist, cellist, trombonist, trumpeteer and I think 2 or 3 other people who play the several different types of drums they had on stage.
10. Amada Mio
11. 我等着你回来. This got another huge response from the audience. Again, really good pronunciation; except for a few words, you wouldn't guess it was a non-Chinese singing it. And she's got the perfect voice to sing this sort of old, sultry songs.
12. Una Notte a Napoli
13. Over the Valley. I learnt that Portland, Oregon (where the band originated) lies in a valley. China invited us to visit the place, but quoted Thomas Lauderdale (Pink Martini pianist and founder) talking to the Californians, "You're welcome to come here, just don't stay!". Everybody laughed. I'm not really sure I got the joke on this one.
14. Tuca Tuca
15. Andalucia. I liked it in their first album, but never noticed how nice the piano music was till now. Gotta go find the sheet music for this one.
16. Hey Eugene
17. Yolanda. Another very catchy number from the first album.
18. spanish song with "quando sufras" in the lyrics. Google search threw out Piensa En Mi but I remember it to be a happy upbeat song.
19. Dosvedanya Mio Bombino. About a Russian-Italian guy (supposedly someone China met at a party), who can't decide between Russia and Italian. I love all these little stories behind their songs.
Encore (there just had to be one, the audience was clapping and cheering and stomping like crazy)
20. another un-googleable instrumental piece
21. Brazil. Perfect closing piece. 2nd final song on their first album, and it's just one of those songs that every so often, pops up in your brain, and makes you wish that you were in some place with nobody around, so you could belt it out to your heart's content. China belted it to everyone's heart's content. Half the concert hall got up to 'dance' (really, people were just bobbing standing up rather than bobbing sitting down) to the music.
Sigh. It was a good show. Wished I'd enjoyed it more. Wish I'd more time to soak in its afterglow. Wish I'd bought and listened to all their 4 albums. Am dead tired now. To bed.
and this one from the Mosaic snapshot board:
It was a good concert, great, even. The audience gave rousing applauses after each song and a standing ovation at the end. But it wasn't quite nearly an enjoyable concert for me. More on that later.
Song list.
1. Boléro. Interesting choice for an opening song. But in a way, it encompasses what every good piece of music, and musical performance, should be - quiet but intriguing at the beginning, with more instruments and layers coming in throughout the middle, and a grand smashing finale.
2. Let's Never Stop Falling in Love. Lead singer China Forbes sang the second half of this in Malay. Pretty decent diction. The audience went mad.
3. Anna. Apparently the theme song from a movie about a nightclub singer-turned-nun.
4. Sympathique. Probably their biggest hit, and the reason I bought their first album and tonight's concert ticket. They got a laugh from the audience when China translated the famous chorus into English, "I don't want to work, I don't want to lunch. I only want to forget. And then I smoke."
5. Lilly.
And this is where someone from the back row tapped me on the shoulder and said in a gruff voice, "Can you please turn that off? The light is very distracting." I was typing the song names on my handphone and the backlight had gotten too much attention. So I put away my phone, dug for pen and paper from my bag, and spent the remaining hour making notes in the semi-dark, trying to be as un-distracting as possible. I can't help it. I'm thin-skinned, I over-think, and comments like these get to me, especially when they're not entirely without a point. Nevertheless. Tried my damndest to concentrate on the performance.
6. Cante e Dance.
7. And Then You're Gone. About a angry woman who slams her door at her always-disappearing lover ...
8. But Now I'm Back. ... who shows up at her door explaining that he's just gone for a snack. A pair of songs from two opposite perspectives. I love this group's sense of humour. This article does a good job describing the inspiration behind the song pair.
9. instrumental piece, dunno which. Gave some members of their 11-piece band to have solo showcases. The drummer stands out in my memory. They also have a pianist, guitarist, bass guitarist, cellist, trombonist, trumpeteer and I think 2 or 3 other people who play the several different types of drums they had on stage.
10. Amada Mio
11. 我等着你回来. This got another huge response from the audience. Again, really good pronunciation; except for a few words, you wouldn't guess it was a non-Chinese singing it. And she's got the perfect voice to sing this sort of old, sultry songs.
12. Una Notte a Napoli
13. Over the Valley. I learnt that Portland, Oregon (where the band originated) lies in a valley. China invited us to visit the place, but quoted Thomas Lauderdale (Pink Martini pianist and founder) talking to the Californians, "You're welcome to come here, just don't stay!". Everybody laughed. I'm not really sure I got the joke on this one.
14. Tuca Tuca
15. Andalucia. I liked it in their first album, but never noticed how nice the piano music was till now. Gotta go find the sheet music for this one.
16. Hey Eugene
17. Yolanda. Another very catchy number from the first album.
18. spanish song with "quando sufras" in the lyrics. Google search threw out Piensa En Mi but I remember it to be a happy upbeat song.
19. Dosvedanya Mio Bombino. About a Russian-Italian guy (supposedly someone China met at a party), who can't decide between Russia and Italian. I love all these little stories behind their songs.
Encore (there just had to be one, the audience was clapping and cheering and stomping like crazy)
20. another un-googleable instrumental piece
21. Brazil. Perfect closing piece. 2nd final song on their first album, and it's just one of those songs that every so often, pops up in your brain, and makes you wish that you were in some place with nobody around, so you could belt it out to your heart's content. China belted it to everyone's heart's content. Half the concert hall got up to 'dance' (really, people were just bobbing standing up rather than bobbing sitting down) to the music.
Sigh. It was a good show. Wished I'd enjoyed it more. Wish I'd more time to soak in its afterglow. Wish I'd bought and listened to all their 4 albums. Am dead tired now. To bed.
Friday, 26 February 2010
Huayi 2010: 卡奇社The Carrchy concert, Esplanade recital studio, Friday 26 Feb 2010
I spent the first half of the concert wondering if I'm really that old. The music was so loud I had to resist from plugging my fingers into my ears. Yet nobody seemed really to mind, save the few sitting in front of us, practically right next to the speakers. The rest of the audience, seemed to be mainly composed of still-schooling teenagers, were happily bobbing along to the dreamy electro-pop music. According to Billy Crystal, the music's not supposed to get too loud till you hit forty. Sigh. I'm aging prematurely.Somewhere into the 6th or 7th song, I decided I couldn't take it anymore and decamped to the last row, as far from the speakers as we could get.
I spent the second half of the concert in a yawning marathon. The duo and their 3-piece band appeared to have moved on to a quieter repertoire, and I was trying my darndest not to fall asleep before 9pm. According to Billy Crystal again, sleeping that early is characteristic of seventy-year-old retirees in Fort Lauderdale. Sigh. I am twenty-seven going on seventy.
I realise I haven't got that much to say about the music itself. (Probably because my mind were preoccupied with other matters.) Well the lead singer said it best herself when describing themselves as creatures of the more 含蓄 ilk, preferring to let their music speak, concluding her longest sentence of the whole night saying, "嗨我觉得我们好闷阿".
I cannot, in all honesty, say that I disagree with her. I think they're fine songwriters and musicians (which is why I bought their CD after their concert, and I'm happily bobbing to the songs as I'm typing this now), but not every artiste can get away with performing an entire set with close to nil audience interaction, especially when you're a relatively new group whose audience is probably not all that familiar with you. I'm sure they could've squeezed in a little more introduction about themselves and their music in the lull between songs, during which they preferred to wait in silence while some band members adjusted their instruments. I don't even know which part of China they're from. Though the way the lead singer speaks reminds me of one of my colleagues from Jiangsu. And I find it absolutely delightful how she pronounces 歌 as 歌儿.
Well I guess I'm used to loquacious Taiwanese-type performers (think WaWa and Superband), whose concerts can be equal parts singing and chatting. The only concert I remember going to where the singer kept me captivated throughout with pure music and nothing else was Faye Wong's here at the indoor stadium five, six years back. The Andrew Bird one, another music-only concert which I went to last month, I nearly fell asleep (the guy sitting to my right slept practically from the 3rd song right through to the end).
Speaking of Faye Wong, I don't really see the resemblance between her and Carrchy, except that live, the Carrchy lead singer's voice has a way of trailing with a bit of quiver like FW's. That, and Carrchy also used a megaphone in 吸血鬼 like FW did in one of her songs (think it's 开到荼靡).
The concert ended without an encore - 2nd encoreless concert I've been to in a week - which was just as well. The organisers probably anticipated that the audience wouldn't ask for one, and I'm not sure the band would have a song prepared either. Saved from any awkwardness by an almost immediate lights-on after the whole group went backstage.
While queuing for autographs post-performance, I read on the CD cover that the two Carrchy (what on earth does that mean, by the way) members are only 20 (!) - at least at the time of the album - which explains the somewhat raw showmanship. The lead singer never really looked entirely comfortable onstage; and the other 4 sent off a college band vibe (though not a bad thing) - the drummer had on berms, sneakers and a faux mohawk, and the bass guitarist, with his skinny jeans and fringe-covered face, reminded me of one of the Gorillaz.
Well, they're young, plenty more years to make music and attract more fans. They look a little older upclose though:
The autograph queue:
The autograph:
Sunday, 21 February 2010
A few more photos of Sandee Chan @ Autograph Session
She looks like the pretty version of Hong Kong comedian Sandra 吴君如 and her cool mannerism was more like the late Anita Mui.
She speaks really well and i like her accent. A tinge of Beijing proper Chinese, unlike the Taiwanese ka-waii Chinese. Her mellow voice was easy on my ears. Her singing style is quite interesting with overlapping 'real' voice and 'airy' voice, sprinkled with some '哭腔'.
The upbeat tempo was good for the concert mood. I was tapping in sync for most of her fast-paced songs that evening.
The whole showcase reminded me of a scene from old Shanghai (in the 80s maybe?), those kind of stage performances. The band behind her while she takes the limelight, singing, swaying to the mood of the song, holding on to the mike-stand with her arm extended and definitely sultry.
I didn't know of her before 7.30pm.
After 9.30pm, I was impressed with her songwriting talent, strong vocals and Sandee Chan style.
陈珊妮 Sandee Chan concert, Esplanade Concert Hall, Saturday 20 Feb 2010
Somewhere between her 18th and 19th song, after introducing her five-piece band, Sandee Chan said "希望你们可以回家写一些东西, 在你们的blog上, 让那些没有来的人很后悔". Actually I had been planning to blog about the concert from the 3rd piece, but I'm not sure if it's gonna make anyone have any regrets (especially since one-third of the potential 3-person readership of this blog went with me to the concert). Anyway, here goes.
The concert started pretty punctually without fanfare at 7.32pm. The lights dimmed, the band members walked out, let the polite applause run its course, then SC strolled out to the mike to a louder, more enthusiastic welcome, and started the first song. She was dressed in a simple grey dress, black gladiator-esque stilettoes, and had a big glittery flower (hat?) perched on her head.
My first impression of her was a Gen-X Anita Mui; very sophisticated, very 冷艳, with a toned-down sense of glamour. She even sounded a bit like Anita, the mellow-voice type, but her songs reminded me more of Faye Wong. Not quite as avant-garde as FW's most out-there pieces, but definitely much more adventurous with instrumentation and soundscape then the mainstream Taiwanese pop we hear on, say, 百万大歌星. She only spoke to the audience at the end of the 2nd song, saying that she's not going to talk much during the concert, preferring to perform more songs, since it's so rare that she gets to perform here.
I only thought of noting down her song set from that point onwards (pity, I rather enjoyed the first two songs):
3. 你是我的酒
4. 载我回家
5. 花样年华
6. 尼可拉斯
This was the one that made me think of Faye Wong; the chorus bit sounds almost like FW's 萤火虫.
7. 距离
This was the one with audience interaction. She invited someone from the audience to experience what 距离 was, and was scouting in the semi-dark for 帅哥s. This guy in the first row bravely stood up to volunteer himself as one, and Sandee Chan said "好,就是你". Lucky guy professed to be her loyal fan right from her first album, and not only got to stare in her eyes thoughout the whole song, but also received a (very long) hug from her at the end. After he walked downstage, she said "这就是距离", and a male voice said loudly "我也要".
Sadly though it was also at point when I realised how bare the hall was, with huge gaping chunks of empty chairs in the middle portion of the stalls area, and the 2nd and 3rd floors also (as far as I could see) completely empty.
8. 如果有一件事是重要
This song I really liked. Prob my fav of the evening.
9. 你兴奋了吗
10. 勿忘我親親
I think. Damn tough to find this song online, but it has the lyrics "明年这时候我们会在哪里" in it. Supposedly theme song of Berlin Film Fest selected film Monga)
11. 醉人的诗意
12. 红眼睛
13. 幻觉
14. 你在烦恼些什么呢？亲爱的
Yes, that's the actual title of the song.
15. 今天清晨
16. 应该
17. 香水
Originally written for Nicholas Tse.
Paused here to introduce her band members, including a "不知道为什么很受欢迎的bass手-汪六" (who also performed at the WaWa concert last year), and Peter the drummer, whose sometimes overzealous percussion drowned out Sandee's voice, and managed to find moments to rock out even in some of the downbeat ballad-y songs.
18. 禁果花
Originally written for Sammi Cheng.
19. 完美
20. 双层漆 (?)
Really didn't manage to get the title of this one. But it must be the drummer's favourite song. It's one of the more rock pieces, and he really let it rip on this one, drum sticks and hands and hair flying all over the place.
21. 风景好
And that's it. No encores, no returning to the stage for additional Thank you's. The lights went up almost immediately after the last song, hint for us to get out of the place. But that was not the last we saw of her.
We didn't want to get the CDs they were selling outside, which were required for the post-performance autograph session, but we hang around to snap a few photos. One of the better ones I got before my battery went flat:
I just felt so sad for her. It was apparent a lot of work went into the concert. From the song selection, to the rehearsals, to the outfit (even though she wore just one), and the actual performance itself - a solid, professional 100-minutes odd of good music, despite the meagre turnout. Was it the too-late promotion? She wasn't in the original Huayi programme, and they only sent out email announcements of her concert about a month ago. Or was the venue simply too large? But I guess the smaller studios weren't available either.
Well, all I can say is, I'm glad I was there. Probably won't see her returning to Singapore any time soon.
The concert started pretty punctually without fanfare at 7.32pm. The lights dimmed, the band members walked out, let the polite applause run its course, then SC strolled out to the mike to a louder, more enthusiastic welcome, and started the first song. She was dressed in a simple grey dress, black gladiator-esque stilettoes, and had a big glittery flower (hat?) perched on her head.
My first impression of her was a Gen-X Anita Mui; very sophisticated, very 冷艳, with a toned-down sense of glamour. She even sounded a bit like Anita, the mellow-voice type, but her songs reminded me more of Faye Wong. Not quite as avant-garde as FW's most out-there pieces, but definitely much more adventurous with instrumentation and soundscape then the mainstream Taiwanese pop we hear on, say, 百万大歌星. She only spoke to the audience at the end of the 2nd song, saying that she's not going to talk much during the concert, preferring to perform more songs, since it's so rare that she gets to perform here.
I only thought of noting down her song set from that point onwards (pity, I rather enjoyed the first two songs):
3. 你是我的酒
4. 载我回家
5. 花样年华
6. 尼可拉斯
This was the one that made me think of Faye Wong; the chorus bit sounds almost like FW's 萤火虫.
7. 距离
This was the one with audience interaction. She invited someone from the audience to experience what 距离 was, and was scouting in the semi-dark for 帅哥s. This guy in the first row bravely stood up to volunteer himself as one, and Sandee Chan said "好,就是你". Lucky guy professed to be her loyal fan right from her first album, and not only got to stare in her eyes thoughout the whole song, but also received a (very long) hug from her at the end. After he walked downstage, she said "这就是距离", and a male voice said loudly "我也要".
Sadly though it was also at point when I realised how bare the hall was, with huge gaping chunks of empty chairs in the middle portion of the stalls area, and the 2nd and 3rd floors also (as far as I could see) completely empty.
8. 如果有一件事是重要
This song I really liked. Prob my fav of the evening.
9. 你兴奋了吗
10. 勿忘我親親
I think. Damn tough to find this song online, but it has the lyrics "明年这时候我们会在哪里" in it. Supposedly theme song of Berlin Film Fest selected film Monga)
11. 醉人的诗意
12. 红眼睛
13. 幻觉
14. 你在烦恼些什么呢？亲爱的
Yes, that's the actual title of the song.
15. 今天清晨
16. 应该
17. 香水
Originally written for Nicholas Tse.
Paused here to introduce her band members, including a "不知道为什么很受欢迎的bass手-汪六" (who also performed at the WaWa concert last year), and Peter the drummer, whose sometimes overzealous percussion drowned out Sandee's voice, and managed to find moments to rock out even in some of the downbeat ballad-y songs.
18. 禁果花
Originally written for Sammi Cheng.
19. 完美
20. 双层漆 (?)
Really didn't manage to get the title of this one. But it must be the drummer's favourite song. It's one of the more rock pieces, and he really let it rip on this one, drum sticks and hands and hair flying all over the place.
21. 风景好
And that's it. No encores, no returning to the stage for additional Thank you's. The lights went up almost immediately after the last song, hint for us to get out of the place. But that was not the last we saw of her.
We didn't want to get the CDs they were selling outside, which were required for the post-performance autograph session, but we hang around to snap a few photos. One of the better ones I got before my battery went flat:
I just felt so sad for her. It was apparent a lot of work went into the concert. From the song selection, to the rehearsals, to the outfit (even though she wore just one), and the actual performance itself - a solid, professional 100-minutes odd of good music, despite the meagre turnout. Was it the too-late promotion? She wasn't in the original Huayi programme, and they only sent out email announcements of her concert about a month ago. Or was the venue simply too large? But I guess the smaller studios weren't available either.
Well, all I can say is, I'm glad I was there. Probably won't see her returning to Singapore any time soon.
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Brotzeit dinner (and caterpillar)
I had to try hard not to scream this morning. Very hard. Because how do you not scream when there's a blue-brown-yellow CATERPILLAR CRAWLING UP THE LEG OF YOUR PANTS?!
Here's the inch-long scream-inducer clinging to my pullover (no, repeatedly swinging a ballpoint pen at it does not work):
In the end had to bag up my entire pulloever for the entire MRT ride (till I got off and found a suitably empty space where I could smack the pullover against the ground like a lunatic until the little sucker fell off and left me in peace):
Ahem. On to main topic of post now.
Had a very pleasant dinner at Brotzeit (2nd German meal in 2 weeks' time, by un-planned coincidence), Raffles City. It's late and nearing my bed time now, so this will be a pictures only post.
For the main course, cousin and I shared the wild mushroom soup with bread dumplings, and currywurst:
Both were yummy, or lecker, as the Germans would say. Though the sausage costs like 4 times more what you'd get from the street-side carts in Germany. Well, still cheaper than the air ticket it'd take to get there.
Lecker-er were the desserts, apple strudel for cuz and warm chocolate cake (but of course) for me:
Think my stomach's still trying to digest the sausage and cake.
Here's the inch-long scream-inducer clinging to my pullover (no, repeatedly swinging a ballpoint pen at it does not work):
In the end had to bag up my entire pulloever for the entire MRT ride (till I got off and found a suitably empty space where I could smack the pullover against the ground like a lunatic until the little sucker fell off and left me in peace):
Ahem. On to main topic of post now.
Had a very pleasant dinner at Brotzeit (2nd German meal in 2 weeks' time, by un-planned coincidence), Raffles City. It's late and nearing my bed time now, so this will be a pictures only post.
For the main course, cousin and I shared the wild mushroom soup with bread dumplings, and currywurst:
Both were yummy, or lecker, as the Germans would say. Though the sausage costs like 4 times more what you'd get from the street-side carts in Germany. Well, still cheaper than the air ticket it'd take to get there.
Lecker-er were the desserts, apple strudel for cuz and warm chocolate cake (but of course) for me:
Think my stomach's still trying to digest the sausage and cake.
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