Okay, so my weekend in Singapore was pretty fun. I arrived on Thursday
in time to see Tortoise
in the evening, which was fantastic – well worth my trip down
south. Since it was my first time at the Esplanade, I can't say for
sure how much the venue contributed to the whole experience. Michelle
has long touted the place as a great spot for gigs and performances
but I think Tortoise themselves are a great live band, so perhaps
it was a combination of that and the Esplanade which made the band
sound so amazingly good.
Opening band The Observatory were pretty okay, although
I think they'd probably sound a lot better on a pair of headphones.
Kinda like Hood or Mum. I have to
say they didn't make an impression on me though; after all I've only
heard them once, live at that. Perhaps someone can loan me a copy
of their CD …
Anyway, Tortoise. The thing about the band is that they're an extremely
talented bunch of musicians. They were constantly switching instruments
between themselves, playing vibes one moment, hitting skins the next,
then switching to keyboards and synthesizers. For the most part I
was paying attention to John McEntire, having been a fan of his work
for a long time. Not so much with Tortoise actually but with bands
like Stereolab, The Sea and Cake
and Gastr Del Sol.
Some of the stuff that I can remember (okay, okay, I had to get home
and look them up on my CDs):
'Djed' – minus the long intro
'Ten-Day Interval' – like a DJ battle, only with xylophones
'Monica'
'Seneca' – John Herndon and John McEntire rocking it out on
drums together
'Eden 2' – "So that's how Jeff Parker makes that sound
…"
'Dot/Eyes'
'Crest'
'Unknown'
Was hoping to hear 'Ry Cooder' though, which is how I first got tuned
to Tortoise but they didn't play it. Too droney perhaps. Too bad.
Not only is Tortoise a great band, but they've got an amazing amount
of endurance too, entertaining two encores and playing a good three
hours (I think) that night. More surprising was the crowd at the Esplanade
who were entirely up for it and remarkably clued-in about a band that
I was expecting to receive polite, seated applause at best. All in
all, great gig.
So that was Thursday. Friday was extremely boring cos everyone I knew
in Singapore was at work, so two thirds of the day were wasted wandering
around Orchard Road looking for a pair of trainers (which I found
in the end, thankfully). And thanks to my lack of orientation
and navigational skills, it took me ages to find Surrender.
What can I say about the place – overpriced, rather pointless
and definitely has 'James Lavelle' written all over it. Duh.
Chicks On Speed.
No wait, Zouk first. Zouk Singapore is definitely a whole lot more
fun than Zouk KL, or any other club in KL for that matter. Why? Cos
I can actually come out of the place and not smell like an ashtray!
A night out in KL is as good as hanging out in a chimney.
Okay, now, Chicks On Speed. It's bad enough that I'm not familiar
with their music, but thanks to an unresponsive sound crew, a rather
ignorant DJ and problems with their laptop setup, I now have nothing
good to remember them by. I was a little embarrassed myself, seeing
how apologetic and clearly disappointed the Chicks were. But they
soldiered on despite all the fuck-ups, and I'll remember them for
that at least – an excellent sense of showmanship. Oh, and some
rather disturbing visuals of women's crotches on the screen behind
them. And if you've read Michelle's
post (or if you're Michelle), you'll know about her friends' predicament
at the bar which was a bit of a bummer too.
The rest of the weekend was spent catching up with Yit Ling and Victor,
old friends from back in the day – college days that is, both
of whom have changed quite a bit (and in response think that I haven't
changed at all – not a good thing). Aside from all that, nothing
much else. And there you have it. My weekend in Singapore.
I rolled my chair over my glasses today. They broke. I stepped on
a small shard. Ouch!
27/3/2005
Quick update - I understand that some of you guys are having problems
listening to the Realaudio stream, let alone downloading the MP3.
Sorry for this, but my server's really f**ked at the moment. This
is what you get when you opt for a cheapo web hosting service. It's
beyond my control, so please don't give up! Keep coming back and try
again. You'll be my best friend if you do! Isn't that well worth it?
26/3/2005
I will write about my trip to Singapore to see Tortoise
and Chicks On Speed soon, but first ...
Yeah! Dig it! Lots of nice, funky tunes. None of that weird stuff.
Krautrock and indie rock? That is so Mass-Distraction-Sessions-Vol-6.
Inspired by all the various mixes that Madlib has
done. Tracklisting and downloadable MP3 are available under Aural
Prostitution as usual.
Oh, and of course, congratulations to Nick and Sandra on the birth
of their new baby!
*It's about 12:45am GMT right now and my site's really slow. I don't
know, maybe it's just my side of things. So if your downloads don't
seem to be moving, sorry. Hopefully things will magically fix themselves
soon.
12/3/2005
"You should let me love you
Let me be the one to give you everything you want and need
Baby good love and protection
Make me your selection
Show you the way love's supposed to be"
You might ask yourself, "Self, why are the lyrics to Mario's
'Let Me Love You' doing on this site, known primarily for its pretentious
online mixes, wannabe-indieness and high-brow elitism in music geekery?"
Well, for one, because it is a damn good song. Two ... well, there's
no two. It's just a damn good song. How can you resist that sweet
little sad synth line? This is the kind of song you hope to God will
play on the speakers just when you spot that cutie in the club that
you absolutely want to get with.
"Yeah dude, like getting laid? Knockin' em boots? Doing the horizontal
mambo? Doggy ..."
No, no. In a good way. Like chatting over a cup of coffee. In a cozy
little roadside cafe. Making that connection, you know. Emotionally.
You know what I mean. Surely that's the kind of thing guys normally
think about when they first like a girl? Of course.
Not a lot of good albums lately. Although I highly recommend Just
Another Diamond Day by Vashti Bunyan. Great
folky stuff to fall asleep to.
The other day I dreamt about seeing Ashanti in concert.
I dunno. I'm not a big fan of her or anything. I don't even remember
her songs. Maybe it's an indication of some deep, repressed thoughts.
Like secretly wanting to be an R&B diva.
