BayBeats 2006 - part 1
:: BayBeats 2006 :: 14 - 16 July 06 :: Esplanade ::
So I went for BayBeats 2006, my first BayBeats ever. Although it's been running each year since 2001, I've never had the opportunity or inclination to head down. For the uninitiated, BayBeats is,
"Singapore's own local annual indie festival at Esplanade."
There's only one thing to say about BayBeats - it simply rocked.
If you've been following this blog for a while, or if you know me in real life, you'd already have heard my rantings on how we should support local (and I mean, Singaporean) music. You're all probably tired of hearing it already. Heh.
The turnout at BayBeats is possibly testimony that there is indeed a demand for and support for local bands and local music. Which is excellent. I must confess, that one of the reasons why I'm so supportive of local music is because I myself wanted to be a rockstar. Yes, in the good ol' days of Guns N' Roses and Metallica, I was an axe-wielding, hard-rocking guitarist with dreams/delusions of grandeur. Now, older, wiser, less flexible with the fingers, and with the realisation that my guitar skills are no where near what is required of a good band, I am content with supporting and promoting bands/musicians that show immense amounts of talent and potential.
What really disappoints me is the lack of support for local music on our local radio stations. I honestly don't want to hear the same lame mainstream music on the radio. Thankfully, the bands are getting better, and there's been a slight increase in airplay of local music.
Anyway, back to BayBeats. I attended Friday and Sunday's session. Due to work and the major traffic jam around the City Hall area, I was late meeting up with Daphne for dinner. By the time we finished dinner at Marina Square (mmm.. Secret Recipe's Lamb Stew is pretty good), we had missed about half of The Great Spy Experiment's set. I was a little disappointed, and what's worse was that they were playing at the outdoor arena at Esplanade which had limited seating and vantage points, so we ended up listening to the last few songs of TGSE looking mainly at the butts of people standing on the top row of the mini-ampitheatre. TGSE is quite good and the vocalist and guitarist Saiful is my classmate from VS sec 3-4. Even then he was quite a genius with the guitar. I remember that for our sec 4 farewell assembly, he and his friends played "Hotel California" - note for note.
I think that the sound quality for TGSE was also not really that good. Acoustically, it may have been a bad location. After TGSE was a half-hour break, where Daphne and I managed to find a space to sit and we watched Tiramisu perform. Now Tiramisu is crazy. They are seriously crazy. The vocalist turned up in a blond wig, pink top, green pants and red high heels. And HE's quite tall to boot. Quite a crazy and entertaining performance, but I didn't feel that the music was really good.
Kay, going to continue this tomorrow cos i'm super tired. Sorry!
So I went for BayBeats 2006, my first BayBeats ever. Although it's been running each year since 2001, I've never had the opportunity or inclination to head down. For the uninitiated, BayBeats is,
"Singapore's own local annual indie festival at Esplanade."
There's only one thing to say about BayBeats - it simply rocked.
If you've been following this blog for a while, or if you know me in real life, you'd already have heard my rantings on how we should support local (and I mean, Singaporean) music. You're all probably tired of hearing it already. Heh.
The turnout at BayBeats is possibly testimony that there is indeed a demand for and support for local bands and local music. Which is excellent. I must confess, that one of the reasons why I'm so supportive of local music is because I myself wanted to be a rockstar. Yes, in the good ol' days of Guns N' Roses and Metallica, I was an axe-wielding, hard-rocking guitarist with dreams/delusions of grandeur. Now, older, wiser, less flexible with the fingers, and with the realisation that my guitar skills are no where near what is required of a good band, I am content with supporting and promoting bands/musicians that show immense amounts of talent and potential.
What really disappoints me is the lack of support for local music on our local radio stations. I honestly don't want to hear the same lame mainstream music on the radio. Thankfully, the bands are getting better, and there's been a slight increase in airplay of local music.
Anyway, back to BayBeats. I attended Friday and Sunday's session. Due to work and the major traffic jam around the City Hall area, I was late meeting up with Daphne for dinner. By the time we finished dinner at Marina Square (mmm.. Secret Recipe's Lamb Stew is pretty good), we had missed about half of The Great Spy Experiment's set. I was a little disappointed, and what's worse was that they were playing at the outdoor arena at Esplanade which had limited seating and vantage points, so we ended up listening to the last few songs of TGSE looking mainly at the butts of people standing on the top row of the mini-ampitheatre. TGSE is quite good and the vocalist and guitarist Saiful is my classmate from VS sec 3-4. Even then he was quite a genius with the guitar. I remember that for our sec 4 farewell assembly, he and his friends played "Hotel California" - note for note.
I think that the sound quality for TGSE was also not really that good. Acoustically, it may have been a bad location. After TGSE was a half-hour break, where Daphne and I managed to find a space to sit and we watched Tiramisu perform. Now Tiramisu is crazy. They are seriously crazy. The vocalist turned up in a blond wig, pink top, green pants and red high heels. And HE's quite tall to boot. Quite a crazy and entertaining performance, but I didn't feel that the music was really good.
Kay, going to continue this tomorrow cos i'm super tired. Sorry!
1 Comments:
You forgot to mention SPARKLY pink top on the Tiramisu vocalist. Not to mention his demented gyrating and one projectile high heeled shoe. I guess they entertain to make up what they lack in the music department! With Mr Psychedelic Drag prancing about, was anyone really listening anyway?
Post a Comment
<< Home