Compilation of Overdue Posts (Because Eneeli Procrastinates)

THIS BLOG IS NOT DEAD.

Alright. Due to too many incomplete drafts piling up I hate emb-ing photos, this list is there just so it'll be easier to refer to previous events which I took my own sweet time over are finally finished.

Note: It'll not be done in chronological order since they're all in varying stages of (in)completion.

**Note: THE CANCELLATIONS ARE CLICKABLE! THEY ARE LINKS! CLICKY-CLICK!

1] S'pore StreetFest 2008 - D'J Party *DONE 03/04!*
2] NOMAD Preview
3] S'pore StreetFest 2008 - Hidama *DONE 06/04!*
4] S'pore StreetFest 2008 - WoW! Band Finals
5] NOMAD Fringe Festival
6] Superheroes Songs @ Esplanade Flipside *DONE 04/04!*
7] Miyuki Red White Animation Song Battle
8] S'pore Toy & Comic Convention *DONE 06/05*
9] NOMAD @ AMKSS
10] Cosfest @ D'Marquee
11] End of O' Levels
12] Prom Night!
13] TPRAWKS 2008
14] Bitch Rant of DOOM
15] First Job Ever
16] Farewell Assembly
17] Anime Festival Asia 2008
18] Project Breakout 2: A Japanesque Christmas
19] SOYA 2009
20] Ongaku Avenue 2009
21] Haute D'Horreur Camp *(PARTIALLY DONE)
22] Licensed to Play event
23] S'pore Streetfest 2009 - D'J Party
24] JCC Camp
25] SPP Camp

Repo! The Genetic Opera

This has got to be the first time I reviewed before watching the whole movie first.
But that's coz Repo! The Genetic Opera is so freakin AWESOME that I can't even wait for it to appear on free video sites to watch it.

Repo! The Genetic Opera takes place in 2056, where human organ failure has become a global pandemic. In such times, a biotech company GeneCo had risen to meet the new demands for organ supplies. It comes up with easy organ payment plans (like installments). However, should payment not be made on time, GeneCo sends out its masked RepoMen to repossess the financed organs. Which roughly equates to ripping out the organs while their owner is still alive.

The main character is seventeen year old Shilo (Played by Alexa Vega of the Spy Kids franchise) who is infected with a rare blood disorder (courtesy of her late mum). Her overprotective father Nathan tries his best to protect her from the outside world by confining her in the house. Meanwhile, he juggles another night job as a Repo Man (doing the dirty work of GeneCo).

GeneCo's ailing boss Rotti Largo is troubled with the problem of a successor, even though he has three children. The eldest, Luigi Largo, is an ambitious psychopath while demented second son Pavi Largo who wears the skin of other people's faces. The only daughter of the family, Amber Sweet, is a drug addict to the painkiller Zydrate (which is extracted from the brains of corpses) and to the surgeries which follow.
Shilo, having reached the rebellious stage, sneaks off to explore the outside world and ends up catching the attention of some particulary unsavoury characters but finds the truth about her family entanglements. What happens in the rest of the film is for you to find out.

Trailer


Basically Repo is like the Rocky Horror Picture Show meets SAW with bits of the Phantom of The Opera & V For Vendetta thrown in. Yeah. It makes no sense when I say it like this. But seriously. It mixes so many genres together and it's so crazy, it actually works.

The awesomely outlandish array of characters all hold your attention. The cast was brilliant in terms of acting and singing. They got Sarah Brightman to play the talented soprano superstar Blind Mag. She was formerly blind, but had biogenetic eyes implanted by GeneCo. In exchange, Blind Mag must endrose the GeneCo company and perform in their great publicity stunt, the Genetc Opera. Blind Mag has this lovely, ethereal beauty and with Sarah Brightman's superb vocals, made this small character very memorable.


But there were a few surprises too. PARIS HILTON plays the role of spoiled princess Amber Sweet. But at first, I didn't even realise that Paris Hilton was even in the movie to begin with.
But don't let this put you off the movie. Paris Hilton did quite well in her role this time. She proved that yes, she can sing and it was nothing like the Stars Are Blind crap. Even though her singing parts are small. But it was enough to tell she has some potential left. She is the one in the black Domatrix!leather outfit and flanked by two muscle men in Zydrate Anatomy.

However, one of the more fascinating characters was the Zydrate supplier known simply as GraveRobber. He looks like the love child of Legolas (Lord of The Rings) and the Joker (Batman). He's the maniacally grinning guy with the glowing blue Zydrate injection gun.

This drug lord is the on-off lover of Amber Sweet but does not interfere with the power struggles within GeneCo. In fact, the half-sing,half-speak manner he performs Zydrate Anatomy reminds me of Sweeney Todd. Or the Emcee of the Cabaret musical. And the actor (Terrance Zdunich) is also the co-producer and co-writer of Repo. Pretty multi-talented eh? A minor character actually scoring one of the catchiest songs in the whole rock opera.

"Zydrate Anatomy" performed by Paris Hilton, Alexa Vega, Terrance Zdunich


Alexa Vega fits the role of sickly teenager Shilo pretty well. She shows off her singing mettle in "Infected" whereby she wallows in teenage angst and rages against her mother for passing the accursed blood disorder to her and again in the punk number "Seventeen" where she proclaims her supposed freedom at age seventeen. I didn't like the latter song though. It sounded too much like Avril Lavigne and did't quite fit in with the rest of the movie soundtrack. But it was utterly random. The room just suddenly burst into a glowing pink bordello-like place and a hot pretty boyJoan Jett just appears out of nowhere and provides the rockin guitar sounds. The randomosity and the pretty guitar boy were just about the only thing(s) that I liked about that track.

"Seventeen" performed by Alexa Vega


One of my favourite songs was the duet between Blind Mag & Shilo. Apparently Blind Mag's Shilo's Godmother. In this scene, Blind Mag stops by Shilo's house to speak to her before she goes to perform her final aria for GeneCo. What I liked was how the song was part-conversation and manages not to be too cheesy despite the whole reunion-and-parting concept. The high-pitched Chase The Mornings was rather nice to listen to as well.

"Chromaggia" by Sarah Brightman [SPOILER!]


All in all, Repo! The Genetic Opera is an imaginatively original movie. I think it'll be this generation's cult classic (like The Rocky Horror Picture Show back in the '70s). The entire surgery-oriented setting doesn't seem that all far-fetched when there are surgery addiction has already taken root in our world and plastic surgery is easily available to the masses. And then there is the omnipresent threat of new and potentially deadly viruses which often borders on becoming an epidemic. So the massive human organ failure thing? Possible. I'm a sucker for dyfunctional movies with dyfunctional characters like this. Although the gruesome organ repossession scenes (Repo Man RIPS the bloody organ from the LIVING victim) did startle me at first, it sorta added to the whole appeal of the movie. I mean, how often can you find a gory sci-fi movie with a Gothic setting and Opera Rock as the soundtrack?

I don't know much about some of the other characters but their appearences alone are enough to pique my interest. Such as Pavi Largo here.

As of now, I'm patiently waiting for the wave of fanfiction and fanart to appear (as they always do with phenomenal films like these) while scouring the Internet for leaked movie clips. This is a rock opera, with minimal dialodge spoken and is a visual spectacle that simply takes your breath away. it's not as grandoise as Moulin Rouge, but makes up for it with the almost plausible bleakness felt throughout the movie. I don't even know why I'm writing this since Repo is a movie you have to experience for yourself. It may not cater to the tastes of the conservative and narrow-minded though. So if you're one of them, beware.

I really really want to watch this movie (but it's not released worldwide) simply after listening to the soundtrack alone. But the OST doesn't cover all 57 songs in the movie. Only 22 of them are in the soundtrack and has since yesterday, been played a grand total of 128 times on my computer already. Yeah, I'm rather obsessed with it now.



I reccomend trying out "At The Opera Tonight" which features the whole cast or "Let The Monster Rise" by Shilo & her Dad. Or "I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much" which is a raw ballad sung by Shilo to her Dad after their misunderstanding (This is an understatement actually) was resolved. Or maybe "Needle Through A Bug" which is an intense conversation-like piece between the GraveRobber & Shilo. If you like opera, there's "Chromaggia" which is the swan song of Blind Mag. Then there is the already mentioned "Zydrate Anatomy" & "Chase The Morning" which are damn addictive and...

Ah heck. Just try out the whole soundtrack. Believe me, it is worth your time.
REPO! The Genetic Opera OST Downloads





p.s. If you clicked the links, you'd realised the pretty boy cameo isn't all what he seems. ;-)

The Autumn Matsuri 2008 - Music Matsuri

On the 30th of August 2008, I went for the Music Matsuri @ Vivocity. It was even more awesome than the Matsuri-The Butterfly Effect- waaay back in March. Let's recap anyway.

Back in March, I was first exposed to local J-rock bands such as Hellven & ethe'Real. The former of which entered Anugerah Band & the latter who is currently in Channel U's Superband competition and going strong. GO 异世界!!! MORE INFO HERE!!!

The wet weather was a doubled-edged sword for the event. On one hand, it kept people from leaving the shopping mall to go to the sheltered Amphitheatre where the stage is. But then it also prevented those who seeked shelter at said Amphitheatre from leaving. So those not inclined to knowing new things are exposed to these bands while it rained, thus giving them (The Bands & The Audience) greater exposure.
From the Sheltered Amphitheatre
Looking At The Audience Within
Needless to say, the Amphitheatre was full up. But thanks to the Singaporeans' aversion to sitting at the front when facing the unknown, I managed to get a good seat.

There were 3 bands and a solo singer in total. First up...
Cloud Sef
...Pretty Boy Guitarist.
That was the first thing I noticed of Cloud Sef. There is hope for Singapore after all...We DO have pretty boys in our midst. Anyway, their vocalist actually introduced said guitarist like this:
"And this is our guitarist Melvin, WHO IS A GUY." Lolz.

Cloud Sef - Shunkashuutou (Alice Nine Cover)

Online Videos by Veoh.com
Then they started off with an Alice Nine cover, Shunkashuutou. Their vocalist was GOOOOOOD. But it didn't really make a good first impression when he kept referring to lyrics for the first song. At least, he sorta apologised later when he frankly admitted that they weren't quite prepared. Which is questionable since he didn't need any lyric help with the subsequent songs


That unwanted first impression was later cleared up by their AWESOME rendition of Haruka Kanata (by Asian Kung Fu Generation). Personally, I think Haruka Kanata is one of the harder songs to cover. There are parts where you have to singshout but not too much of "singing" and "shouting". Not to mention the high energy level must be shown in the singshouting. Although there is one part at 2.41 when the vocalist suddenly ROARED and...Well...I went "WTF" coz it was utterly random. But the little "drag" he did at 2.06 was nice. That is, if nice can be used to describe J-rock.

Cloud Sef - Lost My Music (Aya Hirano Cover)

For this they invited a female vocalist on stage. She started off a little low, then went into "Kawaii Voice" mode. Which was a tad bit much for me at times. But at least she hadn't shrieked or something like that. Note that the female vocalist is attired in matching outfits with the keyboardist. Who looks like he's cosplaying Raito from Death Note. If he's doing Raito...Then she's Misa?! O_O"

Cloud Sef - GO!! (FLOW cover)

Like Haruka Kanata, this is kinda hard to pull off too, since it also requires the singer(s) to be a giant leaping ball of PURE ENERGY active throughout the whole song. Cloud Sef seem a little "sianz" initially (after FOUR STRAIGHT SONGS IN A ROW, WHO WOULDN'T BE?) but quickly picked up the pace and sure enough, they packed some "oomph" into it. You can see the whole band is singing along and enjoying themselves there. =)

From what I heard, Cloud Sef is only a few months old. But they are quite good despite their age. The vocalist chose a rather interesting mike though. It's like the ancient ones from the 1960s.

The very name of Cloud Sef also intrigued me when I heard it coz it reminded me of Final Fantasy's Cloud Strife & Sephiroth which led to a half-thought that there was a Yaoi fan within Cloud Sef's line-up (Y'know, like Cloud X Sephiroth). But that was banished when I realised all but one of the band members was male. Though there is still a slight possibility about a Yaoi fan there....

Either way, Cloud Sef is good. I'm definately gonna watch out for them again.

MERFURY
When the MC introduced them, I kept hearing McFlurry at first.
Which was rather disturbing imagery since we're talking about a J-ROCK band here. But anyway that was ,thankfully , cleared up once the first song started. They covered mostly Dir en Grey songs with a little Gazette on the side.

Yep. Definately J-rock.
MERFURY - Yurameki (Dir en Grey Cover)

Frankly I haven't the faintest idea what song this is. Thanks to some kind Youtube souls who identified the song for me. Anyway, from here you can tell the vocalist had this richly deep voice (I prefer his voice to the original Dir en Grey vocalist's). It's pretty good, even though my cam doesn't exactly show that.

MERFURY - Yokan (Dir en Grey cover)

The next song, Yokan, was pretty good too. There were some Yokan MV cosplayers present, so the vocalist happily pointed them out and asked them to get down from the audience seats and dance! Lolz. Too bad they didn't do so.

MERFURY - Raison D'etre (Dir en Grey Cover)

He tried to invite the Yokan cosplayers to dance again XD. Anyway, he missed out on phrases here and there. Is it just me? Or does the way he keeps holding his chest hints at illness?

MERFURY - The Final (Dir en Grey cover)

I don't know what's with the low-slung guitar-playing stance the guitarists exhibited here. Perhaps it looked cooler with flashing lights and at special camera angles, but it doesn't quite work out here.
I pity & applaud the vocalist for roaring so often to keep to the feel of the song. He manages to sing rather richly while breaking into a roar for every other song. Here, he roared at 1.25 & at 3.05. It's good for the song, bad for his throat.

The vocalist kept with the audience interaction, advertising the band members'ages and marital status at one point

and inviting the Dir en Grey Yokan MV cosplayers to come down to dance when MERFURY covered Yokan.

MERFURY - filth in the beauty (Gazette ガゼットCover)

That...high-pitched howl that started off the song was...Startling. I certainly didn't expect him to be able to reach that pitch & I'm pretty sure the actual song wasn't supposed to sound like that. I hope not, at least. ~_~
But the vocalist did release a disclaimer/warning before the song. Something along the lines of being new to covering Gazette's music & to forgive him if any mistake was made.

MERFURY - Bottom of The Death Valley (Dir en Grey Cover)

I think it's a Gazette cover, but anyway, he exhibits his velvety-rich voice here again. I really like how he went soft at first before the music started. But there are signs that he ain't in the best of health. Like when he couldn't exactly hit the high notes in the choras.
As for the song itself...Well...If you hear it in mangled English, it'll be;
"My Sister, wah say rude Sister"...-_-"""...Yeah. Lame. But really alike though.

MERFURY - Cassis (Gazette)

The vocalist managed to put across his message about wanting to cover this over-covered song because he wants to perfect it without sounding pretentious. But unfortunately during this last song, he suddenly stopped his continued movements and leaned against the music stand. But the rest of the song went off with few bumps here and there. However, he very well near collapsed after the song and had to be helped off the stage.

Kudos to him for perservering to the very end of the song. Poor thing though. I wonder if he's fine now.

Ana Natasha
She is a local singer signed onto the Path Records label. Well, although she was clad in Visual Kei attire, she didn't sing any J-rock songs. Which was kinda a pity. I heard her debut album'll be out either late this year or next year. But I guess she CAN SING (Unlike those ACBC(Act Cute Buay Cute) C-Pop songstresses out there). Her purple hair really matches her outfit btw.

Ana Natasha - Take A Bow (Rihanna Cover)

Initially, I was rather apprehensive about her singing ability since her eyes kept darting everywhere but at the audience (hinting inexperience). So I sorta listened for a while before I started recording. But most of the song is still there anyway. So you judge for yourself.

Ana Natasha - Part of Your World (Little Mermaid)

This is a spunky rendition of "Part of Your World". Something that really suits the modern girl instead of the wistful Oh-Pity-Me original singing style.


Hellven
Hellven first captivated me back in March @ the Summer Matsuri. They had a pretty elfboy vocalist (Locke) then. He had a voice which could be deepish & high-pitched all at once. Now after Anugerah Band, they're back with a new vocalist (Toshi), who had this awesome rockstar voice!

Hellven mostly did original instrumental music which is something like a mesh of Clssical & J-rock music in a Gothic manner. That's the best I can describe it anyway.
They did 7 songs this time (excluding the awesome soundcheck. Yeah, The Awesome Soundcheck).

Hellven - AWESOME SOUNDCHECK!!!

Whether or not their piece was completely impromptu, I don't know. But if it is part of an actual song, do enlighten me on this.
I really liked the short Huang Fei Hong theme Romey (Guitarist) did around 3.24. And their new vocalist Toshi had the perfect rock star voice. He sounds like the vocalist of X Japan actually, with the high-pitched shriek and all. When most guys shriek, it's either gay or downright awful. But Toshi does it with flair. It kinda make one feel like he's in a rock concert or something.


Hellven - New Beginning (Original)

Hellven opened with this energetic instrumental piece. "Energetic" as in, ATTITUDE-LADEN ROCK, not hyperactive bubblegum POP.

Hellven - Memento Mori (Kamelot cover)

Listen to the mournful starting. It's really good.

Hellven - Stay Away (L'Arc en Ciel cover)

Tis a tad too fast-paced for my taste (This cover, I mean), but it's ok anyway.

Hellven - Fallen Angel (Original)

Oh the Angst! Oh the AGONY! And the MELODRAMA in this piece. I kinda like it though. XD

Hellven - Carnival of Dreams (Original)

It's a change from their angsty dramatic pieces. This one brings to mine an old gypsy carnival with the usual freakshow and everything.

Hellven - Endless Rain (X-Japan Cover)

A famous melancholic song from the legendary J-rock pioneers, X Japan. Hellven covered it well, but I somehow have an inkling that the vocalist is not really portraying the right depth of emotion. Like he should have been more emotional? Or something?

Hellven - Sweet Child of Mine (Guns 'N' Roses cover)

Unfortunately, I didn't have enough space on my cam to record the whole song. It was frankly, one of the BESTEST covers of "Sweet Child of Mine" I've heard so far. The part I did recorded though, showed Romey the Lead Guitarist clowning around for his friends watching from the audience stands. Lolz.

Hellven - Heaven Vs Hell (Original)

The Hellven boys really got some stamina. This song is a whopping 8 minutes long. Fortunately for them though, it was their last song of the night.

Perhaps it was becaused I arrived late. I saw a number of lolitas but lesser VK cosplayers. The most prominent were these trio of Yokan MV cosplayers.

Maybe it was the recent stress and so on that made me lose my nerve that day. I couldn't quite bring myself to approach them for a picture. Partly coz I didn't want to lose my pretty good seat near the front. But mostly because the VK cosplayers, various J-rock dressers & lolitas kept congregating in groups. It didn't help that they had this intimidating aura around which made me, an outsider, wanna shrink into myself. Yeah. Sounds biased, I know. Not all would be unapproachable, some might even be friendly (I've the fortune of meeting these kinds before ^^). I just didn't want to risk taking an ego-battering when they abruptly reject my request.
Just because they'll oblige little kids & professional-looking photographers for pictures doesn't mean they'll oblige an awkward teen with a clumsy-looking digicam. Well, that was how I felt that day.


J-rock dressers & lolitas dress up because they want to. It's not like cosplay when photos are practically an intergrated aspect of the whole thing. Anyway, besides the missed photography opportunities, the event was great. I'll definately go for the next Matsuri (Winter Matsuri in Dec).

Moo Ga Dang (무가당)

Phew. The hectic week of Pre-Lims is over. Then there's one week to cram Physics and then some practical info on the Science Practical exams before rounding up the whole bloody Pre-Lims in Term 4. . Be Yourself Day is tomorrow and I regret to have to go out quietly this year since I have no time to get a costume (whether made or assembled). HAIZ.... But on the bright side, Nadzeef did mention he'll do something. My cam's getting fired up and I'll be waiting...

But for now, I just HAVE TO introduce this crack Korean group.

Moo Ga Dang (무가당)
舞歌黨 (Chinese Name)
Sugarless (English Name)

I got to know this group during one of my endless Internet surfing trips, when I DL-ed their first self-titled single, Moo Ga Dang. Consisting of Song Baek Kyung (1TYM), Lee Eun Ji (SWIT), VJ PRHYME & Kim Woo Geun (BOUNCE) all of whom came from different groups, Moo Ga Dang released their first single in 2006. For those who find Song Baek Kyung (the vaguely familiar, he acted as the Prince's friend in Goong S.


A look at the single cover pretty much gives you a brief idea of how...unconventional Moo Ga Dang is.

01. Don't Call Me Babe
02. Nose Nolabose (노세 놀아보세)
03. Just Sexy
04. Nose Nolabose (Disco Remix)
05. Don't Call Me Babe (Inst.)

Link: Moo Ga Dang
Don't Call Me Babe jumpstarts the single with a rather catchy techno tempo with...those traditional Korean zithers in the background. It may sound rather repetitive to some though I was hooked from the first track. It's like cheesy crack disco with a new twist. My favourite track was Nose Nolabose. It's not as energetic as the first track, but the rapidfire Korean rap with relatively clear English thrown in here and there sorta grow on you. Then there was the gunshots in between which blended right in with the erratic music.
Just Sexy is more smooth with Eun Ji leading the vocals at first with the guys rapping and one of them joining in. I don't think it's as power-packed as the first two tracks, but it's a great pick-me-up in any case. The two remixes didn't really leave that much of an impression on me but then again, most remixes don't.

I'll recommend this as a perky wake-up after a long study session. Moo Ga Dang breaks away from the usual stereotype that Koreans produce weepy ballads and nifty dance tracks (I don't even to imagine HOW to dance Moo Ga Dang's songs....). They do crack cosplay photos too. XD

It's a pity the lyrics remain largely incomprehensible to me though. They already released a 2nd single, OAO. One of the songs had "SHAKE YOUR BOOTY" as a theme. >_<
But either way, Moo Ga Dang is refreshing after listening to Korean ballads (however nice they are).
Moo Ga Dang - Nose Nolabose (노세 놀아보세) LIVE

There was this other live performance which was much livelier, but this one's clearer. Erm...With the exception of Eun Ji & her dancers, the others were...like clothed monkeys but somewhat cute in that dorky<3 way. And look out for PRHYME and his Pringles T-Shirt. They are dork<3 no doubt. I wouldn't be all ga-ga over Moo Ga Dang, but it's good entertainment. ;-)

Superhero Songs @ Esplanade

Choosing a place so far from the heartlands for study sessions does have its benefits after all...On one of my many trips to the Esplanade library, I chanced upon their free performances programme @ the Concourse. It was at first, this duo playing acoustic guitars (whose names I can't remember) and covering pop tunes. They made me look more closely at acoustic music in the end.

Because of this, I returned on the 20th of June (Before my birthday) to check out Jack, Rai & Alvin and their superhero-themed performance. Which lasted three days btw.

By now, I'm sure most people (in Singapore at least) should be familiar with the names Jack & Rai already. But this was before the Fa La La song played on radios.

They covered songs related to superhero shows (e.g. Kiss From A Rose by Seal from some Batman movie/show) and their own spoofs. These vids are from different days of their performances.

Spiderpig [Spiderman parody]

...Ok, so this was kinda lame.

Hero Songs in E Minor (Transformers/Captain Planet/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

They actually brought out an Optimus Prime plushie ("SOFTimus Prime!") and started advertising the transformability of it.


One Week [Barenaked Ladies cover]

Crazy speed singing! This is probably the only song which sounds better with speed. I was gaping at the speed at which he sung at 1.00.

One Week - Barenaked Ladies

The next two vids were recorded by me =)

All Star (Smash Mouth cover)

It's a bit faster than usual, but didn't lose the innate wry cheeriness of the song. That I like =) And Jack is not singing backing vocals for once!

Towards the end of their 2nd set, the boys tried (in vain) to distract the audience with an age-old trick ("Hey, look over there" *points in opposite direction*).
Jack then ran off to nowhere. Which gave them some room to make up a story about how Jack got kidnapped and how they need to call on various superheroes for help. They used that as an opening to sing some superhero-related songs. Like the next one.

Superman (Five For Fighting cover)

This was the Smallville theme song. Jack's soulful rendition of this song lulled me into a somewhat peaceful mood i guess.

In the end, Jack still didn't appear. Shame though. I was half-expecting him to suddenly burst on the scene in some cheesy cape+external underwear suit.

Throughout the show, they kept making references to that line from Spiderman ("With great power comes great responsibility"). Somehow, their show had a really casual atmosphere. It's like a small gathering amongst friends with the boys clowning around (hence, the lame jokes) and just...having fun. They didn't seem to worry about showmanship or anything in front of the public. It's cool that way =)

S'pore StreetFest 2008 - Hidama

In between the main events (ala D'J Party, WoW! Band Finals), there are days when each individual bands are to come down to the stage area to familiarize themselves with it as well as to perform for the public. Having heard the band Hidama at a previous event before, I made a special trip down to Plaza Singapura to watch them again.

And for once, I was early. Too early.

To the point that I ended up people-watching for a good hour+. The seating was all set though.


Besides the band performances, Streetfest also featured graffiti since it's all about the street culture. There were three large blank walls for the art to be displayed. But it was sorta "art in motion". The graffiti wasn't completed and just displayed there. It is to be finished during the course of the S'pore Streetfest. Which was kinda cool since we got to see exactly how good they were at spray-painting.


This is the first panel. It looked a lot like Johnny Depp, doesn't it?
Incidentally, it is by far, the most artistic-looking of the three. Ok, they're all artistic. But this one looks like a piece of pop art which belonged in some fancy-smancy art gallery.

This one reminds me of the Gorilliaz's cartoon band art.
Here's a sample.
...Ok. Maybe not. But the first thing that came to my mind was the Gorilliaz band. Both are kinda distorted in a way anyway.


My favourite amongst the three. I really like the vibrancy of the colours and how they used it. With just spraycans alone, the artists made it so the tiger seem to be glaringly bright. It ain't complete though.

Btw, did you know that the artists are actually secondary school students? The school's name started with an "S", but I can't remember anymore. I think they're collaborating with a few other graffiti pros for this project (Seeing that some of the older-looking ones were smoking...).

Then I managed to catch the artists in action and through a lucky combo of inadequate wobbly hands + sheer luck, succeeded in getting this.
Personally, I think it looks kinda surreal =)


Hidama arrived in a hurry (Later, it was known that they had only been informed on the day itself about their scheduled performance ) much later. Thank god man. It only takes so long before people-watching becomes obsessive.

Because of my wobbly hands, I couldn't get anything that wasn't a blur and so, shall substitute them with grainy screencaps. Yeah, I think I recorded all but one of their performances.

The band members, as I heard, are all from LaSalle. For your info, LaSalle is a fancy arts school in Singapore. Something like the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, but fancier-sounding.


This is the vocalist (Her name's Kai Li, I think) & their guitarist. (Damn. Unglam screenshot here coz she was walking, but at least it's remotely presentable)



So far, this is the video with the least amount of static in the background. I would have uploaded the rest, but it hardly be audible (the vocals, I mean) since Youtube typically screws up the quality further.

Here's the full songset anyway (The links lead to live performances by the original band).


1] Himitsu (by Tokyo Jihen)
2] Jusui Negai (by Tokyo Jihen)
3] Dynamite (by Tokyo Jihen)
4] Ukifune 浮舟(by GO!GO!7188)

The last song which Hidama performed before really left an impression on me. Hidama's rendition of it was different from the original band. The song itself was kinda quirky too, I admit. Especially since the ending of the choras goes
"Rai rai rai rai rai rai rai
Oooh Rai rai rai rai rai rai rai".
Yeah. It sounds like a demented Raichu.

But it's pleasant in its odd little way. The lyrics btw, talks about some tragic Japanese lady (Ukifune) from the Tale of Genji (which is some classical Jap novel).

Hidama - Jusui Negai 入水願い (Tokyo Jihen Cover)



Despite having a sore throat, the vocalist did pretty well. She walked (more like struted) around the stage, acting coy when she should be, and commanded attention all round. Which makes taking screenshots difficult for an amauteur like me.


I'm watching out for Hidama now. Even though they've only covered Japanese songs so far (no originals yet), they manage to put a little of their own style in. Not to mention their members are all good at their instruments. A friend commended that the drummer was insanely fast on a single-pedal drumset, despite a double-pedal drumset being usually used.

Random Rotation #1 - Jazz Fusion

I've decided to start a monthly (or fortnightly, depending on my mood) music rotation just so the files I've uploaded stay there. My PC's moving at the pace of a slug on sake cause of all them music choking it up. Hence, I shall upload bits and pieces of the music here and there and delete them off my PC.
Anyway, I can't quite review well, much less tell you whether the singer had properly reach every damn note of the song. But what I can offer is my humble opinion. And I hope you'll add yours too, in order to have differing opinions for others.

So first's up: Jazz Fusion


Jazz Fusion is a sub-genre of music which combines Jazz with other genres from rock to techno to R&B. It usually comprises of instrumental music and started off in the 1960s, when Jazz musicians played around with other music types (particularly blues).

There are many who hail Jazz Fusion as a fresh face of Jazz, but other "purists" still insist that Jazz Fusion had all but ruined Jazz music.
Personally, I found this rather strange. Not strange in the LOL-WEIRDO way or WTF-IS THIS-SHIT kinda thing, but more of (....). Yeah. I don't know what to make of this. It strikes me as distorted and confusing (maybe because of the intermixing beats), but I'll probably listen to them during my restless moods.

1). John McLaughlin by Miles Davis

It's pretty strange that one of the greater contributers to Jazz Fusion would title a song after his bandmate. That aside, this track grates on my nerves at times. The piano, combined with the messy drumming in the background doesn't match and (to me) throws the entire song off-whack. I can't quite identify the 2nd genre its fused with...But this song simply doesn't work for me.


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2)Noonward Race by Mahavishnu Orchestra
3)Birds of Fire by Mahavishnu Orchestra<



Considered one of the greatest Jazz Fusion bands of all time, Mahavishnu Orchestra was founded by John McLaughlin (That guy in the previous track). Noonward Race is basically Jazz + Rock and it has some pretty cool electric guitar sounds in it. The guitar dominates for a better part of the song (which is why I like it).
Birds of Fire, on the other hand, starts off ominously before moving onto the slower sounds of the electric guitar. This time, both Jazz and Rock elements of the song actually complements each other. So give Mahavishnu Orchestra a try then.
Oh, and for your info, they're made up of White Men. Not Indians.

Noonward Race

. 4) Swamp Thing by The Dave Weckl Band
5) Cultural Concurrence by The Dave Weckl Band

The Dave Weckl Band was formed by Dave Weckl. Yeah, it kinda makes you wonder why Jazz Fusion musicians can be so creative with their song titles but not with their band names. Anyway, Swamp Thing is mixed with funk and a little of blues (I think). The end result is this edgy-sounding, yet relaxing piece in which the other genres hadn't overwhelmed the Jazz in it. It reminds me of this dapper guy in a black pin-striped suit and fedora (ala Chicago), swinging his way from one jazz club to another.
Cultual Concurrence doesn't contain various tribal music. I don't know how to describe this. Noise? Stamina Training Via Repitative Drumming? You decide.

. 6) Mirage by Billy Cobham
7) Avatar by Billy Cobham

Hmm....Mirage is jazzy enough and is the kind of song which made me unconciously tap my fingers to it. While Avatar, as its name suggests, starts off a mystical peal of...bells? Then it quickly dissolves into the kind of music which the old Nintendo would use. I prefer Mirage though. And like the previous artists, Billy Cobham is one of the so-called movers of Jazz Fusion and was a former bandmate to the others mentioned.

. 8) Stomping Grounds by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
9) Lochs of Dread by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones

Stomping Grounds has country folk music mixed in. It's more suited for the polka/line-dance actually. A little too ole Western cowboy-like, but faster-paced with the minute Jazz amounts.
Lochs of Dread, while also country and ole West, reminds me of a lone ranger riding into a town over-ridden by bandits with the sunset backing him. I like the sort-of climax music around 3.35. Anyway, look at this: "The band's name is a play on the name of the 1960s rock band Dick Dale and the Del-Tones." Not much creativity as usual, but their music are worth a shot anyway.

Lochs of Dread

I've enclosed all of them in a RAR. file available for download here. Kindly delete after 48 hours (Probably sooner since I can't forsee anyone liking enough to listen to it regularly).

Click HERE for Jazz Fusion

JOEI! LOOK HERE!