Venue: Fort Canning Park, Singapore
Date: 22nd February 2014
Promoter: Hostess Entertainment
Review by: Maisha G.
Special Thanks: Andrius, Nikki, and the Hostess Entertainment team
Photos by Dominic Phua, courtesy of Hostess Asia
As the year starts, many look forward to the annual gala festival known to many as the hipster congregation, better or formally known as St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival. But this year took a twist. I wasn’t as psyched for Laneway as I was for Hostess Club Weekender. The day when I got the news that Mogwai was coming, all I had in my head was ‘ARE THEY GOING TO PLAY BATCAT LIVE CAUSE THAT WOULD BE TOP OF THE WORLD AMAZING’. Also, welcoming back Mr. Berninger and his league of extraordinary gentlemen to our humble shores sparked my excitement further. And the newly raved kid on the block, whose work I stumbled upon via the Take Away Show on YouTube, Archy Marshall or better know with his stage name, King Krule. I was looking forward to seeing him perform live and wonder how much of a soulful voice this young lad could exude in just one sitting, enough to surpass my expectations.
Hostess Asia/Dominic Phua
The day kicked off to a pretty upbeat start with the opening band for the festival. Buke & Gase, Brooklyn’s very own dynamic duo was set on making the crowd tap their feet and sync their body movements to the hypnotizing beats. They remind me so much of Metric’s recently released album ‘Synthetica’; those familiar rhythms but her voice of which I could draw a similarity to Regina Spektor or even St. Vincent for that matter. I had not listened to them prior to the gig, but I was not disappointed from what I heard from them.
Hostess Asia/Dominic Phua
Asgeir, a singer-songwriter braving through the heat of out country, having flown all the way from Iceland gave me mixed feelings from the music that he played. It gives this melancholic vibe but at the same time, I couldn’t help but to smile. Most of the time, I couldn’t really make out what he was singing as I was confused between the languages he was singing. Though his voice was amazing, I couldn’t really register the folkishness of it all. Even so, I still enjoyed their set or more so, was looking forward to a performance from a soulful young lad.
Hostess Asia/Dominic Phua
We were greeted with 4 cute young lads setting up the stage clad in the many arrays of Nike SB of which the guitarist’s Janoskis caught my eyes and with what seemed like oversized floral tops. We were making a little mean joke saying those were probably Archy’s hand-me-downs but it was a silly comment to get ourselves psyched with the set. Just like a group of teenage girls fighting for the barricade spot for a Justin Bieber concert, there you find slightly older teenage looking girls fighting for the barricade spot just so we can immerse ourselves in the soulfulness of Archy’s voice. He greeted the stage and his screaming wailing fans, him being in his usual shirt with an extra head accessory of what seem to be a fish pilot hat. As soon as he starts serenading the crowd, I couldn’t keep my mouth close. I was awed by such tenacity in his voice in the songs he delivered. “Baby Blue” especially got me smiling like a retard to myself as I subconsciously swayed my body from side to side, closing my eyes and enjoying the groovy number. I could almost imagine my other half serenading me with the same number. Still, I couldn’t get a grip of myself how soulful this young lad could be. He is indeed, a ginger with a lot of soul.
Mogwai, a much raved post rock band hailing from the vast greenery of Glasgow, Scotland happens to be one of the most celebrated bands in the post rock scene. A name which may appear familiar to many from the movie Gremlins, the intensity of their music would somewhat be on par to the grizzly details of the movie. From what I could only afford then, constantly replaying Batcat over and over again on YouTube, I never knew this day would come when I could watch them live. What was more amazing was that I knew I made the best decision of my life that night by staying put in my position by the barricade, right in the middle of the stage where we could see the steps extended from the stage before our very eyes. I couldn’t care less if i were to leave the gig venue almost dying, I only wanted to be blown out of my mind.
True enough, their set blew me off through epic proportions. The song “Remurdered” was beautifully pieced together, strung in a coherent melody of which can’t be explained with mere words. I was almost disappointed because I couldn’t hear a similar tune belting out from the guitars but it was too early for me to conclude because they sealed the deal with “Batcat” for the night. I could have sworn my face melted and I was smiling so widely because that was the only thing I could afford to do at that moment. I felt like I’ve accomplished almost a lifetime worth of dreams just by listening to that one song and their finale for the night. I just couldn’t contain myself. So I thought that was the end, but I’m about to go through another round of epicness that night and it has got to be by the band called The National.
Hostess Asia/Dominic Phua
The National, the band that I drew a close relation to a favourite author of mine, Edgar Allan Poe, is known for their melancholic lyrics and dark tempo music that is far from being frowned upon. Mr. Berninger, I quite creepily enjoy repeating the name to myself. It feels amusing to say the least given the weird person that I am. I have to admit I couldn’t quite put my finger to The National previously until the recent album ‘Trouble Will Find Me’, that was released late last year, I took a hundred and eighty degree turn to my liking for this band’s music. I began listening to their earlier discography and as soon as I learned that they were coming to Singapore, I was all the more pumped up to see them live.
I can’t deny though that I cried when they played “Pink Rabbits”. It was just a sudden surge of apt emotions that was overwhelming me thoroughly and it made my night. Though almost overridden with the melancholy of the song, again I felt accomplished that my feelings was transposed into music, it was an outlet, an apt outlet.
Hostess Asia/Dominic Phua
Matt pulled a stunt as he stood on the barricade with crazy fans supporting his ankle and he dived into the crowd, pulling a Thomas Mars, with the crowd sang the lyrics to Fake Empire whilst looking out for Matt in the crowd. It was mental to say the least but it was by far the greatest gig I’ve been to all my life and hoping a solo The Strokes concert could top it off. It was definitely a life changing moment and a date jotted down in my life diary. Thank you Hostess Asia, for making many dreams come true and restoring good music in many people who attended the amazing night. It was a night of epic proportions and face melting moments.