muse-zik - the best rock gig ever.

so one week after andrew bird at esplanade, i attended 2 more gigs. prior to gig #1, i've ranked coldplay's viva gig to be at the top of my best live gigs ever attended for rock bands. but muse really blew me away, in the most simple form, without gimmicks, small talk and expensive stage production.

the concert was big night out - headlined by muse and supported by saosin and rise against. saosin was the weaker of the 2. lead singer did not have the presence, voice and banter skills yet. the band wasn't in sync with the (some) of the audience. but rise against was surprisingly good. good lead singer, tight band, great songs.

by the time muse took the stage, it was 10pm and everyone perked up immediately and started getting high. my concert buddies, zeh, special J and i (guest appearances by lester and bangjie) were squashed in the middle of the mosh pit among tall people. sigh. but the feeling you get in the pit is different from the sides of the indoor stadium. though tiring, it was exhilarating to rock it out and headbang and dance with fellow moshers.

we predicted the opening song correctly - uprising. but we thought supermassive black hole is gonna be an encore piece, and it ended up as the second song. props to the band for being unpredictable. and even more unpredictable was the good portion of the songs from the 1st 3 albums - showbiz, origin of symmetry and absolution!

words really fail to describe how good muse is live. matt's pitch-perfect voice and his amazing falsetto range (according to muse wiki, reaches A5, which is my top note as well), his bling guitar with the electronic panel and nimble fingers on the guitar riffs, his pretty white upright piano and his nimble fingers again! dom has rocket science precision on the drums and he is a jaw-droppingly good drummer. chris on the bass and backing vocals harmonizes well with matt and his bass lines makes my heart pound with joy. :) the 3 of them are so in sync and so tight, you would think that some of the parts are recorded.

more highlights

map of the problematique was AMAZING. the energy was peaking with SMBH just before MOTP, and it just popped.

sunburn was played on the piano! (and i only saw what happened on youtube)

undisclosed desires, my favorite from the resistance, where i danced along to the awesome song and under the green lights around the stadium.

the singalongs to SMBH, starlight, and well everything else.

MK ultra, again, AMAZING.

closing the encores with a suprising choice - knights of cydonia. something i never expected, but worked out so well. with the visuals at the backdrop and the deafening singalong.

Muse Live in Singapore!

Big Night Out

3rd February 2010

setlist

Uprising

Supermassive Black Hole

Map of the Problematique

Resistance

Interlude

Hysteria

Stockholm Syndrome

Nishe

United States of Eurasia

Sunburn

Helsinki Jam

Undisclosed Desires

MK Ultra

Starlight

Time is Running Out

Unnatural Selection

***

Exogenesis: Symphony, Part 1: Overture

Plug In Baby

Knights of Cydonia

J and i had an extensive discussion in the car about what makes muse so amazing. and as i think about the band, it's really about the music. lyrics, not so much - but credit must be given to them too, for socially conscious and politics-infused lyrics and emo songs (without being overbearing and annoying).

but the music. i've expressed appreciation for how some bands strive to better themselves and their music with each subsequent album. i know bands like maroon 5, keane don't do this. album after album, they sound the same. but bands like coldplay and muse evolve as they mature. and that's why i really love muse's latest album, the resistance. who can write, produce and do an album that has songs with middle-eastern motifs, classic rock, jazz rock, electronica AND classical music (my favorite chopin nocturne!) all thrown in, and still come out coherent and sensational?

***

Rise Against Live in Singapore

Big Night Out

3rd February 2010

setlist

Collapse (Post-Amerika)

Re-Education (Through Labor)

The Good Left Undone

Long Forgotten Sons

Savior

The Dirt Whispered

Audience of One

Prayer of the Refugee

Swing Life Away

Hero of War

Give It All

Ready To Fall

awaiting to muse.

i've so much work to do, that it'll take me awhile (hopefully not too long, lest i forget the euphoric night) to pen down my thoughts of the muse concert, the best live rock gig EVER.

and i'm still awaiting a time where i can watch the very last season premiere of Lost. and i've been conscientiously avoiding all spoilery youtube clips and reviews and recaps and tweets. heh.

and now, listening to muse at work. how else can you relive the night of spectacular, raw talent and music?

Do you wonder where the self resides?

photo // wakingupto

the genius-ness of andrew bird has left me quite contemplative after his gig at the esplanade concert hall on tuesday. going to this concert was really a leap of faith - not knowing the existence of this musical genius before the mosaic marketing bombarded my inbox with emails, thinking that maybe his music would be something i'd like, getting hold of his albums, making the decision "just heck it and buy the tix!", having his songs grow on me as i listen to them at work, and realising that andrew bird is someone you MUST hear live. the studio recordings just doesn't do his songs and the man enough justice.

so late to jump on the wagon, but i'm hooked nonetheless. without music, andrew bird is a somewhat awkward, mumbling, self-deprecating guy who shuffles his feet and avoids eye contact. on stage with the loop pedals, his amazing-sounding violin, guitar and glockenspiel, he's a different man.

andrew (ha we're on a first name basis now, considering how much his music has penetrated my life in so short a time) is the guy who has been playing the violin his whole life. i really admire his ability and talent to take his classical training and venture to a path that is so different from other classically-trained musicians. if you ask me to do something like this with my piano training - i would love to, but the talent just isn't there.

the pizzicato on the violin is amazing. how come no one ever substituted the violin for a ukelele? i'd love to have heard more of the glockenspiel, but when i hear him whistle with the glockenspiel, it sounds totally alike. which brings me to the jaw-dropping ability of his to whistle.

andrew's whistle is nothing like us ordinary folk. his whistling is loud, pitch-perfect, rhythm-perfect, great range and crystal clear. the singing is comparable to his contemporaries (whom i'll mention just a few - jeff buckley, damien rice, the mellow-er styles of jason mraz and rufus wainwright). but the multi-tasking is a sight to see.

from an audience member's point of view, andrew does it all, and he does it so effortlessly. pulling the bow on the violin, singing, hopping to the glockenspiel, stepping on the controls of the loop pedals, picking up the guitar, throwing the guitar behind his back and plucking the violin. this myriad of his tasks on stage is executed to (almost) perfection. but i can imagine it takes lots of concentration and focus to be able to pull all that off. remembering the songs, each refrain to be looped, playing them in the correct order, playing them in the correct rhythm.

it's astounding to me, and i spent the entire concert mesmerized and in awe of the music that is resonating through the halls of esplanade. very glad that the concert was held here. i've attested to the awesome acoustics of the concert hall before, and that only the best of the best musicians can sound good in this hall. true enough, andrew bird sounded brilliant for the entire 100+ minute set.

Andrew Bird - live in singapore

mosaic series by esplanade presents

26 january 2010

setlist

Happy Birthday Song

Why?

Sweet matter (Dark matter/sweetbreads)

A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left

Natural Disaster

Oh No

Tenuousness

Carrion Suite

Section 8 City

Imitosis

Capital I (inspired by Sesame Street)

Anonanimal

Headsoak

Scythian Empires

***

Oh, Sister (Bob Dylan cover)

Some of These Days I'll Be Gone (Charley Patton cover)

photo // TODAYonlineblogs

the setlist is a good mix of songs. and i particularly enjoyed my favorites from noble beast - natural disaster and oh no. i also loved capital i, dark matter/sweet matter, why? and imitosis (yes the bio geek in me really loves this song). i was particularly captivated with dark/sweet matter (2 versions of the song), and the thought of where the soul/self resides. is it our DNA? our brain (which has white and grey matter, not dark matter)? our heart (which is red)?

but more than that, it was a delight hearing andrew mumble through some banter, including his thoughts on some of his songs. i love to hear songwriters talk about their songs during gigs. andrew is truly a gifted songwriter and musician. his creativity and innovation, so evident as he forms melodies and harmonies that loops through each stanza and chorus, adding a minor tone, embellishing it with different tonalities and sounds. the out-of-the-box use of the violin like a ukelele, the strange mix of instruments, and electronic technology has pushed the boundaries of music, and at the same time, challenged my perspectives of what beautiful music can sound like, rather than what music ought to sound like.

and andrew's songs, to me, are all his thoughts. about the people around him, the gut-wrenching emotions, the social commentary, the philosophy and existentialism, the sights and sounds. his music and lyrics surround him each and every day, and they are one and the same. and i think he becomes so wrapped up in his own music and thoughts, that when he's alone with the music, that's when he's free.

tales of long, hard winters.

so it's been almost a week since i last saw ethan hawke and heard him sing and play the guitar. :)

and i was so lucky to catch him outside esplanade theater's stage door, his guitar case strapped to his back. :) ahhhhh why didn't i just stop and say hi?

ok so the winter's tale wasn't all about that. in fact, ethan hawke's character, autolycus, is a supporting character in shakespeare's tragic comedic play. yes, a paradox there. bear with me while i remember the plot, which is super interesting and tragically shakespearean.

plot
act 1

the play opens in the kingdom of sicilia. the king of neighbouring city bohemia, polixenes (josh hamilton) was visiting the king of sicilia, leontes (simon russel beale). polixenes has been in sicilia for months now, and they are enjoying one another's company. leontes has a beautiful and pregnant wife, hermione (rebecca hall) and a young son, mamillius (morven christie). polixenes decides to return to bohemia, anxious to see his son and wife, after being away for so long. but leontes, eager for his great company, tries to get him to stay for a longer time. after he fails, he sends hermione to persuade him, and quite readily, polixenes agrees. onstage, the chemistry between hermione and polixenes is undeniable.

so now, leontes slowly begins to get suspicious. why did polixenes agree so quickly to hermione's request, when he himself, the king, tried so hard and failed? then his mind, from now on, went into a downward spiral as he rants on and on in long monologues, about how sure he was that his beautiful wife was having an affair with polixenes and that the baby is not his. his thoughts and mind literally drove him to insanity and extreme paranoia.

so he orders the lord of sicilia, camillo, to kill polixenes, and threw hermione into jail, pending charges of adultery and conspiracy. camillo, instead, warns polixenes, and together they flee sicilia for bohemia and never returned. hermione gives birth to a baby girl while in prison, and leontes orders antigonus (another lord of sicilia) to dispose of the illegitimate child.

when hermione was standing trial for her alleged charges, she pleads innocence and asks leontes to be reasonable and see things right again. the judge brings in the 'oracle', a magical quill that will tell the truth. the oracle, of course, writes that hermione is innocent. but leontes was so consumed with rage and paranoia that is beyond reason and logic, sentences her to death anyway. at the next moment, they find out that their son, mamillius has died. upon hearing the news, hermione, already distraught over her husband's decision, was so overcome with grief that she died. leontes finally comes to his senses and promises to grieve over his wife and son for as long as he shall live.

meanwhile, antigonus (dakin matthews, the reverend from desperate housewives; the headmaster of rory's prep school in gilmore girls; and many other roles in tv and films) and someone (i couldn't get the name) comes to the edge of bohemia and sets the infant down in a basket with a box full of money. in a thunderstorm, antigonus was chased away by a bear (hilarious and totally out of point. i wonder if shakespeare is trying to be funny) and i can't remember what happened to his companion.

then, a shepherd of bohemia (richard easton) chances upon the infant, and the money. he and his son 'clown' (who appeared just meters behind where i was sitting at esplanade theatre stalls, and shouted something so loudly that i nearly jumped out from my seat) adopts the baby girl and takes the money.

time enters. 16 years has passed. leontes has spent 16 years grieving for his wife and son. the baby girl, named perdita (played by the same actress who played mamillius), has grown into a beautiful young woman, bearing a striking resemblance to hermione. she does not know of her heritage or that she was adopted by the old shepherd. and she is dating the prince of bohemia (polixenes's son) florizel (michael braun, who looks asian-american).

act 2

opens with autolycus (ethan hawke), a rouge and thief. autolycus is a guitar strumming wanderer who goes from place to place, meeting people to steal from. he is michievous and has the best and funniest lines, and he reminds me of puck from a midsummer's night dream.

autolycus comes to the town festival and entertains (or rather, charms) the crowd (with the shepherd, perdita, florizel etc. present) with his songs and selling his stolen goods. there was a song and dance item, and another outrageous dance routine featuring 2 round balloons tied to the girls' chests and 1 long balloon tied to the guys' crotches. and the dance is super laden with sexual connotations and imagery. (again i wonder, what's the link?!?!)

2 visitors with hats and big white beards arrive at the town festival. they join in the festivities and found out that florizel, the prince, is marrying the daughter of the shepherd, perdita. one of the men questions florizel, whether he is inviting his father (the king) to the wedding, but (i couldn't catch why) florizel is not. all he** breaks loose when the 2 visitors reveal themselves to the polixenes (the king himself) and camillo (his now faithful servant). polixenes objects (i presume because perdita is not of a royal parentage) and demands that they break up and florizel return to court.

*ps. wouldn't it be twisted if perdita IS the illegitimate child of polixenes and hermione, which will make perdita and florizel step-siblings* (ok i watch too much tv).

so naturally, the couple decides to elope to sicilia. with a little help from autolycus (who has been watching from the sidelines quietly). the shepherd and his son hears of this, and decides that he should tell polixenes the truth about perdita's parentage. they chance upon autolycus, who tricks them into believing that he is a member of the court ('cos he's wearing florizel's robes, having exchanged them to help the couple disguise while eloping). the shepherd tells autolycus everything, and autolycus decides to help them and help polixenes by telling them where the couple went.

arriving at sicilia, the couple meets with leontes and members of the court. leontes notices the resemblance of perdita with his late wife, but says nothing of it. till polixenes and his entourage arrives at sicilia, and the truth is finally set free. leontes tearfully and emotionally reunites with his daughter, albeit awkardly. and polixenes agrees to the union.

paulina, wife of antigonus and good friend of hermione, announces that that's a statue (or wax figure) of hermione that has been completed and is waiting to be revealed. so she brings everyone to the statue. leontes asks why are there wrinkles on the face of the statue, and paulina says that it's because the artist is so skillful that he is able to project how hermione will look like now. and you know how this ends.

by magic, the statue comes to life. everyone was so taken aback that they asked if she could talk and walk. in actual fact, hermione had not died and was hid away from the wrath of leontes, knowing that one day her name will be cleared (also 'cos the oracle said so) and she will be reunited with her daughter again. and it was these thoughts that kept her going these past 16 years. mother and daughter are now tearfully reunited and the play ends. :)

***

hokay that took a long time to remember and type. with the help of wikipedia, i managed to really grasp the finer (but not literary) details of the play. this play is clearly defined into 2. 2 cities, 2 kings, 2 people, 2 acts, 2 different emotional acts. act 1 was very dark and tragic. act 2 was lighter, funnier and easy on the eyes, though the last part of act 2 dived into the heavy emotional part again. but that sort of acts as a nice bookend to coherently wrap up the play.

words
one thing's for sure. having studied literature only for 2 years, when i was 13-14 years old, and only studying one play in depth (shakespeare's the merchant of venice), it is hard to make out the language and words of the play. you kinda get the gist of what's happening on stage, but not the individual words. it also didn't help that some of the actors bunched up all their words into a long continous line of sounds with no discernible breaks in between. like josh hamilton. even though he was speaking in his native american accent, ohman, i couldn't catch his words!!

so that was probably the only bad thing, which i can attributed the fault to my untrained ears and mind.

actors/direction
were all really awesome. i have to mention the following:
simon russel beale (leontes) is a well-respected veteran of shakespearean theater. and it shows, loud and clear. he easily dived into the insane, twisted and paranoid mind of leontes and his monologues were amazing. the depth of his emotional performance was astoundingly good.

rebecca hall (hermione) was surprisingly good too. i didn't think much of her, but i was blown away by her performance too. she was so heartbreaking as the wronged, innocence wife and when she pleaded her case in court to leontes, wow, i really wanted to stand up and defend her and punch leontes for accusing her and giving her a big hug. :) it was so heartbreaking, and not to mention she's so gorgeous.

ethan hawke (autolycus). why, of course. :) need i say more?
well he was good too! as the theiving roaming rogue, he was right in character. this man can play anything, just look at his works. this character reminds me a little of johnny depp too. his deep voice. ahhh. could tell he was not very confident with singing and guitar-playing simultaneously (or maybe i just watched 2 great men who can do that well: chris martin, jason mraz). but no mistakes. and his singing was niiicccee. raspy tenor. :)

sam mendes (director) did a fabulous job with this interpretation. though i can't comment much without a basis of comparison, i got it. a shakespeare play, with dialogue in shakespearean english and many tales, and despite being tired from a whole day of activities in church, i still managed to understand, appreciate and enjoy the play! the comic relief sections were a good welcome from the heavy tragedies, though through his expert direction, they were protrayed tastefully and not overdone in a big-bang soap-opera fashion. well i wouldn't expect anything less from him actually. :) just wished he'd taken a curtain call with the cast.

costume design
very wintry. that was my impression and i wonder if it was deliberate. there were long coats with details on collars. fitted corset tops with long flowing full skirts and deep colours. hermione had this deep purple empire cut floor-length dress that she wore when she's pregnant and it's so nice! the men were well-dressed in formal coats, blazers, tux and dress pants. perdita had this gorgeous green grecian dress detailed with flowers.

sets/lighting design
was so nice. :) act 1 in sicilia had a beautiful backdrop of candles suspended in midair, and candles on the ground. act 2 in bohemia had the town festival. with red, white and blue (oh america, oh america) helium balloons everywhere. lighting was good. as always. i'm always fascinated by lighting design and esplanade theater has an impressive set of lights. every lighting direction and position was executed perfectly and complimented the play well.

music
not too much. some handbells, chimes, violins (for act 1), adding accordians, cellos, EH's guitar, guitars for act 2. but is beautifully scored. and EH's songs were nice too! in a folksy, country sort of way. songs that tell a story.

audience
heard from a friend who was at the opening night that the audience was horrible. she was at the 5th row from the front and had horrible audience neighbours. well M and i were quite blessed. first we were upgraded from circle 2 (3rd floor) to center stalls. of the stalls, we were 3rd row from the back of the ground level. and i was just so thankful for those $250-a-pop seats which i couldn't possibly afford. but those seats allowed me to enjoy the experience so much more, and actually see the facial expressions of each actor on stage.

and we had a great audience on sunday night! probably half of them were caucasians (much like the coldplay concert), but they were attentive, laughing at the appropriate parts and keeping quiet at the tragic parts. most of all, standing ovations are in order and the cast took another curtain call graciously. EH even clutch his right fist to his heart while he took a second bow. :)

hokay this is a long review. and i shall stop here for now. hopefully i can catch the other play of this double bill, the cherry orchard, in london. which will be played by the same cast. :)

***

well, friday is here again and i'm taking it easy. busy week next week. with my first chemistry IP class, lesson prep, tons of marking, event on (Holy) saturday, easter musical, easter lunch. shall unwind from this week with some saturday brunch, lazing with good friends next to horses. :) :)

the awesomeness of march.

why march was such an unforgettable month.

• caught jason mraz live. amazing.
• caught many good movies with good friends (benjamin button, he's just not that into you, slumdog millionaire, marley&me).
• had a great time at MH's. chilling to nice pizzas from serangoon gardens and a night of guitar hero world tour and good company.
• had many catchup sessions with various friends from NIE, bethany, and all over, over good meals. always enjoying good fellowship and the fruits of our labor.
• work was both satisfying and frustrating at the same time. which made for many laugh-out-loud moments at my silly students (and other teachers' silly students).
• work-life balance quite easily obtained at my workplace (for now). the ability to work hard and play hard is something i hope to achieve when i start work for real.
• the march holidays.
• the many rehearsals and practices for the upcoming easter musical. and witnessing the tremendous progress made in just a few weeks, all credit goes to the ones leading the choirs, costumes, stage, props, AV, music, and the Lord's blessings and grace.
• caught coldplay live, for the 2nd time. amazing x2.
• bought my tickets to london for june. i'll get to see zeh, watch musicals and hopefully plays, and travel in UK and europe again! :)
  
• caught the winter's tale. my first shakespeare play live on stage. seeing ethan hawke (and the rest of the pristine cast) on stage. hearing him sing and strum the guitar. hokay. the entire play was kind of amazing in a shakespeare way. more to come in another post.
• caught sight of EH and several other cast members heading out the B1 stage door when i was turning out of the esplanade carpark. and for a split second i contemplated stopping the car and winding down the window to say hi. of course i didn't, and totally regretted it. till now.

all these joys and blessings come to me and i'm ever so thankful and grateful. :) i wouldn't expect any more months to be so filled and enriched, with songs and music, with art and soul, with praise and worship. but hopefully, with the Lord's grace, it can be, and will be.

love(r)s in japan.

(spotted on montage of lovers in japan, coldplay concert 2009)

Kinkaku-ji (the golden pavilion)
Kyoto, Japan

the coldplay gig was nothing short of awesomeness. this year has brought many good gigs (stars, jason mraz, rachel yamagata, ethan hawke) and talented musicians to our sunny shores and i can live through this year a happy girl. :) i think i'm very blessed and lucky to have caught all these gigs and to have been to 2 coldplay concerts. to think that i just bought the tickets without anyone to go with (so in the end if i really didn't find anyone, i can sell them and make a decent profit). but J my concert buddy is a dependable girl for a rocking night. :)

well i really enjoyed this one better than twisted logic back in 2006. ironic, since chris has visibly aged, but still has that boundless energy. running everywhere onstage.

even though i didn't know lyrics to most songs on viva la vida and the EP (having just bought them not too long ago), i really like this album at the first listen, 'cos it's more layered, textured, melodious, soulful, meaningful and emo. the lyrics speak of deeper meanings and emotions, and you can see how the band has matured through the years, both in terms of the musicality and also the writing and arranging of songs.

so in a way, not knowing the lyrics allowed me to just listen to the music that is playing. to hear the words being sung. and to really enjoy the concert without screaming and singing. :)

highlights:
12,000 strong crowd singing along to familiar favourites from all albums and EPs.
watching chris's hands work the piano as he delved into tortured-artist-emo state.
the giant screens flashed a super impressive live streaming of the stage, complete with effects and b&w, sepia and much more. it really looks like the end-product live concert DVD kind (after post-production editing and special effects added).
the impressive set design. the laser shows, the lights, the backdrops, montages.
the awesome jackets. :)
the coldwave aka mexican cellphone wave aka kallang wave with handphones in darkness. the twinkling lights were magical.
the acoustic 2-song set opposite us. damn those $188 seaters who can reach out and touch the guys.
the set done on our side of the stage. which includes my favorite part of all concerts - the stripped-to-bare-essentials the hardest part, feat. chris on piano and will on backing vocals. the harmony sent shivers up my spine and arms and piano-only postcards from far away.
the many piano-only interludes and intros and outros of life in technicolour - sounds so good live.
discovering that everyone in the band plays more than 2 instruments, and that will (the drummer) has an amazing voice.

and of course, the beautiful butterfly glow-in-the-dark confetti that rained down on the center block during lovers in japan, the montage featured sights of japan that i love so much (it was hard to focus my attention 'cos there's so much to look at!), chris going a bit nuts with the japanese umbrella. thanks j and d for saving us some butterflies. :)

Coldplay Live in Singapore!

Life In Technicolor
Violet Hill
Clocks
In My Place
Yellow
Glass Of Water
Cemeteries Of London
42
Fix You
Strawberry Swing
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
Talk
The Hardest Part (Chris piano, Will)
Postcards From Far Away (piano instrumental)
Viva La Vida
Lost!
Speed Of Sound (acoustic)
Death Will Never Conquer (acoustic - Will vocals)
I'm A Believer (Neil Diamond Cover - acoustic)
Viva La Vida (remix interlude including Coldwave)
------
Politik
Lovers In Japan
Death And All His Friends
-------
The Scientist
Life in Technicolor ii
The Escapist (outro)

- photo: joshuachan28, coldplaying.com

hokay. despite my fatigue from coldplay concert, lesson observation went as well as it could. my prof gives very good constructive comments. gotta work on it. and hopefully he doesn't come the day after rachel yamagata. :)

the cure for monday blues.

is your boss declaring no lessons after 10am, in the light of the stellar results of the class of 2008. :)

thinking about the high-energy jason mraz concert and the high-energy guitar hero world tour marathon at MH's on sat night. our very own rock concert!

singing my weekend away. at guitar hero, at easter musical rehearsals sat and sun. being able to sing for the Lord.

reflecting on the Lord's goodness and grace. and being challenged once again to hide His word in my heart always, in all wisdom. (colossians 3:16)

details in the fabric.

there are really no deserving words to describe the AMAZING jason mraz concert. but i shall attempt anyway.

the energy of the stadium, mostly standing right from the start.
the dancing during the fast energetic pieces. :)
jason's energy, and those amazing hips :) and dancing. very sexy.
his super-talented super in-sync 7-piece band. no scores. no wrong notes.
his flawless chemistry with his backup singer.
jason's many guitar changes. akin to a bride at the wedding dinner.

his effortless, 4-octave range voice. the round tone that is always pitch-perfect.
the operetta interlude in between mr. curiosity, stretching his vocals and falsetto. not to mention the stripped-to-the-bare-essentials of jason's voice and the piano. perfect. i was struck in awe and mesmerized, and he almost brought me to tears.
his emotions, so evident in his face, in his voice.
his funny impromptu sing-along competition in between i'm yours, bob marley's three little birds (every little thing's gonna be alright!)

his light banter with all 8000 of us. improvising on-the-spot, the audience doing a great job echoing and singing.
those amazing songs of his, not just from the current we sing, we dance, we steal things. and those crowd favorites.

i just went by jason's journal entry written when he was in japan (ahhh i wanna go back there!), and he wrote,

"haven't you ever listen to music that made you cry? it's like the melodies reach in through flaring nostrils and caress your skin from underneath, making all your hairs rise at attention, they too trying to listen. and then all the tingly sensations, the unnamed emotions, culminate at the dam on your eyelids until they fall from your body like a stream flowing over the top of a mountain."
(jason mraz official site)

mr. jason mraz, you have just described what your music does to me. :)

jason mraz live in singapore!
5th march'09
set list

the dynamo of volition
geek in the pink
unfold
you and i both/sleeping to dream
who needs shelter
live high
lucky (feat. joi chua)
only human
a beautiful mess
make it mine
i'm yours/three little birds (bob marley)

-superband interlude-

-encore-
mr. curiosity (unplugged)
the remedy/wonderwall
no stopping us
i'll do anything
butterfly

my 2 favorites from we sing - details in the fabric and love for a child - was not sung. :( but i'm so not disappointed with this concert (save for joi chua, who totally spoiled lucky with her shaky weak vocals, and the flat notes). and though jason has aged visibly (he was so young during mr. a-z times!), he's now well-built and no longer skinny and scrawny. :)

this is the best concert i've gone to so far. it tops damien rice (and damien is a hard act to top), the last coldplay concert for X&Y and rufus wainwright. i hope he comes soon. :) i have a sneaky feeling he likes singapore, having been here many times.

the beauty of music.

Stars frontman Torquil Campbell blowing a stream of rose petals
photo credit: samuel he

the concert was good! i have a lot to say about the not-so-suitable venue of esplanade concert hall, the very poor lighting design and execution and a little off-pitch singing for the 1st song. but all is well and redeemed by the band's amazing talent, synergy and charisma.

if anyone's interested,

STARS live in singapore!
setlist

1. The night starts here
2. take me to the riot
3. soft revy
4. window bird
5. snowman
6. reunion
7. bitches in tokyo
8. going going gone
9. look up
10. ageless beauty
11. midnight coward
12. a thread cut with a carving knife
13. undertow
14. trying to say
15. elevator love song
16. your ex-lover is dead

encores
17. happy birthday to guitar player
18. set yourself
19. my favourite book
20. calendar girl
21. one more night

so all in all, great gig. music always gets to me.

just a few days ago i was reminded by an article i came across on huffpost last year. one on joshua bell, celebrated violinist prodigy and virtuoso, who wore a baseball cap and played his almost-4-million-dollar violin in a busy washington DC metro station. over 1000 people walked past this guy who sells out concerts at US$100 per seat, and only 7 people stopped to listen, and only 1 recognized him.

this article by washingtonpost columnist later went on to win a pulitzer prize, and the article can be found here.

i have a habit of stopping to listen to buskers if they are so good that they catch my attention. i give money if they are truly talented, even in singapore. when i travel, i like to video good buskers and grab their myspace URLs and whatnots. even when i don't understand what they're singing (case in point, this great guitar-strumming energetic duo my sis and i spotted in kyoto. well they are cute japanese boys, so that's a plus).

but i admit that i'm biased, my sister too. i guess the reason why our ears are more attuned to music is 'cos of our training in classical music. now, we are so thankful to have finished our music education (no more scales and sightreading!), and thankful that we have received that education 'cos it has made my life a more beautiful one.

the washingtonpost columnist brings up several issues from this little experiment (and that's why its so brilliant that it won a pulitzer prize). such as is beauty beautiful if no one notices and appreciates. and is beauty only beautiful in one context and not another? people dismissed joshua bell and looked over his amazing performance because he was busking in a subway station and they were all rushing for time. an example he mentioned was to take a $5million painting out of a museum and into a restaurant, and no one would notice its true value.

well as you can see, my thoughts are swirling about as i listen to bell's performances of my favorite classical pieces. and it's late so i shall save this for another time.

i left my heart in san francisco.

continuing on my series of posts on my very-long-ago summer trip in the US, i've arrived at san francisco from a short plane ride from LA. SFO is a nice airport and on the way to the city center i saw a city called brisbane. heh as if that short plane ride brought me to australia.

we made our way to SF's city center, passing the bay bridge and into a block away from union square. we stayed at the downtown SF hostelling int'l instead of the fisherman's wharf one 'cos we are shopaholics. haha. but this being my last stop, i've spent quite a fair bit already. but that didn't really stop me from buying more stuff haha.

by the time we settled into our room and made friends with a really scary roommate who adores darren hayes (remember savage garden?) and is a close friend of 'my chemical romance' frontman. and she's like them, punk rocker with black eye make-up, black hair and black tight clothes. anyway it was close to dusk and the wind was super strong and cold. strange. but we walked around union square and soaked in the cool weather.



major shops like saks 5th ave, macy's and high end brands are all located around here.

eekk why my face so big.

i heart SF!

dinner was at this nice place at the heart of union square. called sears fine foods, lonely planet quoted their prices as US$7-$10 for mains and i got cheated. we ended up paying about US$20 plus each. LP please update your resources! but the good was very good.

then we walked around for a bit more before retiring to our rooms for the night and going online for some research and face-booking.

the next day we were craving for some good dim sum and SF being home to many many chinese and HKers, we went in search of good dim sum and according to our sources, SF's financial district has a good one. so off we went early in the morning!

on our way to the subway station.

we saw a huge mega forever21, just as big as the new york city fashion ave one!

our brunch. was very. very. good. it's really comfort food for us. this place is called yank sing. we had a semi-hard time finding it. ended up asking some locals and they immediately knew what we were talking about. 'that dim sum place which is always crowded'.

mango pudding. cliche but good.

our tie yuan yin is yummy and comes in a stylo-looking pot. this meal was expensive again, but i didn't really mind paying 'cos the food was really good.

then to walk off our calories, and armed with a map, we decided to walk and explore SF's financial district, since SF is the financial 'capital' of US west coast, much like NYC in the east coast. we ventured toward the water and found ourselves at the port of SF.

port of SF has many nice little shops selling organic stuff, spices, bread, aromatherapy stuff and much more. i like. (:

the clock tower of the port.

the golden gate bridge's sibling, SF bay bridge.

the sea gull stands on one feet. yoga pose. linda the bird expert tells me that when a bird does that, it shows that it is relaxed and chilling out. how cute!

the bird expert and me.

that cluster of buildings is part of the financial center.

interesting art sculptures around.

it's a beautiful day. (:

the city gears up for the annual gay pride parade, which we attended on our very last day in SF. the parade is one of the major, if not the biggest, event in SF and the gay community calendar. and the rainbow flags lined the street that the parade was to take place in. market street.

SF's subway is very comfy! love their carpeting and cushioned seats.

this should be the SF district courthouse, or city hall. this cluster is called the SF civic center, which probably includes their government buildings, as well as their symphony concert hall, public library, asian art museum etc.





i like their buildings. and the space. not as claustrophoic as nyc.



more art around the civic center. this was in front of the symphony concert hall.

then we caught a bus to the famous place haight-ashbury. it is this hippie, fun-loving, cultural revolutionists neighbourhood that has very nice houses and hip stores and cafes. It has some strange characters, which is probably normal for such neighbourhoods.

i just adored the architecture here! they managed to make use of the slopes and gradients and make the buildings look so cool and hip.

i went to some shops and i bought a very comfy pair of wide-legged 3/4 pants which i always wear nowadays. and some ben&jerry's sundae.





slopes and more slopes.

houses here remind me of charmed! the tv show that i used to like a lot. heh. i did a quiz on FB and i turned out to be phoebe.

the sun starts to set. and we took a bus back to union square. we did some shopping and dinner at westfield shopping center at union square and i saw my very first mango store in the US!! i was so mango-sick haha after 5 months of no mango.and proceeded to buy stuff off the mango sale. yay. and also something from H&M. i miss H&M.

so now that i'm in the midst of planning my grad trip to the US (again, haha). well i'm going there again 'cos i'll be visiting europe next year when i visit my sis in finland and i'm not advised to go to south america. the other option i had was xinjiang/tibet, but that's out due to the violence going on in lhasa now. SIGH. so america it is. not that i mind actually. i may be able to catch some presidential elections happenings while i'm there. go to a rally or speech or something. and taking advantage of the very very weak US dollar. (:

oh yes. maroon 5 concert was suprisingly good! i really didn't expect much from their concert since their MVs are really disappointing and adam levine is deadpan. but he managed to work the singapore crowd and of course the songs were radio-friendly and justina and i spent the whole concert dancing and rocking. he's quite cute too (hurhur) but very very skinny. and i also like the keyboardist (who can play guitar also!). really like my seats cos it was the 11th row from the stage and i didn't pay a single cent! (: (:

ok the next installment will feature more days in SF. meanwhile let me go rest my runny nose. toodles.

these days.

the weeks seem to pass me by.
mid-feb is here.
chinese new year is almost over.
valentine's day is here again.

no i'm not here to moan about what happened 3 years ago, 2 years ago or a year ago.
it's just a regular day, right?
except for the over-commercialization and over-emphasis of this day by couples and merchants.
well i did enjoy my valentine's day last year.
i remember it being very cold. and i watched my first movie in the US with my girlfriends, 'because i said so' and i loved it.

***

well anyway, switchfoot concert was GREAT. i know i'm like 2 weeks behind with this recap. but it was a good concert. they sound very good live and jon foreman is quite charming too. i think band lead singers HAVE to be charming. it's mandatory. that's how you win the hearts of girls. the fire fight, one of the opening bands, did us proud. (:

i remember one moment during the concert where i just stood still and really was quite stunned. twenty-four was the song. and during jon foreman's acoustic guitar solo, just his voice and his guitar was kind of amazing. it reminded me of a similar experience i had at damien rice's concert. this was especially amazing because of the lyrics. now this song is on repeat on my itunes and N95.

and thank you zeh zeh and justina for being great concert-mates, rocking out at the concert. (:

***

chinese new year was the usual affair that i remember. a lot of food, a lot of people, a lot of catching-up with relatives. it's strange that i haven't seen some of them in 2 years and it didn't felt like 2 years. there was also the usual get-together at bethany, this year was complete with a hilarious sketch and weiquan misquoting a Bible verse in front of everyone during the sketch. there was also a family picnic at the marina south pier with roasted chicken sandwiches, chips, curry (:, cny goodies, fruits, jelly and red wine. then we still went to eat zi char.

a lot of eating.

***

was quite sad that ah meng died, for some reason. i kinda remember vaguely taking a picture with him when i was young. but when i saw that beautiful potrait of that beloved orang-utan on the front page of the papers on saturday, i got upset. then i saw the memorial service and eulogy on the news and i can relate to the zookeeper's tears. 'cos those same tears fell when my dog, oscar died 8 years ago.

***

am very very glad that the writer's strike is O-V-E-R. also very glad that the writers got what they deserved and the big mogul companies giving way. but those billions of dollars lost because of the strike can never be replaced. the cost of pride can be so tangible, and intangible at the same time.

***

am also very very glad that obama has won 8 straight primaries and caucases. and i'm glad my state of washington voted for him. i have some obama for america campaign goodies with my friend alvin, so alvin come back soon!! i hope he wins ohio/texas or both, for the high number of delegates there could really push him to win the nomination.

***

simple joys come in the form of

the kids in church, whose bright eyes, cheeky wit, pure innocence and abundant energy really makes me smile.

the dogs i see, from day to day, and my own dog, who is so laid-back and carefree with life. who lies on his back and enjoy the cool evening wind and is friendly with every friend of the family, but barks insanely at people he doesn't like.

coming home at the end of a day at work of injecting things into fish embryos and probing them with stuff, to home-cooked dinner and tv shows. after finishing my 2nd west wing season 1-7 marathon, i'm now rediscovering lost right from the beginning and fishing out clues to the mystery. oh yes and those precious episodes of brothers and sisters, house, and lost coming up online every week. (:

reading and learning and discovering God's word and seeking to walk closely with Him everyday and under every circumstance. learning what it means to receive His precious provisions and blessings and not take them for granted. (: