Disappointingly, out of 22 registered bands, only 9 came!
Which is just as well cos Youth Park is not so big, i found. Worse, One Way was the last one to perform!
The crowd turn out was another let down. There were only like 80 seats available and about 75% filled and from the instruments i saw, i gathered they were the participants!
By the time me and Nur reached the grounds @ 8:10pm, the second band was just setting up. The first two bands were into J Pop/Rock. And im sooo not liking it. Listening to the real thing is quite alright... but listening to amateurs trying to carry off a tune in low voice is making me puke. If i'm able to minus out the vocals and just listen to the instruments, then it would have felt more manageable. But mostly, the bands are such young people... like 20 or even younger... so they dont actually scream charismatic or anything except for one (read on).
And My God, i feel embarassed for the 2 MCs... Razia and CK or something from NUS' Radio Pulse? Yeah i supposed it WAS difficult to get the crowd to cheer since most of them are band members who wont clap for their competitors of course! Neither would the fiercely loyal supporters. And filling in the gap while the bands set up their eqpts was another chore too. Poor them.
Anyways, i felt like there was only one or two outstanding band. The one i love (shhh dont tell Z) is xcalibre or something. They are into heavy metal / instrumental / rock. Their 2nd song, though loud, was appreciable. The vocal was strong, the band showed maturity as well as professionalism, they dressed well... with great showmanship as well esp how the vocalist made the entrance by running in and grabbing the mic and tilting it. Oh! I felt like i was in a real concert and i really had to fight the urge to stand, jump and groove!!! (I havent been in a concert all my life. I think they are a waste of time and money since u cant get up close and watching from home is more comfortable and better view)
So that's when i found out that to get thru to the next round, you just hafta achieve points of 60% or more, no limit to the no of bands to move forward.
I have the videos shots of 4 bands but i cant upload them now in the office cos i dont want them to block my dearest blogspot. Video of One Way was taken from Nur's digital camera and they are 94MB for 4min worth... i dont know if can upload either!
And im gonna be upfront about my assessment of their performance. (it was my first time listening to them.)
I will say that its justifiable that they didnt make it to the next round. The vocal was shaky. No united dress sense. And as Z would say not really in sync cos of the bassist. I sympathize with the bassist. I think he has some esteem issues that made him nervous, or out of focus.
I suppose i felt a bit relieved that nobody else came to see them.
On the other hand, i totally dont blame them at all. I mean they're soo totally new together and had like less than 10 sessions of practice PLUS it's a new song too! It WOULD be a miracle if anybody wins on their FIRST ever performance together.
The best thing that happened on that night was i met one of the members' wife. And this is the one that is my next block neighbour. And she asked me why i havent come to their jamming before this? I said, "Dont know lah this Zubair why dont let me come. He said its not a good place for a wife of his. Something to do with keeping respect. Pakistani mentality." Too bad i forgot to get her number!
The event ended at 10pm.
Though Z wasn't too hungry, i got him to eat at BBQ Chicken at Cineleisure which he had ever told me about before.
I had a crispy Chicken salad. Nice but a bit toooo tomato-ey $7.90
Z had Chicken wings $8
Though it was nothing special, i rejoice at having yet another Halal eatery to hit the list. They have another branch at E!Hub i heard.
2 glasses of Juice:
Salaam, Sis. I found your blog while searching for recipes, I think it was your chicken tikka that got the search engine's attention, and eventually mine :) I spent the next hour cruising randomly through your blogs and honestly, I had a great time reading them.
You see, my mom is a Filipina and abbu is from karachi, so I got interested to know your experiences with a paki spouse. My mom always tells me that the first visit to Pakistan was such a difficult yet interesting experience for her, culture-wise, that is. Bear in mind that she was married in '76, so you can fairly imagine how Pakistan must be back then.
Anyway, I'm going to add the link of your blog in my page, hope you don't mind. I'll be visiting you often to see on how you're doing.
Have fun. I wish you Allah's blessings.
Hiya purple...
an interesting mix indeed... esp one in the 70s!!
Its nice to know somebody appreciates my writing =) And ill be reading yours in the office tmrw, insya'Allah...
See you around!
Post a Comment