A Month of Gigs - Part 2

So having gotten through the first half of my month of gigs feeling like a rockstar for having had such a wonderful time, even though I was broke as a beggar, It was time to face the music, literally, with Naturally 7, Coldplay and Oasis yet to go. Naturally 7 - 22 march - Esplanade Concert Hall So I must admit, I have never heard of this band ever before. But I got a couple of free tickets thanks to a TV promo, so I thought what the hell. Naturally 7 were in Singapore, as were Battles, as part of the Mosaic Music Festival, which also featured N.E.R.D (Pharrel Williams ring a bell? the Song Lapdance? :D) and a host of other new and upcoming, or on-the-way-out Artistes. I think Naturally 7 most definitely belonged to the former category. The only thing I did know about these guys before the gig was that they were an acapella group. So my expectations weren't high. Which is probably why I was astounded by the sheer brilliance I witnessed that night! What I did get to know is that Naturally 7 are a band that aren't acapella. Self proclaimed, they are of a "vocal play" genre. See acapella is when you use many voices and only voices to make melodies and harmonies using words, lyrics. Vocal play is when you use human voices to create life like instruments, such as a full drum kit, an electric guitar, piano, harmonica, trumpets, saxaphones, BASS GUITARS (yes, that low!), etc. My mouth was literally wide open right throughout their performance and all I could say at the end of each song was WOW. You need to see it to believe it, so check this out: Well, if you do get a chance to see em, don't hesitate. That's all I have to say. One of the most entertaining bands I've ever seen! Coldplay - 23 March - Singapore Indoor Stadium Wow. I'm sorry RD, but I have to say, to see these guys live was a dream come true. Coldplay played to a sold out arena of 12,000 people. For me, this has been the gig of the year so far. The energy that the band brought out was electrifying. To actually see hits that you have loved for so long to be played for you was magical. Watching the coldplay show was a little like watching a theatre performance. Set changes, back drops, props (such as massive yellow balloons falling on the crowd all over the stadium during "Yellow"), lights, arty video, and a lead actor in the form of Chris Martin: makes for thunderous applause each and every time. Coldplay played a total of 24 songs in 3 sets during the performance that lasted a little under 2 hours. Their second set was a beautiful acoustic set, which they managed to play while standing amongst the crowds in the balcony, which was a surprise! They even managed to get the crowd doing a mexican wave with their mobile phones which was great. This gig was definitely goosebump worthy, and I certainly had my fair share of em. And you know what RD? This gig was a lot of fun!!! Oasis - 5 April - Singapore Indoor Stadium Oasis were really an out and out rock gig. It was not fun, it was fucking awesome. It didn't involve any theatrics. It was pure in your face rock and roll, complete with the attitude and arrogance Liam and Noel Gallagher are known for. Having managed to get free-standing tickets, we went 2 hours early and joined the queues. When the doors opened we ran inside so we were about 10 metres from the legends themselves, squashed inbetween a bunch of kids who were probably not even around when Definitely Maybe came out in 1994. When Oasis came on, the crowd went wild and we went flying forward, pushed from behind. Now this was a rock band, featuring Chris Sharrock on drums (thanks for the heads up RD, he was super!) and a Gandolph look alike on the keyboards. What made it super was that they played all their old hits, including an acoustic version of don't look back in anger. It was great to join in with the crowd to drown out the band during some of their biggest hits. However, I was disappointed that they didn't play "don't go away", however, had they played that, I might've cried! 2 hours later, dripping with sweat, I had ticked off yet another band off my "To See" list. With much glee might I add. So now it's back to the old routine, but obviously with cheap lunches and dinners in order to save cash to pay off credit card bills for all these gigs. Oh, but maybe after Vertical Horizon on the 2nd of May :D