Timbre Rock & Roots 2012 – Day 2: Andre Harihandoyo & Sonic People, Checkpoint Jam feat. Goodfellas & Dasha Logan, Hugo, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Earth, Wind & Fire
Day 2 of the Timbre Rock & Roots festival started off with blue skies and pleasantly cool temperatures, as it had rained earlier in the day. The line-up for the day included bands from Indonesia, Singapore, UK and the USA, plus a singer from Malaysia.
With a laidback atmosphere, picnic tables in one corner of the grounds, beer and food and lawn chairs available for sale, stilt-walkers wandering around dressed as rockstars, folks testing their strength at the high striker, striking it with a huge hammer to see if they could ring the bell at the top, early birds at the Marina Promenade grounds might have thought they were at a fairground, instead of a music festival.
The day began with regional favourites Andre Harihandoyo & Sonic People, who got their chance to play at Timbre Rock & Roots 2012 through a popularity vote on Yahoo! They played originals like “The Flood Song”, “I Want To Be President”, “Good For My Soul”, “I Want To Be Your Guitar” and “To Love Again”. The crowd welcomed them warmly, and chilled out to their unique brand of funk, jazz, blues and rock.
Next up was Checkpoint Jam, a musical project between artists from Singapore and Malaysia. This collaboration saw our very own Goodfellas performing with Dasha Logan, a rising Malaysian singer with a smooth soul voice. They performed a mixture of originals and covers, with Dasha being the only female vocalist that day. Particularly enjoyable was her funky-sounding original song, “Can’t Stop”. She also impressed with her covers of Amy Winehouse’s “Just Friends” and Janis Joplin’s “Piece Of My Heart”.
British-born Thai-raised Hugo then shared his brand of pop, rock, country, urban and hip-hop with us. He opened with “Mekong River Delta”, looking very much like an urban cowboy, with the white fringes on his black shirt and a fedora hat on his head. He would later surprise the crowd by singing a Thai song, “Sai Lom”, clearly a nod to his Asian upbringing. Giving us a taste of just about every song in his debut album, “Old Tyme Religion”, Hugo showed us his more sensual side with the sexy number, “Bread & Butter” (and no, it’s not really about food), then proclaimed proudly that he had “99 Problems” (but a b*tch ain’t one!) Well Hugo, thanks for entertaining us, you really were a “Rock ‘N’ Roll Delight” that night!
With the crowd all warmed up with beer, and being at the mid-way point through the day’s programme, people were on their feet and ready to dance when Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue came onstage. The would-be picnickers transformed into more of a festive clubbing crowd, some wearing afro wigs, a number of inebriated folks already swaying out of control and wiggling away to the music. And Trombone Shorty certainly didn’t disappoint. He brought jazz, blues & funk from New Orleans to Singapore once again, even going all the way back to his own roots as a brass band leader, when he led his band down the stage, and marched them all around and through the audience, unabashedly playing “When The Saints Go Marching In” – what a treat for everyone!
All did not go without a hitch though, there were some issues with the sound system, which dampened an otherwise awesome set. I guess the rain and sound equipment just aren’t a match made in heaven. But Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue played on, and displayed such amazing musicianship and professionalism – every member of this band isn’t just a band member, but a musician in his own right and an actively contributing part of the sound that makes this band great! Back by popular demand this year, Trombone Shorty looks set to return to our shores again soon.
And for all those who stayed all the way to the very end, the festival really saved the very best for last. Six-time Grammy winners, Earth, Wind & Fire put on a highly energetic show, starting with an extended live version of “Boogie Wonderland” and “Sing A Song” that got everyone dancing and singing along. Delighting the crowd with “Shining Star”, Earth, Wind & Fire then brought everyone on a musical journey into instrumental ecstacy with “Serpentine Fire” and “Kalimba Story”, showing off with their brass instruments, keyboards, drums & percussion, guitars & bass, and even an African thumb piano called the kalimba, they played the blues, got funky, and went latin. And just as everyone was losing themselves in the music, Earth, Wind & Fire slow it down with “Devotion”, “Keep Your Head To The Sky”, “That’s The Way Of The World”, “After The Love Is Gone” and “Reasons”. After giving the crowd enough reasons to cuddle up with their loved ones, Earth, Wind & Fire bring the night to a thrilling close with a whole slew of their greatest hits like “Got To Get You Into My Life”, “Fantasy”, “September”, “Let’s Groove” and “Mighty Mighty”. They left the crowd reminiscing and wanting more!
While the sound problems were unfortunate, credit has to be given to Trombone Shorty who continued to play and made sure the show went on, despite the sound challenges. And in all fairness to the sound team, they were able to fix the problem between sets, so that by the time Earth, Wind & Fire came on, there were no more sound issues.
Looking back on the day’s musical delights though, I have to say I really enjoyed Timbre Rock & Roots this year. While some folks said that the line-up wasn’t as good as it was in previous years, I have to say that the quality of music and artists onstage certainly didn’t disappoint. Oh boy, can’t wait till the next one comes around!
(Jeanette Chin)
Picture courtesy of Aloysius Lim/Timbre Music
