boys and girls, the word of the day is ETHEREAL. E-T-H-E-R-E-A-L.

the very word to describe the last day of Bay Beats 2005. i spent the entire evening there and man, was it worth it. great music, great atmosphere and an unprecedented surplus of neighbours. what more could you ask for?

met up with Elsa and Dalun who were with a couple of folks from CJ Dance [vic, 10 dollars added!]. at the Arena a band was already playing. i didn't want to miss out on any good music, so i pestered Elsa to come with me to see who was playing. it was local band, Kate of Kale apparently and they rocked! of course, being a narrow-minded-hardass-on-local-music Singaporean, i stood there with a less-than-enthused crowd, mimicking their folded arms and listened. i dare say, i am ASHAMED for not jumping or anything because they were GOOD. they were as tight as any a-size-too-small thong and they had a nice, emocore sound, with unusual chord choices and riffs [which i totally adore]. the vocalist sounds like your everyday emo rocker, complete with the signature screaming of emocore. he didn't scream a lot, but their weapon of choice was their dark but catchy riffs. overall, they didn't miss a beat or note; like i said, tight. they deserved more than just a hearty round of applause for their performance. respect to Kate of Kale, hope you guys do well.

at the Canopy, a band was playing alternative sounding instrumentals, with samples from a DJ included. don't really know much about them but instrumentals aren't something to look out for in Asia i guess. almost all their songs had chord selections like that of Papa Roach's "Decompression Period", only on different scales. it was catchy, but the lack of melodies from vocals made it rather bland as it went on and on and on.

then, it was COPELAND! they were having an acoustic set at the Village and MY GOODNESS were they ETHEREAL. they took a while to get ready on the little shelter-like stage, with only a couple of speakers next to it. a crowd, larger then the area was meant to hold, swelled up and poured onto the walk way. the lead guitarist Bryan and rhythm guitarist and ETHEREAL vocalist Aaron. to me, the greatest test of a band is whether they give you goosebumps and make you feel like you forget everything, even for just moment, when they're stripped down to just a single instrument like a guitar and a voice. Copeland just did that. i swear, the recordings on their album does NOTHING to flatter them, i'd say that it was horribly produced and engineered but what do i know about those things. serioulsy, listening to them live and listening to the album is an entirely different experience. anyway, they did songs i never heard of, songs like "Coffee" and other. they all sounded kind of similiar, most of which were played in G.

they didn't look like the kind who would blow you away at first. Aaron looked severely deprived of melanin and Bryan looked like an expat pencil pusher. both were dressed in jeans and black t-shirts. the weapon of choice is voice. my god, Aaron's voice was ETHEREAL. pitch perfect, tone as clear as glass, delicate but strong. ETHEREAL. the structure of the songs were simple but the way he sang them made them sound like magic. Aaron then did a little snippet of "Brightest" apparently one of their better-known songs and man, was it nice. a delicate ballad, sang with the heart. it was all nice and pretty, and they already proved that they were godly with just the guitar and the voice. i eagerly awaited their full-band performance that was later in the evening.

but before them, it was our local heroes, ELECTRICO! i have something to say to those who dislike them, HAVE HEART. ask yourself, when did you ever hear a local band with such tightness and impeccable melodies? sure, they're not hard and they have pop elements in their songs, but in today's era of 'the kids', pop is needed to hook ears and listeners; you're not a sissy-pissy-wussy-pussy if you like even just a little bit of pop. sheesh, even COPELAND has contemporary pop elements in their songs. Electrico isn't half as pop-ish as Simple Plan and GC. seriously, even if they're not your style or whatever, they ARE good and deserve respect no matter what. they toured Australia dammit! how many local acts even do gigs in MALAYSIA? you HAVE to give kudos to them for crafting songs which don't sound like any other band in the USA. it's different, that's what makes them stand out. if you've listened to their album, you can hear the sweat, blood and tears put into every song. ever noticed that every song sounds different? they're not fillers, every one of them was made to be potential singles. i totally respect ANY band who puts in that much effort, not like many of today's lazy-ass bands who use the same chords and beats and themes over and over [think Story of the Year's Page Avenue]. so here's my salute and pump of a fist to David, Desmond, Daniel, William and [ohhhhhhhhhhhh] AMANDA. may you guys keep on rocking and paving the way for Singaporean bands. someday, when Singaporean acts go international, they will remember Electrico for starting it all.

their live performance was testimony to their skill. they were TIGHT. and it was very amusing to see that they tried to liven things up with quirky antics. Desmond the bassist was donning an Ultraman mask for a few songs, before spinning it into the crowd. he was also a very good showman, getting the crowd to clap and cheering along. Daniel the lead guitarist, who i must say is extremely talented, kept it alive by jumping and moving. David, was being the cool cat, stroking his guitar and belting out those vocals. Daniel was keeping it solid at the back with the drums and Amanda was just so, ETHEREAL. sigh. anyway, i think it's sad that the crowd was not so open to Electrico as most of them just stood there or just bopped their heads a bit. David had to keep requesting that the crowd move around or jump more. i think it's really sad that a local band that has made it so far has to ASK for support from their fellow countrymen. COME ONE PEOPLE! what will it take? will you only start dancing after they undergo plastic surgery to become white? the only way for a local band to break out of Asia is for them to have immense support from back home. bands in the USA can make it because they have massive support from their home town folk, after which they tour around the country, gaining a huge fan base. so please, at least respect Electrico.

for the record, they were awesome live, they played new songs from the upcoming album and i must say they are good. they played an unreleased song, "We're Not Made In The USA" in response to hearing about someone who bought their album and liked it, only to return it when she heard that they were local. what's more it was a GREAT song. and they managed to squeeze in the malay children's day song into it. they were GREAT. and Amanda was ETHEREAL.

THEN, it was COPELAND! my god, i swear, they should remaster the damn albums. hearing them live is so much more invigorating then listening to the CD. they are so tight! close your eyes and it's better than the CD. Aaron turned into rocker mode like this:

and totally rocked the place. the bassist, was also really funny. there was once when Aaron asked who's birthday it was and he sang them his own version of "Happy Birthday" which was ETHEREAL. then, the bassist wished all those whose birthday wasn't that day a Happy Sunday.

my goodness, COPELAND really was awesome live. the songs were so much harder and full of energy. and Aaron's singing was FLAWLESS. he could reach all the high notes without using his falsetto and without breaking the tone. my god, incredible singing. i was enthralled. up to this day, i still could not believe i heard such singing live. and his voice did not deteriorate as he sang more songs. he really managed it well. it was amazing. truly amazing. IT WAS ETHEREAL.

i also loved the entire festival-ness of Bay Beats. incredible. also, NEIGHBOURS! EVERYWHERE! and they were all ETHEREAL! including 10 dollars added.

ETHEREAL!

"Like the brightest little firefly..."