 |
|
|
|
Kiss My Act! Album Launch
(Flyer)
Gig Review written by olibia
Band lineup (in order of appearance): Suburban Dammit, Acid Nine, Objection Overule, Gorbachev with Cesspit (special appearance).
Host from Mohegan Records
Hardrock Cafe, Singapore, was where several bands that are featured in Mohegan Records' Kiss My Act! punkrock compilation showcased their fine punk tunes to celebrate the launch of this brilliant album. Supported by Zion Entertainment, Power 98, Carlsberg and of course, Hard Rock Cafe, a headcount of 200-odd were present when the first of the four bands, Suburban Dammit, started setting up. The audience was of a few surprised diners who were not expecting live bands, clubbers and gig-goers.
The Suburban Dammit boys took centre stage after a short introductory speech made by a host from Mohegan Records. The guitarists needed a bit of adjusting during the first song to sound on track before working the whole band to wow the crowd by being in sync with one another although the drummer had no monitors and they even had a new rhythm guitarist to play. Their first performance at Jammerzpit (which, by the way, was closed due to financial difficulties) just last year and they are definately sounding and looking better at this one. It was noticed that the leading vocalist of the songs performed alternates between the lead guitarist and the bassist. At one time, the drummer joined in the singing while drumming out out his very best on the drumset. 35 minutes of happy-go-lucky music, nothing too serious, the band probably had as much fun as the watching crowd while playing.
Suburban Dammit
While the next band was setting up, the host provided some light entertainment: Q&A. Prizes being the Kiss My Act! compilation and a t-shirt for one simple question. A young girl was called out and it was a great let down when she confessed that she did not know the answer to the question posed, which was a little difficult to believe because she sat through Suburban Dammit's set from the beginning of the launch. Some major hints were dropped by the host (who had the answer on her t-shirt) and the girl went off stage with goodies in hand accompanied by a sullen face after finally getting it correct. The question was 'Which record company is Kiss My Act! under?'.
Acid Nine
Following was Acid Nine and it was notable that they have got themselves an absolutely remarkable bass player. Scaling, picking, slapping... You name it, he does it. He does them well at that. Anyway, with such terrific bass, guitar and drum techniques and variations from a 3 piece, they hardly sounded like the typical punkrock band with power chords and a lot of rhythmic playing. Besides having peachy players, Acid Nine exhibited good showmanship as well, engaging short 'conversations' with the audience during each break. Starting out with a mellow piece for the first song, it was quite unexpected but at the same time interesting to hear, they shifted from a punkish pace to a hardcore one in the second. Acid Nine then started leashing out harder pieces with hardcore sounding riffs from the guitar and vocals at some parts, incoporated into the melody. I personally feel that the bass amplifier should have been turned up a little more as his act was ill-defined over the distortion from the guitar and fast drum beats. The effort of them having one song to blend and lead on to another nicely was noted. A guest vocalist was invited to finish the set and here, they belted out a nu-metal composition. All the applause and cat calls by the audience were sure well deserved.
Objection Overule
Already considered veterans of the local scene, Objection Overule once again impressed the crowd with their rocking tunes although they had to finish the set quickly to make more time for the next band, Gorbachev. 'Dark Times', a song in dialect that can be found on their old record Bollocks To You, was pulled off well. However, a slightly different beat in the bridge of 'Imagination' (8th track of Kiss My Act!) created by the drums and bass sounded a tad bit 'off' when it was done live that night. Perhaps it was due to the speed they were going through the show or maybe from the fatigue the lead vocalist looked like he was having.
At this point of time, I came to realise that there have been quite a number of photographers and cameramen around capturing moments on film and memory. Gorbachev was taking quite a while to set up and it was then announced that the Kiss My Act! compilation will be going for only 10 dollars each for the next 10 minutes. There was also a drop of number of people in the house as it was way past the 'under 18s allowed' curfew.
Gorbachev with Cesspit
4 piece all-jap (they just happen to be Japanese residing in Singapore, and not a band all the way from Japan...) punkrock band Gorbachev sounded as good as when I first saw them at LaSalle SIA's Idiosyncrasy gig in March. The bassist scaled well, and I might be mistaken but for some reason, he had make-up on. Just something a friend pointed out. Anyway, the lead guitar could hardly be heard over the rest of the band and it was only until the 3rd song when he finally turned the amplifier up a little more. Vocals were mainly done by the rhythm guitarist and there was not much of a technique in their playing except for the scaling mentioned earlier. Although sounding tight and all that, it would be better to include back up vocals in their compositions to make up for the lack of creativity. The music was simple and rollin', nothing hard, and it was truly a pleasant surprise when 2 of Cesspit's players from the brass section joined in the set. Having an addition of trumpet and trombone, it was not difficult to get everybody into a cheery mood. Even the once empty space made for the audience to get closer to the bands was filled with a few spontaneous ones from the crowd, and even the members of Cesspit themselves at one point, dancing to the feel of the music.
The Kiss My Act! launch gig ended promptly 30 minutes into Friday morning and I have to say that I really had fun throughout. I would also like to thank Mohegan Records for the invitation and a chance to write. You probably can guess the kind of rating I am giving this gig, it being a good one without screw ups from the equipment and such like the last one I was at (version 1.0 infusion). Well, no prizes for the right guess anyway...
Rating: 9/10 |
|
|
