Concert Review: Rachael Yamagata - Live! in Singapore 2012

Above: Rachael Yamagata (Meh quality, I know)

Rachael Yamagata is one of those artists worth seeing live.

Back for the fourth time since her very first concert in 2007, she was the same old candid self, seducing the crowd with her witty banter and charming vocals. This was also her first concert since parting ways with Warner Bros. Records and self-releasing her third LP Chesapeake.

Kicking off with an upbeat "Even If I Don't", she serenaded the house with an assortment of new and old ballads including "Letter Read" and "Starlight" while alternating between the piano and guitar. The mood turned sombre when she launched into "Elephants" and "Sunday Afternoon", both taken off her Elephants album, leaving the audience in spellbound silence.

Her early hits "Be Be Your Love" and "Worn Me Down" (given a bluesy makeover) were evident crowd pullers, as the fans eagerly lapped up both songs.

Even though she was nursing a cold, nothing seemed to stop her. That is, until she hit a snag on "Dealbreaker", where her voice cracked and her bassist had to fill in the high notes. She wrapped up the set with a heartfelt rendition of "Reason Why", striking a chord with everyone like she did many times before.

Singapore can't wait for her to get back here soon enough.

Rachael Yamagata - Live!
Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore
Thursday, February 23, 2012

Setlist:
1. Even If I Don't
2. Letter Read
3. Starlight
4. Elephants
5. Sunday Afternoon
6. Saturday Morning
7. Full On
8. Be Be Your Love
9. Worn Me Down
10. Dealbreaker

Encore:
11. You Won't Let Me
12. Meet Me By The Water
13. Reason Why

Concert Review: St Jerome's Laneway Festival 2012

When I first heard about the stellar line-up for this year's Laneway Festival, I told myself I had to go. I'd missed the inaugural edition so I wasn't going to sit out on this one.

So on a sunny Sunday, we arrived at Fort Canning past 3, missing show openers Cults, and caught a snippet of Yuck's performance. By the time we settled on a shady spot and laid out our picnic mat, Chairlift took to the stage.

Chairlift

Chairlift were brought on to replace WU LYF, who had been forced to cancel their appearance at Laneway Festival. Caroline Polachek, the self-assured frontwoman, managed to charm the crowd with her airy vocals which she put to good use on offerings like "Sidewalk Safari" and "Amanaemonesia". When "Bruises" came on, everyone recognised it as the song that was featured in the iPod commercial, and started to cheer and sing along.

Austra

Austra hypnotised the crowd with their dark synthpop songs, while decked out in amazing costumes. Singer Katie Stelmanis and her band enthralled everyone as they flailed their arms and danced to the music, and the crowd responded with enthusiasm.

Girls

Christopher Owens of Girls paid tribute to the late Whitney Houston, who passed away the previous day, by launching into heartfelt rendition of "I Will Always Love You", leading the crowd in a massive sing-along.

The Drums

Jonathan Pierce, the insouciant frontman of The Drums, let his natural charisma shine through, encouraging the audience to dance to indie-pop numbers like "Let's Go Surfing".

Anna Calvi

Anna Calvi was decked out in fine livery, strumming her guitar and displaying her vocal prowess on stage. Though she didn't blow me away with her live performance, I felt her determination and passion for her craft.

Twin Shadow

Twin Shadow's show kicked off late due to a technical glitch. Thankfully, I was at the long-ass queue for drinks, so by the time I returned I was ready to soak up the performance. I was duly rewarded when George Lewis Jr. brought his songs to life, such as the nostalgic-sounding "Shooting Holes", with his smooth and charming delivery.

Laura Marling

I am a fan of Laura Marling, the young folk doyenne, so it was brilliant to see her in the flesh. What was more surprising was when she emerged on stage, the audience let out a few hollers, that I realised she had a considerable number of fans in the crowd.

Despite being a woman of few words, she was assured and well-connected with the audience. Her voice was pure and ethereal, and she did a fresh take on "Alas, I Cannot Swim", one of my favourite hidden tracks off her eponymous debut album.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's performance was marred by another glitch, causing them to halt their show midway through their second song. Despite that, they managed to bounce back. Keyboardist Peggy Wang apologised for the delay and even thanked the audience politely after every song. I'd readily admit I'm not a big fan but it was a good performance from a very grounded band.

Toro Y Moi

Chillwave pioneer Toro Y Moi, otherwise known as Chaz Bundwick, toned things down with his brand of soothing electronic pop. He preferred to let his music do the talking, peppering his show with some thank yous, so I relaxed and basically swayed to his music.

Feist

Feist was the undoubtedly the main act of the night, so when she came on, everyone rose to their feet. She was the seasoned, consummate performer: Charismatic and magnetic, playful yet charming. As she wound her way through new songs such as "How Come You Never Go There" and older ones like "Mushaboom", she had the audience transfixed. It was a solid performance, albeit a tad short.

The Horrors

By this time, a portion of the crowd had trickled out. Although The Horrors put up a brave performance, unleashing a torrent of rock songs, most people were exhausted by then and were conserving their energy for the last act of the night.

M83

When M83 bounded onto the stage sometime past midnight, the crowd sprung to life again. The massive, danceable numbers like "Midnight City" and "Reunion" had the crowd head-bopping, and banished all their tiredness. Anthony Gonzalez had great showmanship, and literally had the crowd eating out of his hands. It was a magical way to end the night.

Concert Review: Lykke Li - Live!

The stage was set. Black drapes hung from the ceiling. Strobe lights flickered wildly.

When Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson - better known as Lykke Li - finally took to the stage, she threw the audience into a frenzy.

Clad head-to-toe in black, the Swedish singer mesmerised the crowd at her Singapore show last Wednesday. She opened the set with a hauntingly beautiful rendition of "Jerome". Throughout the course of 1½ hours, she brought her critically-lauded sophomore album Wounded Rhymes to life.

Lykke Li preferred to let her music do the talking, keeping conversation to a minimal. She let her hair down, swathed herself in the black drapes, and banged the cymbals with her drumstick while she sang. Apart from newer material like "I Follow Rivers" and "Rich Kids Blues", she also covered songs from her debut, including "I'm Good, I'm Gone", "Little Bit" and crowd-favourite "Dance Dance Dance". She slipped in a cover of Burt Bacharach's "Please Stay" too.

When some fans shouted "I love you!" at the end of a song, she coolly took a swig of water before replying in a calm and collected manner, "I love you too". It was adorable.

Much to everyone's amusement, an overzealous fan bounded on stage during "Get Some" and took over the microphone, so Lykke Li very graciously stepped aside and let the fan sing the lines 'I'm your prostitute/you gon' get some'. That fan certainly got her 5 seconds of fame.

In the encore, she covered "Possibility", her sole contribution to the Twilight franchise's soundtrack. It isn't my favourite Lykke Li song, but the live version just blew me away. That was a superb way to close the night.

Concert Review: Florence and The Machine + The xx

2 weeks ago, Florence and The Machine and The xx played at the Esplanade Theatre. It was fantastic to enjoy a double bill by two critically-lauded British acts, though I suspected that, judging from the cheers, a greater portion of the audience was there to see the latter. Having enjoyed their albums in recent times, I was elated that for the price of a single ticket, I could savour the beauty of both bands. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

They were, however, as different as chalk and cheese. The xx kicked off the show with nary a shout or an attempt to engage the audience, but they immediately swept their devotees up in a vortex of sound.



When you see The xx play, you must know that they sound exactly as they do on record, the same understated chic and the same coolness amplified. The booming speakers send shivers running down your spine and they give you goosebumps, but of the good kind. That night, the trio played most of the songs in their repertoire. Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft let their music speak for itself, and Jamie Smith -- one hand on the synthesizers, the other on drums -- constantly worked his magic throughout their short set, sending their fans into overdrive. These youngsters, clad in black, were so dedicated to their craft. Before the end of their set, Oliver urged the crowd to keep an eye out for Florence and The Machine. They obliged.



For Florence's set, the stage was decked with drums, keyboards, and most ostensibly a harp. The orchestration was lush, though at certain times the sound was a let down: I couldn't hear Florence Welch enunciate her words distinctly. Nonetheless, Florence bantered endlessly with the audience. She got the concertgoers to clap, sing, dance and jump, among other things. She even borrowed a Polaroid camera from an audience member to take snapshots of the event. The 23 year old was deeply entranced several times and fan-girly in others, and it was rather amusing to watch. Florence and The Machine put on an emotional and enthralling show. At one point, the sold-out crowd even stood up to give her a standing ovation, which she and her band graciously acknowledged.

Concert Review: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Live! in Singapore 2010

Fans of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs know they are in for an exceedingly good time whenever they attend one of the trio's gigs. Their maiden concert in Singapore last Tuesday was no exception. The Esplanade Concert Hall morphed into a giant party where people let their hair down and danced with wild abandon.

Karen O, possibly the most charismatic and prolific frontwoman of any rock band today, tore the house down. The sold-out crowd worshipped her like a goddess, lapping up all her antics -- swallowing the microphone, spewing water, doing her spitfire act -- eagerly. Axe man Nick Zinner and drummer Brian Chase played their instruments with finesse. The three of them, as different as chalk and cheese, worked magically well together.

The band preferred to let their music speak for itself. From the get-go, they raced through the catalogue of songs from their studio albums and EPs, with O peppering her speeches with the occasional "Singapore!" and "I wanna see some clapping!" There was barely any time to breathe.

Giant eyeball balloons floated into the crowd midway during "Zero".

"Cheated Hearts" saw Karen O happily sharing her microphone with the first row of adoring fans, who cooed the refrain 'whoo-ooo-ooo-ooh' joyously.

The acoustic version of "Maps" was the show stealer of the night. When she sang "Wait / They don't love you like I love you", the hearts in the crowd melted.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Live!
Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore
Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Setlist:
1. Runaway
2. Phenomena
3. Pin
4. Black Tongue
5. Dull Life
6. Zero
7. Miles Away
8. Heads Will Roll
9. Skeletons
10. Hysteric
11. Gold Lion
12. Cheated Hearts
13. Y Control

Encore:
14. Maps (Acoustic)
15. Turn Into
16. Date With The Night

Concert Review: Rachael Yamagata – Live! in Singapore 2009

(Pardon the lousy photo)

If Rachael Yamagata weren’t a singer, she’d probably make a very good PR representative.

The affable New Yorker was in town last Wednesday, playing to a sizable crowd at the Esplanade Concert Hall, and in between songs she bantered with the concertgoers. With an innate ability to engage and connect with people, she treated the audience like a bunch of old friends, sharing anecdotes and silly tales about her life.

"It’s totally worth the 25 hours getting here," she told the adoring crowd. She was nursing a bout of flu, caught during her long journey here, but tried her best not to let it bog her down.

Show openers Jack & Rai put up a pleasant performance and played 4 songs before the intermission, after which Rachael took to the stage with her four-piece band, and launched into the title track off her latest two-part record, Elephants... Teeth Sinking Into Heart. There was a cellist in the line-up this time, adding a different dynamic to the sound. It was a nice touch since the cello features more prominently on the new record, and the mournful yearning of the instrument truly conveyed the heartrending content of her songs.

The audience was pretty attentive, eagerly lapping up all the songs that followed. Rachael alternated between the piano and the guitar while she did a selection of fast and slow songs, focusing mainly on material from Elephants.

She was almost apologetic for churning out songs revolving round the themes of love and heartbreak. So "Little Life", she chuckled, "is actually about death".

The pace picked up with "Faster", the second single of the new record, followed by crowd pleasers "Worn Me Down" and "Letter Read", before winding down with the instrumental version of "Elephants".

The flu started to get to her, so she told the crowd that she would do a few more ballads instead. She did. "Meet Me by the Water" was particularly memorable as she recounted its origin. Back then, she was attached but had the hots for another guy who was similarly in a relationship. She initiated a date with the dude, but was thankful he didn’t turn up eventually. "So I didn’t get too evil. I just had evil thoughts, but I didn’t commit any evil activities," she quipped.

And she went on to stress these lyrics (in bold), which made the audience crack up:

Would you please meet me by the water, baby? / We'll have a really good time / Would you please meet me by the water, baby? / 'Cause I can't get you off of my mind

She was amazing on the slower numbers. The soulful delivery, the poignant lyrics, and the way she tinkled those ivories gave me tingles.

Before playing "The Only Fault" (the hidden track off Elephants), she recalled a drunken fan who approached her backstage after a show and told her:

"I love your music! I have sex to your music!"

"And the best thing about the hidden tracks 'cause you are lying in bed after you have sex to your music and the hidden track comes on and I wake up and I’m like, 'I gotta go! I have work tomorrow!'"

Rachael also spoke about the process of making the record in Woodstock, NY. While holed up in the mountains, she saw bears – feeding on turkey carcasses, she remarked – and feared for her life. Equally hilarious was her account of meeting a trumpet-playing ghost and how she tried to communicate with it. She attempted to record the beautiful sounds that the other-worldly being made and that gave her the inspiration for the opening portion of "Over and Over".

"I plagiarised a ghost," she declared.

"Accident", a gritty rock track that was one of my favourites off the second CD, came on eventually, but fell short of my expectations as I strained to hear her voice. The main set wrapped up with "Sunday Afternoon", a gorgeous song that she wrote at the tail-end of the first record. Guitarist Michael Chaves was sublime as he worked his magic in the initial part of the lengthy number, leading the way to a crescendo, before the rest of the band built on it and the songstress kicked in with her smoky vocals, sending the audience into aural heaven.

As soon as the final song ended, she left the stage, and some fans started streaming out of the door to join the autograph queue.

But the show was not over yet, as Rachael reappeared for the encore soon after. She played "Duet", and in an attempt to imitate Ray LaMontagne’s humming (she sang the song with him), she improvised with some harmonising, switching pitches to comedic effect. Eventually she bowed out with "Reason Why", one of her most recognisable songs made popular by movies and television shows.

My friend Q and I exited the hall to join the post-concert autograph queue, but we were greeted by a line that snaked on forever. I complained about the short ½ hour allocated for the autograph session (as I always do, but it was warranted because we narrowly missed out on getting her autograph at her previous concert) and the slow-moving queue.

Fortunately, the session was extended.

I stood in line for 1½ hours before I got to meet her, but it was worth the wait. Since Q had to leave early, I got a girl behind me to help me take a photo with Rachael. She signed my copy of Elephants, as well as an old photo that we took with her previously.

"Oh god, I looked so young then!" she gushed. We laughed and I reassured her that she looked as beautiful as ever.

I didn’t get the name of the nice lady who helped me, but overhearing her conversation with Rachael, I realised she was the one who requested for "1963" during the encore. Incidentally, after she made that song request, someone else immediately called out "Quiet". I didn’t know if it was a request (Rachael has a lovely song by that name) or if it was just asking Ms. 1963 to, you know, zip it. It was rather amusing though.

We left around midnight, but I read much later that the autograph session stretched on for 3½ hours. Rachael Yamagata made a special effort to stay on and speak to every single fan this time, and it obviously made everyone’s night an unforgettable one.

Rachael Yamagata - Live!
Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore
Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Setlist:
1. Elephants
2. Be Be Your Love
3. What If I Leave?
4. Little Life
5. Faster
6. Worn Me Down
7. Letter Read
8. Elephants (Instrumental)
9. Even So
10. Meet Me by the Water
11. The Only Fault
12. Over and Over
13. Sidedish Friend
14. Accident
15. Sunday Afternoon

Encore:
16. Duet
17. Reason Why

(Videos courtesy of YouTube users defglo and jazzicallytuned. Thanks!)