Tonight, I did my bit for local music and went down to the opening night of the NUS Arts Festival featuring Electrico. But the real reason I was there was to support Ian, whose band Super Illegals was the opening act.
And boy was it good.
Didn't know what to expect, and was just looking forward to some laid back after-work chill time with husband D, D and L (and S and friend whom we met up with after), but music was the highlight of the night.
Super Illegals rocked. They channelled some major Radiohead vibes and loved the ambient guitar stuff they did. The stage was big, but they weren't dwarfed. Not even when D screamed out "We love you Ian but come back to work on Monday to do sai kang (shit work basically, hah)!"
That's I on the right. On stage, he was like Willy Wonka (with his white-rimmed glasses) meets Blur on speed. He rocked, we all screamed.
Super Illegals came on, warmed the crowd up with a huge dose of originality and spunk. Then it was over and lights came on and were dimmed again and the crowd waited in anticipation for the main act of the night.
During the 5 minute wait, D and L started regaling me with stories of their dramatic work day. Suffice to say it made my day (and the trials in my job) look like an episode of The Cosby Show while theirs was a mission to Mordor, to the rim of Mount Doom, complete with Gollum and Grima Wormtongue action figures thrown in! I would never have believed any of what they said could be possible had I not previously lived through it myself!
Thank goodness for the mind-numbing magic of great music. So back to Electrico. They were amazing. Husband D, with his savvy music taste, turned to me half way saying "they're really good! why are they so good?" which earned him a thwock on the ear. Of course they are good! So what if they're local, dammit!
I'd only heard a few of their more radio friendly tunes previously, but Electrico is immensely watchable. They have great chemistry on stage, they're tight, and seem to be really attuned to each other. Their music was a throw back to The Smiths, Depeche Mode, a bit of Radiohead, with a definite unique twist. They did a superb version of "Tainted Love" by the way, got the whole place in a tizz.
They ended of the night with an electrifying rendition of a new song, which lead singer David Tan said was going to send them off on their tour of the USA. Electrico inspired and I think made all watching proud to be right there. You were never conscious that you were watching a local band, you just knew you were witnessing great music.
We're not made in the USA
But you got what you paid for anyway
And we'll rock and roll just the way you do
With the red and the white but without the blue.
Great night, and even better cos we ended of with supper at old hangout Fong Seng. Maggi Mee Goreng and Teh O Limau Ice. PERFECT.
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