Beerfest Asia ‘09 was great for a number of reasons. It was great because I was there with with some of the best friends anyone could have in the world. It was great because there were just so many kinds of quality beer to be had for cheap. It was great because we had VIP seats that were blessedly spacious and populated with all manner of good-natured, fun loving people. It was great because our seats were right in front of the stage. This last reason was particularly important because…
Yes Virginia, that last reason went directly from great to AWESOME when Vertical Horizon stepped up there and began to belt out song after song. Old favourites like ‘You’re a God’, ‘Grey Sky Morning’, ‘Everything You Want’ and songs from their older albums to new offerings like ‘Save Me From Myself’ from their upcoming album. Frontman Matt Scanell was at his charismatic best, interacting heavily with the crowd, and we lapped up all he had to offer.
Special mention to Jack & Rai and the E.I.C. Singapore’s a tough crowd to play to, but you guys did well. Splendid job opening the night, you guys had us completely psyched up for more.
Pictures are up in my gallery and I’ve posted more samples below. I’ve disabled full-size images in this album till I figure out what’s wrong with my watermark module but the standard-sized ones ought to be large enough for your eyeballs.
The practice of cutting scenes from anime and re-setting the scenes to music is pretty widespread among die-hard fans of Japanese animation. Sad to say, most efforts fail to do more than fall flat on their face. Yeah bonzo, as if 99.99% of the viewers out there give two tugs of a dead dog’s cock about your selection of trashy metal and your near-naked obsession with animated japanese girls.
There is one particular editor whom I’ve been in awe of ever since I watched one of his videos in 2004. Koopiskeva hails from Random Variable Studios in Chicago and never fails to put out work that.. well shit, drives me near to tears. Here’s one of his latest pieces, entitled Momentum.
The song is Awakening by MAE, and the video is taken from 5 Centimeters per Second. The phrase is a metaphor for how humans, like cherry blossoms, inevitably fall away from each other as they find their own paths through life.
I have the high-res video. Contact me if you want it. The MP3 of Awakening is available for those who’ve figured out the secret behind my sigs.
She has a few songs up for free download on her site. Go get them if you’re interested. Can’t find her CDs here in Singapore but I have friends coming back in June who’ll be happy to buy them for you.
Performed at the ACJC Gala Dinner yesterday night.
Did a simple 2-minute choreo with my friend Lynn (also an ACJC alumnus). Nothing fancy: 15 eights from our SISF choreo, some impromptu shines and a ‘koala’ stunt. I would post the video but Lynn’s maid did a really bad job of holding the camera steady. I’ll upload the video from the official DVD, when it comes out. Here’s the performance cut in mp3 format, in case you’re curious what it sounds like.
The food was pretty damn good, which is what I’d expect from a $1000 per seat table. The dinner raised close to half a million towards the new C.P.A building in ACJC. It’s times like these that I wish I were about 8 years younger and had been dancing back then; the new facilities look state-of-the-art and the whole shebang is being run professionally. That’s right motherfuckers, ACJC’s gonna be the first junior college in Singapore to have full-time sound-and-lighting techs on its staff roll.
I was seated with the other performers, notably Victor Lee, Clement Chow, Gani Karim (picture above… god, wish I had his voice and body isolation) and Hossan Leong, and they gave me a lot of insight into the fundraising culture that’s so strong in the ACSian community. This was my first year doing anything of this sort for my alma mater, but they’re seasoned veterans.
There were stories shared about how the ACSian family actively builds for the future - the current principal, Mrs Kelvyna Chan, delivered an anecdote in which she mentioned how her husband raised funds to build the swimming pool at the old ACBarker complex but never got to use it. Her batch got to use it though, and they raised funds which went towards the construction of ACJC itself. And now they’re hoping that their children will be able to enter to enjoy the direct fruits of their labours.
We build for the future. For our children. For other people’s children. Fundraising for projects is usually done knowing that you yourself are giving money to build something that you’ll never get a chance to use or enjoy. Therein lies the beauty.
People often wonder why ACS has such a strong alumnus compared to other institutions here in Singapore. I personally feel that it’s due to the pioneers who gave so much of themselves at the start of the school’s history that has prompted future generations of ACSians to give of themselves too. Giving back to the school and society as a whole is now an undeniable part of the school’s culture and last night did nothing but reaffirm that for me.
The Singapore International Salsa Festival is just over. And I’m completely shacked. 20 hours of dancing and 10 hours of sleep in 3 nights kinda does that to ya.
I’m also inspired. Inspired to keep dancing, keep training. Inspired to learn the spanish language so that I can appreciate the music that I dance to more. This year’s festival was different from last year’s in that it had the backing of Mr Albert Torres, one of the current godfathers of salsa. And his presence made all the difference. Here’s a pic:
He’s currently running the Albert Torres foundation which organises salsa congresses and events the world over as well as the annual World Salsa Championships. His aim is to spread the joy of salsa, to educate people about the history of the dance and the music and to keep the passion burning in all the salseros y salsera he meets. I’d say he’s done a good job. A damned good job.
More than that, the music at the festival was inspiring in it’s own right.The Grammy winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra was down to play on Saturday night and they rocked the house. I must have invented 3 new kinds of styling that night alone -_-. Anyways I liked their music so much that I bought their new album (a rare thing for Marc to do, believe you me) and it was autographed by every single member of the band!! I was completely blown into gibbering, drooling fanboy mode after that:
Of course I need to mention the instructors who flew in for the event. Stalwarts like Super Mario and Susana Montero were there while new faces like irrepressible Jamie and Liz from Australia, the awe-inspiring Billy and Katie, quietly dignified Hacha y Machete, ego-deflating Junior and Emily (they’re around my age, goddammit) and the silky-smooth Leon Rose of the UK made their apperance this year. Their workshops were good, the social dances were excellent but their finale performances on Sunday night were completely mind-blowingly mo-f*cking incredible! Shit I can’t wait till the DVD comes out.
Here’s a pic of Junior and Emily with some of my friends from the SMU latin team:
Gorgeous, the two of them. Brilliant dancers too. To quote Albert, their style is “faster than fast” and I’m inclined to agree.
And of course, Billy and Katie. Billy himself is one of the head judges for the World Salsa Championships.. and together with Katie they have held the Caberet-style Salsa Championship title for years. Can you believe that they’re almost 50?!
So yes, back to real-life and reality now. I wonder how long this new-found inspiration will last in me. Perhaps Singapore is just too small - after a while you know just about everyone on the scene and their dance styles. Nothing is new anymore. Nothing is spectacular anymore. I’m beginning to realise that I need to travel to dance elsewhere periodically to keep my mindset fresh and all. Perhaps this year’s festival is but the start of a new chapter in my dance career.
I’ve raved about Poets of the Fall before… and here I am doing it again!
I chanced upon their music video for their song Carnival of Rust (off their second album of the same name) and its a gorgeous little bit of Tim Burton-esque kit. There’s just so much symbolic imagery in the video and I’d say they nailed the theme and tone to exactly fit that of the song itself. Take a look for yourself:
While you’re at the youtube, check out their videos for Locking up the Sun and Lift too. Simply great. Lots of mainstream artistes could take a leaf from their book.
Fans of Max Payne would recognise this one. It’s the theme song from the second game - Late Goodbye by the Poets of the Fall. It’s a very ambient piece of slow rock that starts with an acoustic intro that builds up past the first chorus. I say ambient because the guitars are crystal clear and the channel splitting makes the song sound a lot more ‘3D’ than most other songs in this genre. Give it a listen already, what do you have to lose? ;)
And yes, i know it’s technically wrong for me to put these here… but these artists are hardly mainstream even though they make good sounding music. I figure any publicity for them is good publicity. You won’t find me flogging the likes of Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake here, no matter how much I may love their music.
