Alone Again with Glbert O'Sullivan in Singapore

Gilbert O'Sullivan made his first appearance in Singapore in his 4 decade career.  He mentioned in his concert that he had the opportunity in the 70s to perform in Singapore, but he chose to remain in England to focus on his songwriting.

His fans' patience were paid off when he did a one-night show at Esplanade Concert Hall, as part of the Mosaic Music Festival at Esplanande. 

Grissly Bear rocked in Singapore: 9 Mar 2013

I did not have any expectations attending this concert, except listening to their songs on youtube and reading good reviews on Q Magazine.

It was a tight band and the members took turns on vocals.  Their sound could be theatrical or orchestra-like.  At times, the songs did sound similar. I like the songs Knife, 2 weeks and While you wait for the others.  The last encoure song All We Ask, performed acoustically, was brilliant.

Overall, an enjoyable performance.

Grimes: Esplanade Theatre Studio, 9 Mar 2013

Caught the 10 pm and second performance of Grimes at the Esplanade Theatre Studio.  Did not understand why there is a long queue to enter the venue.  During non Mosaic Festival period, entry was pretty smooth and fast even for sold out performances.

My impression of Grimes was the atmospheric or ambient-type songs that she sang. For the concert, her focus was more electro-dance base.  Understand that it was the direction for her new album Visions.

There were only 4 performers on stage: Grimes, another musician plus 2 dancers from Singapore.  Grimes held the attention of the audience very well, at times busy with both the keyboards/ synthesizers and her singing.  She had a very girl-like and amiable personality, spoke very fast, which endeared her to the crowd.  She had a good voice, and performed songs such as "Vanessa", "Genesis" and "Oblivion".

It was an hour's performance which was the right length.  Grimes said that she would not have an encore but would perform her "encoure" as her last piece.  It was an enjoyable concert, and let' see if Grimes could scale the next level of pop stardom.  She had the right credentials.

Joss Stone's first concert in Singapore a triumph.

Joss Stone performed this evening at the Esplanande Concert Hall, as part of the Mosaic Festival.  It was her first concert in Singapore.  The lights went out at 7:35 pm, and after a brief introduction, Joss Stone came on stage with her 10-piece band and backing vocalists.  On the stage laid a large carpet

Oscar Nominated Film IV: Argo

Deserving the Oscar for Best Movie this year.  A well-written script and the pace of directing was tight.  In terms of casting, Alan Arkin and John Goodman were striking as 2 Hollywood executives.  More screen time should be devoted to the 6 escape US officials though.  The ending was a bit unnecessary dramatic.  Overall, recommended.

Jack the Giant Slayer movie review

An unofficial sequel to Jack and the Beanstalk.  Plot could be stronger and story telling a bit weak.  The writers may be struggling between writing for the young but still cater to the adults.  The cast in general was average.

What I enjoyed most was the humans under siege and trying to fend off the giants. 

Overall, it is a watchable movie, more for the second half. 

Johore Temple Festival 2013: The procession

A huge crowd was gathering outside City Square.  Around 9:30 pm, the lion dance performance started at the VIP area.

Without the VVIP attending the ceremony this year, the procession proper started much earlier than last year.

Johore Temple Festival 2013: Deities leaving the Old Temple

It was the 20th Day of the First Lunar Month, and the Johore Temple Festival entered its final and important phase.  I was last year for the event and therefore I made the trip again this time. Traffice from Singapore to Johore was heavy but I managed to arrive just in time.

A lion dance troupe awaiting for the deities to arrive......

Oscar Nominated Film III: Lincoln

It pays to read up on the history of events before entering the cinema so that you would appreciate the movie better. The movie concentrated on how Lincoln managed to secure the votes for the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution so as to abolish slavery in America.  I had a good introduction on this topic, though I would like to know the various characters better.  It is difficult however, given the length of the movie.  Maybe a TV series would be better.  In addition to securing the votes, we saw Lincoln's relationship with his wife (they lost a child) and also his son who was eager to serve.  Too many side events, so taxing on Lincoln, and audience were so busy following the various subplots.

The cast is great.  Daniel Day Lewis deserves the Oscar (though Denzel Washington is also deserving, well...) Sally Field is equally great as Lincoln's wife, I thought she acted better than Anne Hathaway.... but Sally already had 2 Oscars.  Tommy Lee Jones, though, reminded me of his other grouchy roles.  The other ensemble cast was impressive too.

Overall, I would recommend this movie, more for the good acting rather than the plot.  Somehow, the movie did not move me that much.

Chinese New Year - River Hong Bao 2013

The Lunar New Year is coming to an end.    And for the last bog on this topic, I would write about the River Hong Bao held at the Floating Platform next to the Esplanade. The picture on the left showed the entrance to the event.

One of the key exhibits at the event would be the 12 zodiacs.  Being Year of the Snake, the biggest statue was dedicated to it.

River Hong Bao is an annual event celebrating the Lunar New Year.  Besides the static display, there would be performances and also food stalls.   Photo showed the performing stage but I did not catch the performance.

And of course, the biggest attraction would be the God of Fortune.

This year, Lee Foundation sponsored a mural on fishes.  In Chinese, nian nian you yu, literarlly means "every year has fish", which sounds like "every year has abundance".  In Mandarin, "fish" has the same pronounciation as "surplus" or "abundance".

While we have abundance of fishes, the pandas seemed to be under nourished.













River Hong Bao has been held many years and it seemed to need a break through.  I felt that the food stalls need to be present in a more creative way, as part of the visitors' experience.  In addition to the main presentation stage, there could be secondary stages or roving performers to create more interaction and excitement.  Here's to next year's event.