Francesca Tay
The night sky at Marina Promenade was filled with a feverish aura, euphonious set lists, and interestingly shaped foam bubbles that resembled musical notes floating about on Apr 16 as Timbre held their 2011 Rock & Roots festival (Day 2) against the panoramic view of the Singapore Flyer that was bedecked with psychedelic neon lights.
This year’s fiesta boasted a Grammy Award® winning line-up, with Bob Dylan and John Legend to headline both nights, the latter being the one UrbanWire checked out. Local talents were also given the opportunity to perform on the same stage as influential singers such as Imogen Heap.
The festival grounds, divided clearly into 2 areas, to distinguish standard pass holders from premium pass holders, were jam-packed with starved fans – the latter being lucky enough to enjoy the entire night lounging in lawn chairs provided for them at the front row.
Unfortunately, the chairs resulted in the front seat holders’ passivity throughout the concert, while most of the crowds standing up were hyped up and grooving to the background music before the show even begun. The grass might just be greener on the standard pass holders’ side as many literally picnicked on the terrain of festival grounds, literally.
Local 4-men band The Sets Band kick started the show with a 30-minute set, which was their prize for winning the Levi’s Music Challenge 2011. Serving up a mixture of blues, rock, and top 40s music with a teensy bit of folk, they were relatively fresh-faced next to 53A who performed after. Nonetheless, the band made up for their lack of fans that Saturday night by gearing up the entire audience with their gusto and earnestness, which probably earned them a new army of fans.
Being well-established in Timbre, band 53A got their regular fans going as the 4 members came onstage. With a wide range of styles and musical differences between members, it was phenomenal how the guys could come together to produce music that was catered to each of their personal taste.
But the highlight of the night for some was the long-awaited Grammy Award-winning British singer-songwriter Imogen Heap. As she delivered popular hits such as ‘Goodnight And Go’, ‘Hide And Seek’ and ‘Speeding Cars’, the crowd – and mugs of beer – multiplied quickly as night fell.
The gung-ho 33-year-old also led the crowd to a sing-a-long version of ‘Just For Now’, driving the crowd delirious as she requested the entire audience to find their feet. Props to the singer for getting even the VIP section adrenalized and swaying to her harmonious voice!
Another crowning moment of her 75-minute set included her experimenting with different instruments, which resulted in many unfamiliar tunes, but a growing admiration for her. The singer from London was also thoughtful to interact with the house in between pauses, explaining her joy to be in Singapore for the second time to play, as well as introducing her inspiration for certain songs that were closer to heart such as ‘First Train Home’ and ‘Let Go’ written by one of her bands, Frou Frou. Her enthusiasm was admirable but most of the crowd was already keyed up for Imogen to make full use of her time on stage. Her set ended slightly abruptly on the note of ‘Lifeline’, thereafter declaring, “If I were you guys, I’d want to be me for this last song!” before taking off her shoes, and animatedly howling, “Now, here we go!”
Underdogs of the night Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, gave us tunes of rock, jazz, hip-hop and soul that got the crowd moshing and up on their feet to their inventive music. Hey, even the security guards on duty were caught gyrating to their sounds, we’re not kidding within the first few songs of their set. The release of his album Backatown, Troy ‘Trombone Shorty’ Andrews demonstrates he has the skills of charming a crowd that had just mellowed out after Imogen Heap’s performance.
Most of the crowd were initially oblivious to the talent of contemporary jazz musician, and obviously lucked out as he turned up his swagger and held his note for pushing 2 minutes on his signature instrument, giving a boost to the electric atmosphere and earning the newfound love of many members of the audience that night.
The proud receiver of 9 Grammy Awards John Legend graced the stage with his presence, causing the open-air arena to be packed once again as he opened with his cover of English singer-songwriter Adele’s ‘Rolling In The Deep’. Known for his sultry deep voice and alluring lyrics, Legend’s appearance which only begun near midnight was certainly worth waiting for.
The pinnacle of his anticipated opening was however ruined by a technical faux pas in which his microphone wasn’t turned on, causing much commotion from the audience trying to get Legend’s attention to fix the blunder as he continued on. Nevertheless, it was quickly out of mind as the American recording artiste moved on to classic hits such as ‘Alright’, ‘Used To Love You’ and ‘Green Light’.
The entire house went wild when the singer begun his seductive number ‘Slow Dance’, and announced that he was going to pick out an audience member to serenade. With that said, the ladies on the festival grounds turned into star-struck teenybopper girls, with hope in their hearts that they might just be the one to ‘Slow Dance’ with the luscious John Legend. Luck was with a lady that night for a good 5 minutes and she even received a parting gift from Legend – A single red rose and a kiss on her cheek.
Even so, the atmosphere somehow lulled, as the house grew lethargic past midnight. Accompanied by his quick fingers on the piano, the singer proceeded on with ‘P.D.A (We Just Don’t Care)’, causing the crowd to go delirious as they sang along with the cheeky lyrics of the sexy love song.
“Let’s go to the park, I want to kiss you underneath the stars”
Closing with massive hit ‘Ordinary People’, Legend left his fans thoroughly sated as he thanked them for holding out until 2 in the morning despite the long night.
As Timbre Rock & Roots 2011 closed on a high and Legend-ary note, UrbanWire can’t wait for next year’s festival.
Photo courtesy of: Tay Wan Lin, Klix Photography, m:idea