Dawn Chua of Rewashedoak/The Linch Agency
THE SUMMER STATE, THE CAULFIELD CULT & THE WONDER YEARS LIVE AT TAB SINGAPORE
Do you hear of the understatement about rock stars possibly being the nicest and friendliest musicians on this planet Earth? Well, it is only because it is true.
The Linch Agency, Hopeless Records and Tab Singapore proudly presented The Wonder Years’ debut performance in Singapore, alongside special opening guests in the forms of The Summer State and The Caulfield Cult.
I had the lucky opportunity to have an intimate (read: extremely intimate, but not where the dirty minds could lead) interview session – held at the alleyway of some sleazy hotel, with the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based rock band just prior to the gig that night.
It hit me instantly how friendly, no-attitude and conversational these lads were. They were ever ready to speak their minds, and open up their sides of the stories like a children bedtime storybook, though I know that’s not the most rock-and-roll descriptive in this case scenario.
From food adventures (scorpions, anyone?) to the craziest fan story that is media-friendly to be shared across (oozing blood plus beard pulling fanatic) to Soundwaves 2013 anticipation (they will be performing with heavyweights like Metallica, Garbage, Blink 182 and so much more), each member had so much to reveal – it was as though they had been held at redemption for far too long.
Then I made my first and most severe mistake in interviewing history: I mistook their up-and-coming book release as a band they were touring with. Lucky for me, it was almost immediately forgiven and forgotten, and the interview went on smoothly and wrapped on time for the band to grab a quick snack before the night began.
It was a tight and small crowd that presented itself later for the gig, mostly of the young and rebellious, with the rest from all walks of life. Responses were initially slow to warm up, but grew to meet its volume (big for the size of the audience but small for the venue or a music event). Despite that, there were rock moments of moshing that took place among the watchful and the emotionally charged, and I looked ahead to see one too many faces of blissful amusement.
The Summer State provided a young, energetic sound that should connect with the young at hearts, while veteran (12 f**king years, as the band’s lead proudly proclaimed and announced) The Caulfield Cult gave it their all, in celebratory of their endurance in an ever tough and battlefield of an industry and music scene to be in. They took the time to poke fun at one another, and mimicked a recent meltdown pop-rock star’s speech. The Wonder Years closed the night with sing-along, fist-punches-in-the-air anthems, despite the possibility of feeling jetlag after travelling 12 hours away from home. With more stories and views to share, and four albums given away to lucky concertgoers, it was a generous performance of epic proportions, and for their dedication in performing two extra songs during the encore despite their next flight out closing in on the hour (4 hours trip next to the Philippines for a music festival with stranger bands to them), we were as gratified in having the privilege to watch the band perform live as much as they were there in performing to us lucky folks.
[CJ ANG]
Thanks to Dex Wong/Linch Agency & Sameer Sadhu/Hopeless SEA for making this feature possible.