Of music and mud - TWO
The second day of Urbanscapes 2012, we went a little bit prepared. I managed to borrow my mother's winter boots and we realised it's not too chaotic and the mud isn't that bad after all so we dressed up a little bit (well, I did).
We wanted to catch OJ Law's performance as we've seen him before (also he's a friend), and his music is brilliant. But as it was Sunday, time moved a bit slow for us, or was it us who moved slowly? Nevermind. We missed his show. We heard his last song from afar as the quarter wolfed down a sloppy chicken kebab.
We decided to have a relaxed day at the fest, moving slowly (of course). So we wandered off to the shops located on the fields. There were so many lovely things, that I would not hesitate to purchase should the entire fest be a flea market, but the thought of lugging around things or walking back to the car to store it just turned us off.
We hung out at the non-halal section near the Volkwagen Stage, and then the most beautiful music came on. post rock, with haunting vocals. Turns out it was an Indonesian band The Trees and the Wild. We just sat there mesmerised. I need to get my hands on their CD.
It started to rain, more of a heavy drizzle, but if you sit long enough unprotected, you will get wet. So we walked over to the Next Stage, waiting it out. The next performance at that stage was to be retro indie band The White Shoes and the Couples Company from Jakarta. While waiting for them to perform, the most out of place performer in the (entire history of) Urbanscapes came on. Sheila Majid.
I'm not a big fan of Sheila but her songs are famous. She is a Malaysian performer who I feel transcends race and musical preferences. Everybody knows Sheila songs in this country! So we listened to her music from the shade of the tent at next Stage. The crowd at the main stage was singing along and the small crowd at the Next Stage and even the band White Shoes were singing along as well.
After she supposedly sang her last song, Sheila decided to sing a "medley" as an encore, and in Sheila Majid's universe, that meant singing another 20 mins worth of full songs. After a while the people at Next Stage who were waiting for White Shoes to perform got a bit restless. I was thinking, will the band's music be drowned out if Sigur Ros come out to perform at the main stage? Or cut short? All this because Sheila overran.
She finally sang Sinaran and we know that will be the last song. It is her most famous song after all.
White Shoes and the Couples Company finally started their set. They were awesome! Fun, energetic and quirky, we were very entertained seeing them live. However, the sound system was not great. The vocalist's voice was pretty drowned out by their own music, which was a shame. I have been listening to the band for a while, though I have never seen them live. Not even when I was living in Jakarta. And I have to say, they are superb live!
I developed a girl crush on the female vocalist for White Shoes as I watched them perform. There's just this sexy appeal about women who dressed like they belong in the 60s while singing indie rock songs.She just makes me want to wear a vintage dress and prance around you know?
And as soon as White Shoes completed their set, everyone (including the band I think because they can't be bothered with an encore), ran off to the main stage to wait for Sigur Ros. That was another 15 minutes, and by then, the rain had stopped.
Sigur Ros came on to a thunderous applause (haha what a cliched sentence) and loud hoots and cheers and the waving of a Malaysian flag by the dude next to us. To be honest I like their music, but because it's mostly not in English, for the life of me I cannot remember their titles. I only remember what it sounds like.
I guess this is what people mean when they say music is a universal language (fuck maths). You can enjoy and appreciate music in language you don't understand. You can love it, as it speaks to your soul and your mind. And Sigur Ros' music was beautiful and epic.
That was the quarter's introduction to Sigur Ros. He liked it, but wasn't in love. I guess he would appreciate a faster rocking sound at a music fest instead. Where are the Foos when I need them?
We stayed until the encore and quickly ran off as the band tooks their bows because we didn't want to get stuck in parking lot traffic going out of the area. As we walked off, fireworks exploded in the sky. Long, beautiful, colourful.
It was a wonderful ending to the fest.
I had a lot of fun, and I hope the quarter did too. He mentioned that next time we have to go to the music festivals in the UK. There are more bands, and it's not hot so it's a bit better. I was like, HELL YES.
We wanted to catch OJ Law's performance as we've seen him before (also he's a friend), and his music is brilliant. But as it was Sunday, time moved a bit slow for us, or was it us who moved slowly? Nevermind. We missed his show. We heard his last song from afar as the quarter wolfed down a sloppy chicken kebab.
We decided to have a relaxed day at the fest, moving slowly (of course). So we wandered off to the shops located on the fields. There were so many lovely things, that I would not hesitate to purchase should the entire fest be a flea market, but the thought of lugging around things or walking back to the car to store it just turned us off.
We hung out at the non-halal section near the Volkwagen Stage, and then the most beautiful music came on. post rock, with haunting vocals. Turns out it was an Indonesian band The Trees and the Wild. We just sat there mesmerised. I need to get my hands on their CD.
It started to rain, more of a heavy drizzle, but if you sit long enough unprotected, you will get wet. So we walked over to the Next Stage, waiting it out. The next performance at that stage was to be retro indie band The White Shoes and the Couples Company from Jakarta. While waiting for them to perform, the most out of place performer in the (entire history of) Urbanscapes came on. Sheila Majid.
I'm not a big fan of Sheila but her songs are famous. She is a Malaysian performer who I feel transcends race and musical preferences. Everybody knows Sheila songs in this country! So we listened to her music from the shade of the tent at next Stage. The crowd at the main stage was singing along and the small crowd at the Next Stage and even the band White Shoes were singing along as well.
After she supposedly sang her last song, Sheila decided to sing a "medley" as an encore, and in Sheila Majid's universe, that meant singing another 20 mins worth of full songs. After a while the people at Next Stage who were waiting for White Shoes to perform got a bit restless. I was thinking, will the band's music be drowned out if Sigur Ros come out to perform at the main stage? Or cut short? All this because Sheila overran.
She finally sang Sinaran and we know that will be the last song. It is her most famous song after all.
White Shoes and the Couples Company finally started their set. They were awesome! Fun, energetic and quirky, we were very entertained seeing them live. However, the sound system was not great. The vocalist's voice was pretty drowned out by their own music, which was a shame. I have been listening to the band for a while, though I have never seen them live. Not even when I was living in Jakarta. And I have to say, they are superb live!
I developed a girl crush on the female vocalist for White Shoes as I watched them perform. There's just this sexy appeal about women who dressed like they belong in the 60s while singing indie rock songs.She just makes me want to wear a vintage dress and prance around you know?
And as soon as White Shoes completed their set, everyone (including the band I think because they can't be bothered with an encore), ran off to the main stage to wait for Sigur Ros. That was another 15 minutes, and by then, the rain had stopped.
Sigur Ros came on to a thunderous applause (haha what a cliched sentence) and loud hoots and cheers and the waving of a Malaysian flag by the dude next to us. To be honest I like their music, but because it's mostly not in English, for the life of me I cannot remember their titles. I only remember what it sounds like.
I guess this is what people mean when they say music is a universal language (fuck maths). You can enjoy and appreciate music in language you don't understand. You can love it, as it speaks to your soul and your mind. And Sigur Ros' music was beautiful and epic.
That was the quarter's introduction to Sigur Ros. He liked it, but wasn't in love. I guess he would appreciate a faster rocking sound at a music fest instead. Where are the Foos when I need them?
We stayed until the encore and quickly ran off as the band tooks their bows because we didn't want to get stuck in parking lot traffic going out of the area. As we walked off, fireworks exploded in the sky. Long, beautiful, colourful.
It was a wonderful ending to the fest.
I had a lot of fun, and I hope the quarter did too. He mentioned that next time we have to go to the music festivals in the UK. There are more bands, and it's not hot so it's a bit better. I was like, HELL YES.
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