timmy.+.tribal.tide

I'm glad cc smsed me to go down to the esplanade again today. Muzak Mosaic! They say once bitten twice shy? Not so for us... after friday's horrendous performances, we were yet again about to risk our night, and to give the local acts the benefit of the doubt. And what a night it was! Electrifying with superb showmanship, excellent instrumental skills, good-enough vocals to showcase the high quality of music-making, and... *ahem* two bands with a good-looking lead vocalist each. *grins*

TIMMY, the first local act of the night and named after the Timmy character in SouthPark, played crowd favourites such as Maroon 5, Sting, Pearl Jam and John Mayer, and set the tone for the evening. With such a wide range of songs, from slow ballads to rock, they certainly played up their flexibility at switching from genre to genre with great ease- they enjoyed themselves and so did we and the old salsa-dancing uncle. Comprising of 2 walawala regulars (including the cute lead vocalist who looked like he was constantly flirting with his mike! O what I would give to be his mike...), 2 supposed composers/music directors, and another drummer, the 5-man band was certainly one of the smoothest local acts I've ever heard perform.

And then came TRIBAL TIDE to rawk the whole stage, indeed a worthy closing act for the entire Mosiac Fest. Yo yo yo wassup man! To be honest, I thought that their name sounded a little on the cheesy side, but they just came up on stage and literally TOOK CONTROL of the crowd. Fusing tribal beats from a HUGE electic mix of percussion instruments like the congos and the box drum, and the amazing tones of the diggerydoo with jazzy snippets of piano, saxaphone, guitar and bass, they put up a superbly tight performance that was totally entrancing. Ranging from bossa nova to samba to Earth,Wind & Fire hits, the audience sweltered it out in the humidity of the tropics and the heat emanating from the band itself. Casey (or is it K.C.?) the lead vocalist-cum-guitarist-cum-bassist, had a kind of funny high-pitched talking voice that seemed almost as if he had inhaled A LOT of helium. But his voice transformed into a powerful instrument when he sang, immediately confident and never once faltering or breaking when scaling the heights of depths of a challenging song. It's even more amazing when you see the 3 percussionists switch instruments like nobody's business, picking up weird looking percussions that I've never seen before, and creating such strong african/samba beats to complement the fragility of the saxophone. It is also their confidence onstage and the fact that they are ENJOYING themselves much as one would do in an informal jamming session, that made their performance all the more gripping. Of course, staring straight into the eyes of Casey as we shook hands with him after added a whole new level to the total experience. :)

Whooopeedoo... I love cute vocalists!