armchair critic history

I’ve definitely missed out a couple of shows here and there, but here’s a list of what we’ve played! Apart from May 2007 and April 2008, we’ve played at least once or twice every single month since we got together! (I’m pretty sure we played something last month, I just can’t remember.) We’ve spent more than 24 hours ON STAGE (not talking about rehearsal or songwriting or practice here!) together, and it’s definitely been an experience like nothing else in our lives. Looking forward to sharing more with my beloved buggers.

  1. 22 Jul 2006 – Gas Haus
    (First Show! I remember Wayne, Gaffar, Egan, Sabrina, Sharan, Sherry, Vannessa and more where there. And we were terrible.)
  2. 15 Aug 2006 – Gas Haus
  3. 21 Nov 2006 – Dunman Secondary School (Graduation)
    (This was our first show as a 3 piece band after Terrance left. Soundcheck was quite fun and Ahmad broke a string, and the gig day was pretty fun too with a more supportive crowd than we had expected)
  4. 04 Dec 2006 – Gas Haus
    (Our first public show as a 3 piece band and also our first full length set with all originals)
  5. 05 Dec 2006 – Ben & Jerry’s
    (This was a funny experience.)
  6. 23 Dec 2006 – Santa Claus Rock @ L Cube Studios
  7. 23 Dec 2006 – Christmas on the Rox @ Gas Haus
    (With people like Paul Twohill and Elsa Kidspy, and some professional photographers abound. The first (and not the last) time we played two shows in one day!)
  8. 27 Dec 2006 – Gas Haus
  9. 20 Jan 2007 – Marine Cove
    (this gig was was at night, but the stage lights were murderously hot and we all ended up shirtless.)
  10. 03 Feb 2007 – The Invasion @ Phunk Bar
    This was a fun gig! We were on time for soundcheck, which meant several hours before the equipment actually arrived at the place. Enjoyed awesome music from bands like our friends Triad, Ivy’s Vendetta, a band that did great Muse covers, meeting old pal Candice who was singing for Eyes of Steel
  11. 09 Feb 2007 – Gas Haus (again.)
  12. 10 Feb 2007 – Festival of Love & Youth (FLY) @ Fort Canning Park
    This was a very, very memorable gig! My parents, sister and brother-in-law were there. It was full of fun, and we made great friends with the boys from Arrowhead. The large proportion of indians at the crowd was pretty unusual.
  13. 03 Mar 2007 – The Uprisal @ L Cube
    Also very memorable, this was the first gig that we actually organized ourselves! Blackductape got a great mosh going, Triad and The Sexies were great, and many other gig promoters would start to use L Cube as a venue of choice after this gig. Boon’s bass pedal screwed up towards the end and he handled it admirably by using the other pedal. Good times.
  14. 17 Mar 2007 – Rendezvous @ Gas Haus
    This was a terrible mess. We had some miscommunication with the venue people and advertised a free show, but discovered last minute that people had to buy a drink to get in. It’s only logical and fair to the venue, but we did ruffle a few feathers for not having a free show as promised. Those who did attend though did find it to be an awesome show! Black Angelica and Cardinal Avenue were among some of the bands. Cardinal Avenue was relatively unknown then, but they’re going on to play Baybeats 2008!
  15. 28 Mar 2007 – Arts Day @ VJC
    This was quite a fun show to play because we did get to meet quite a few of our friends who are (or were) studying in VJC at the time. Also the first time we met Postbox, a brilliant, brilliant band. We played under the sweltering full blast of the sun, and my fingers actually got light burns from my bass. A painfully fun experience.
  16. 31 Mar 2007 – Eruption @ Honeytrapp
    I am very proud of having organized this gig- it was the first gig that exposed The Fire Fight to the local scene, and it was fantastic. West Grand Boulevard played too and the combined forces of awesome was incredible. We did play too, somewhere in there. This would be the second but last time Wayne Thunder would catch us play, and he told us that we’d come a long way from before, had lots of work to put in, and that he’d gladly produce our EP when we were ready. We miss you Wayne, and you’re always in our hearts and music.
  17. 27 Apr 2007 – Rock Access @ Zai Studios
    Kudos to Raman for organizing this one! This would be the first time I met Naomi in person, kickstarting a long and eventful friendship between us. We also met Oligarchy, a fun loving 3 piece band, One Way Alley who were really tight, and Marstar, who I’d sing for once at SP.
  18. 28 Apr 2007 – Armchair Critic @ Temasek JC
    Playing at Ahmad’s alma mater! It was quite fun to play in a school and have to be good boys and keep the volume down et cetera. =P
  19. 10 Jun 2007 – Somethingood 2007
  20. 12 Jun 2007 – Somethingood 2007
  21. 14 Jun 2007 – Somethingood 2007
    The Somethingood 2007 series of shows were a very, VERY memorable experience that had us busking for charity in the middle of Orchard Road, in front of Takashimaya as well as the Starbucks at Liat Towers. We’d play for hours and hours, much more than any other performer, and tire ourselves out thoroughly. All in all the festival raised over $60,000 for CARE, and it was very satisfying to be a part of it. On more than three occasions during our set we spotted people stuffing in $50 notes into the cans- wow!
  22. 16 Jun 2007 – Crush @ Top 5 Disco!
    This was a painful one. We organized this one in the sleaziest of places (Orchard Towers) and we made a crushing loss (pardon the pun). Regardless, Allura’s and The Fire Fight’s sets were brilliant, but unfortunately there were really few people to witness it. Our pockets would be very, very empty for a long time to come.
  23. 17 Jun 2007 – Somethingood 2007
  24. 28 Jul 2007 – Farewell @ DXO!
    This was for one of Boon’s friends who was throwing a party because he was leaving Singapore soon.

    04 Aug 2007 – SAFRA near Mount Faber
    This was a very interesting show! A large bunch of people were riding stationary bikes to raise money for charity or break a record or something, and we played in front of them to support them and egg them on. It was the most interesting audience we had! It was fun.

    01 Sep 2007 – Soft 2! @ DXO
    This was one of those underaged parties that invited bands to play as well. An interesting experience! I think friends like Martin and Roanny were there.

    13 Oct 2007 – Acoustic @ Prince of Wales
    The Prince Of Wales is this little cosy bar/pub in Little India, with a really nice atmosphere and an adorable dog named Jessie. Gotta drop by again, lovely place!

  25. 20 Oct 2007 – Deafcon 6
    This was an awesome, awesome show! One of our best performances as a band and one of the best responses we’ve had from a crowd, this was a defining moment for us when we realised we could be more than what we thought we were.
  26. 28 Oct 2007 – Yamaha Asian Beats
    We’d play gigs in extreme heat before, this one was freezing cold! Had some fun, nevertheless.
  27. 16 Nov 2007 – TP Rawks @ Temasek Poly
    This one was rather embarrassing. We were not very prepared, and we were thrown off terribly by the vibrating floorboards of the stage. We weren’t feeling it and it showed in our performance, which was a bit disappointing because quite a few of our friends were there. We all have bad days!
  28. 22 Nov 2007 – Ngee Ann Poly
    This one was very fun! Not much of an audience, but we met Valentine’s Letter for the first time and we were blown away by their set! We clicked immediately and become really good friends. This incidentally was the first time Naomi met Ramon too, and they’re a couple now! =) This gig was particularly amusing because there were no amps- we played straight into a PA speaker. Apparently it didn’t sound too bad, even then.
  29. 07 Dec 2007 – Full Flight 07 @ *Scape Youth Centre
    This was a wonderful gig. It would be the first time we really dressed up for one. Mishaps were plenty- I broke my strap, Ahmad broke a string, and I’d break a string too in the end. Still, there was a wonderful, wonderful crowd and it felt great.
  30. 25 Dec 2007 – Alone @ HOME Club!

    This would be our first time playing HOME Club along with bands like Cigarette Sex, a fun-loving bunch of guys. Never a dull moment.

  31. 29 Dec 2007 – Full Flight Finale @ Youth Park

    This would be our first time playing the actual Youth Park, and it would be a fabulous gig with bands like Postbox and Plainsunset. I remember somebody even crowdsurfed to Say Goodbye- very, very memorable. That guy made my day.

  32. 19 Jan 2008 – Deafcon 9 @ DXO
    Alongside friends like Valentine’s Letter! We mentioned that we’d have a surprise for the crowd, but I can’t remember what it was.
  33. 19 Jan 2008 – Beat Merchants
    A fun, small scale gig in a cramped room with a group of people right up and personal- fun!
  34. 24 Jan 2008 – Alternation @ DXO
    A gig late at night on a Thursday night when we had school the next day- we pissed off all our parents, but we needed the money to record Shush, which would go on the Lime Local Music Compilation. It’s moments like this that make you realise how far you’d go, and I really appreciate that both we’re all in this together.
  35. 06 Feb 2008 – Rock Your World @ Timbre
    We were made very clearly aware of how incompetent we were when playing acoustic! This one was on Chinese New Year’s Eve, and both Boon and Ahmad couldn’t make it on time for soundcheck because of family commitments. Naturally, we got an earful from the staff! (Amusingly enough, the videographer who was supposed to interview us during soundcheck couldn’t make it because of his own CNY commitments). It was fun, though rather nerve-wrecking. We know on retrospect that we could have don’t better, but doesn’t everybody, always?
  36. 02 Mar 2008 – *scape Youth Park
    This was for an NTU fundraiser event, involving a 24 hour baton-passing walk. We all walked too, and it was pretty fun. =)
  37. 15 Mar 2008 – Home Club
  38. 1 May 2008 – Home Club
  39. 2 May 2008 – The Power Of Pop @ Esplanade Waterfront
    This was our second serious defining moment after Deafcon 6- this was the biggest stage we ever played, with the most expectations on us and with us at our most nervous. (I actually felt really nauseous right before going on stage, when the programmed voice started going “Welcome to ‘on the waterfront’ at The Esplanade…”) Soundcheck was equally nerve-wrecking, with Ahmad’s Big Muff pedal going crazy on him, which resulted in him having to use a footswitch and the amp’s natural distortion. That said, it was the best sound we ever had, and we could hear everything perfectly- the monitoring was ace! We had a wonderful crowd even though our younger supporters were having exams, and it was an experience that got us so high, we still sort of feel it today.
  40. 16 May 2008 – PlayStopRewind’s Birthday @ HOME Club!
    These were the guys that gave us two of the best shows we’ve ever played, so it felt only right that we play for their birthday bash! There was a small but closely-knit crowd, and it was very fun. Bands like 20 Dischanger were just awesome.
  41. 22 May 2008 – Shiprocked @ Butter Factory
    Ahmad and I found ourselves at dilemma because Boon would be unable to make it for this one. We toyed with the idea of borrowing a drummer from somewhere, but decided that it wouldn’t feel right without our usual goon, so we went on ahead and played without him. It was abit of a mess, but an entertaining mess I hope. We did get to make friends with Trella, who we’ll be gigging with twice in two consecutive days!
  42. 31 May 2008 – Home Club
    With awesome bands like Trella, Deafening Silence and more!
  43. 01 Jun 2008 – Keynotes @ Loof
    This will be our second time playing on the rooftop of a building, and it is quite an experience! Alongside great bands like Trella, Caracal, Cardinal Avenue and Silhouette.
  44. 03 Jun 2008 – Festival For A Future @ Fort Canning Park
    We’re playing with ELECTRICO. These are guys who were selling albums before any of us in Armchair Critic ever started playing our instruments, and it is an absolute honour to be up alongside them. We owe this gig to Triad who we’re great friends with, and unfortunately can’t make it. We’d have loved to share the moment with them. Other awesome bands include The Fire Fight, A Vacant Affair and Caracal!
  45. 07 Jun 2008 – Rock The Sub @ Substation
    Really looking forward to this one, playing alongside Allura, West Grand Boulevard, Vertical Rush, Lunarin, Giants Must Fall and others! The Substation is a lovely place so we can’t wait. My first gig as an 18 year old! Haha.