{"id":12141,"date":"2013-04-02T22:42:14","date_gmt":"2013-04-02T14:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/blog\/?p=12141"},"modified":"2013-04-02T22:42:14","modified_gmt":"2013-04-02T14:42:14","slug":"timbre-rock-roots-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/2013\/04\/02\/timbre-rock-roots-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Timbre Rock & Roots [2013]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally wrote this for Poached Magazine<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

This was the 4th year of Timbre Rock & Roots.<\/p>\n

Venue: Fort Canning Green is a pretty nice place to catch live acts. We\u2019ve caught Slash and Mr. Big there before, and both gigs were great \u2013 good sound, good atmosphere.<\/p>\n

We also have to mention how wonderful the staff were for Rock & Roots \u2013 the ticket-checking folk and the security people were exceptionally cheery and kind, and they totally added to our festival experience. Thanks guys!<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get to it.\u00a0Day 1.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Described by\u00a0Elton John<\/strong>\u00a0as the \u201cgreatest living songwriter\u201d,\u00a0Rufus Wainwright<\/strong>\u00a0played an intimate solo set, alternating between the piano and guitar. He came onstage wearing flamboyant, colourful pants and rockstar shades. He spoke with a stereotypical gay lisp (he describes himself as \u201cflaming\u201d), and dedicated a song (written for Brokeback Mountain!) to \u201call the homosexuals- live long and prosper.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was interesting to witness the crowd cheering in approval \u2013 has Singapore become more supportive of the LGBT movement, or is the rock-festival crowd a little more liberal? It was pleasant either way.<\/p>\n

While he made some self-deprecating jokes (\u201cHopefully someday I\u2019ll be able to afford a band,\u201d) and showed us his Hello Kitty acoustic guitar (which amused the crowd greatly), he\u2019s also clearly a theatrical man who sees the world as a stage. \u201cYes! I\u2019ll marry you in Saudi Arabia,\u201d he responded wittily to a proposal from the crowd, \u201cWhere I can have many husbands!\u201d<\/p>\n

Musically, he was sublime \u2013 he played ballads with vast, haunting melodies (clear opera influence), intricate pianowork, and pitch-perfect vocals that quivered with sincerity. His lyrics were simultaneously idiosyncratic and introspective. He did a raw cover of\u00a0Leonard Cohen\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cHallelujah\u201d<\/em>. He played two particularly personal songs \u2013\u00a0\u201cMartha\u201d<\/em>\u00a0for his sister, and\u00a0\u201cZebulon\u201d<\/em>\u00a0for his mother\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Rufus, most of the crowd were there to catch\u00a0Robert Plant<\/strong>, and many were using his set as an opportunity to socialize and get food and drinks \u2013 so there were some awkward moments. His songs would\u2019ve gotten the sombre reception they deserve if performed in a concert hall.<\/p>\n

Still, we appreciated his intensity, and we\u2019re sure we weren\u2019t the only ones. He simultaneously took himself very seriously (he told off some backstage crew for chatting too loudly during\u00a0\u201cZebulon\u201d<\/em>) and not at all (\u201cThis next song is going to get a little weird again,\u201d he said before playing it).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Robert Plant and the Sensational Shape-Shifters.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The act everybody came to see. The 5000-strong crowd swelled and surged in anticipation as the banner (the only act on both nights to have their own!) fell, revealing a psychedelic image of Plant in his youth.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s interesting what age does to a person, to a man, to a rockstar (Plant was the lead singer of\u00a0Led Zeppelin<\/strong>, the band that brought us\u00a0\u201cStairway to Heaven\u201d<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cWhole Lotta Love\u201d<\/em>). We couldn\u2019t help noticing his man-boobs (it probably didn\u2019t help that he was wearing a thin white t-shirt!), but we found him wonderfully charming nevertheless.<\/p>\n

Plant was always a mystical storyteller, even in his\u00a0Led Zeppelin<\/em>\u00a0days \u2013 and now that he\u2019s shed his identity as a young sex symbol, he\u2019s gone \u201cfull witchdoctor\u201d. \u00a0Taking us on what he called a \u201cquestionably good time\u201d, Plant reminded us of\u00a0Ian Gillan from Deep Purple<\/a>\u00a0with his manners and class.<\/p>\n

The band experienced some minor technical difficulties (Plant\u2019s microphone\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0fully capturing his voice), and the crowd roared its approval when he received a substitute. It was visceral \u2013 clearly, many people have been waiting decades to see even a quarter of Led Zeppelin in the flesh.<\/p>\n

The Sensational Shape-Shifters<\/strong>\u00a0demonstrated themselves worthy of their name, going from rock\u2019n\u2019roll to folk to psychedelia between songs. They reinterpreted old Zeppelin classics, deconstructing them and putting them through all sorts of interesting lenses and perspectives. It was aurally unsettling in a good way.<\/p>\n

Plant brought in some world music influences, getting Gambian musician\u00a0Juldeh Camara<\/strong>\u00a0onstage with the\u00a0ritti<\/em>\u00a0(an African one-stringed fiddle) to add Afro-centric polyrhythmic sounds to the jam onstage. It also happened to be Juldeh\u2019s birthday, and Plant led the crowd in a hearty singalong.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Those who left after Robert Plant missed out.\u00a0\u00a0Susan Tedeschi<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Derek Trucks<\/strong>\u00a0(described by some as First Couple of Guitar) closed the first night with a set of polished, soulful, blues-y rock.<\/p>\n

We first heard of Truck when he was playing fingerstyle slide guitar with\u00a0Eric Clapton<\/strong>\u00a0back in 2006 as a young man. A search on YouTube yields videos of him playing amazing stuff even when he was\u00a013 years old<\/a>. \u00a0He\u2019s become amazingly, fantastically expressive with his guitar playing. Truck\u2019s one of those people who force you to redefine your idea of what \u201cgood\u201d is.<\/p>\n

The whole band is spectacularly classy and soulful. Truck\u2019s wife\u00a0Tedeschi<\/em>\u00a0held her own wonderfully, with a \u00a0gingerly-whiskeyed blues voice. While\u00a0The Sensational Shape-Shifters<\/em>\u00a0had an urgent quality about them, the\u00a0Tedeschi Trucks band<\/strong>\u00a0was calm, relaxed, chill.<\/p>\n

A beautiful end to a beautiful night.<\/p>\n

\u2013<\/p>\n

Day 2.<\/strong>\u00a0The crowd today seemed a little more relaxed and laidback. Fewer rowdy\u00a0Led Zeppelin<\/em>\u00a0rockers, more gentle\u00a0Paul Simon<\/strong>\u00a0fans, maybe?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bonnie Raitt<\/strong>\u00a0was a real gem. She was soulful. Bluesy. Her music was stuff you could comfortably dance to after a long day. She carried herself with the grace of a benevolent legend. \u201cI\u2019m just happy to still be here doing this,\u201d she drawled.<\/p>\n

There was an emotional moment in the crowd as she played\u00a0\u201cI Can\u2019t Make You Love Me,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0an old classic that surely evoked lots of memories for everybody.<\/p>\n

She was confident, classy, polished \u2013 a \u201cgrand old dame\u201d in the best possible sense of the term. Her musicianship was inspiring and humbling for the younger musicians among us \u2013 her skill with the slide on her electric guitar was formidable, yet she carried herself as if it were no big deal. She had a calm, gentle demeanour, and very visibly a great time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul Simon<\/strong>\u00a0(of Simon and Garfunkel fame) was the man most of the crowd came to see. It was interesting for us young ones to participate in the phenomena.<\/p>\n

He had a huge band, including a multi-talented guitarist with massive sideburns and an entire horn section. The band was incredibly versatile, playing all sorts of genres of music, reinterpreting Simon\u2019s repertoire through all sorts of lenses.<\/p>\n

In an amusing moment, he got a young boy to get up on stage and dance during\u00a0\u201cLate In The Evening\u201d<\/em>. We were most moved when he returned for an encore with a solo acoustic rendition of\u00a0\u201cThe Sound Of Silence,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0which was eerily beautiful. While we might\u2019ve been too young to appreciate Simon\u2019s repertoire, we were clearly in the presence of a legend.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Jimmy Cliff<\/strong>, though, was perhaps the most interesting act and might just be the one we\u2019ll remember forever.<\/p>\n

He had a large band of uniformed musicians from Jamaica, who worked the crowd up admirably. His bass player appeared \u2013 to us, at least \u2013 to be high as f*ck (hopefully on the music!). The band brought their culture with them \u2013 all of them dressed in bright yellow, dancing to the music. Cliff himself came out later, and he was a sight to behold in his dazzling red tracksuit. He (and the band) gave off an unending positive energy \u2013 which was also the source of the most surreal moment during the entire festival.<\/p>\n

The band was unapologetically hippie and political, calling out to the crowd to sing along to\u00a0\u201cSave Our Planet Earth\u201d<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cAfghanistan\u201d<\/em>. It was rather disturbing to watch people singing and dancing \u2013 we noticed some drunk white girls grinding each other as Cliff sang about starvation and ecological degradation.<\/p>\n

If we had to contribute some constructive criticism for the festival, it might\u2019ve been the use of our familiar Singaporean DJs as emcees, and silly things like lucky draws \u2013 are they really necessary? We got the sense that the DJs were mostly going through the motions. It would\u2019ve been pretty cool to have, say, some local comedians emceeing instead. But we\u2019re wishful thinkers.<\/p>\n

Will we be going for the next\u00a0Rock & Roots<\/strong>\u00a0festival? You bet. It was a soulful, enriching experience, with an interesting and engaging lineup and a fun atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Thank you Timbre for having us!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally wrote this for Poached Magazine. This was the 4th year of Timbre Rock & Roots. Venue: Fort Canning Green is a pretty nice place to catch live acts. We\u2019ve caught Slash and Mr. Big there before, and both gigs were great \u2013 good sound, good atmosphere. We also have… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[825],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gigs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5gxNz-39P","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}