2017 in Concerts

Another year has come and gone, a year full of emotions and experiences. Those of you who know me would be fully aware that my favourite past-time is attending concerts. Here's my round up of all the concerts I attended in 2017.

COLDPLAY - 1 APRIL

My favourite band of all time graced our shores in April, selling out the entire SportsHub not once, but twice. I was lucky enough to have snagged a ticket and even though I nearly broke the bank to afford a CAT 1 ticket, safe to say it was 100% worth it. Not only was it a visual spectacle with the xylobands that lit up in unison, the band sounded phenomenal. Lead singer Chris Martin also sported a pride flag at one point, and later swapped it out for a Singapore flag. I may or may not have bawled my eyes out at Charlie Brown, which still remains as my favourite song of all time.

KINGDOM HEARTS ORCHESTRA - 7 MAY

Now this is slightly different from the concerts I usually attend. Kingdom Hearts is one of my favourite video games, so naturally I had to hear its glorious soundtrack live. I was already moved to tears on the first song, which was a beautiful and emotional orchestral rendition of Hikari/Simple & Clean. Excerpts of cutscenes from the game were played on the screen behind the band, adding to the overall experience. The composer herself, Yoko Shimomura, came on stage several times to address the audience. Towards the end, she played the piano for what she says is her favourite piece in the entire game: Dearly Beloved. I would pay good money to attend that concert again.

OH WONDER - 4 AUGUST

This band saved my life. With a premise like that, how could I not see them live? The lead single off their latest studio album of the same name, Ultralife, was released during a turbulent point in my life. It helped remind me that there's still so much left to this life of mine and I have to live it to its fullest. I reached the venue at around 1pm, and surprisingly there were only 4 people there. A queue had not even formed yet and we sat around chatting and getting to know each other. We remain friends till this day. The show itself was aesthetically mind-blowing. The neon "OW" that backlit Josie and Anthony gave the stage a surreal vibe to it. The music also sounded fantastic and the duo were nothing short of talented. I managed to get a card to them and they tweeted me later that night to thank me, which was probably my greatest achievement that month.

BASTILLE - 14 AUGUST

This is my second time seeing Bastille live and it makes me so proud to think that they went from a tiny pit at The Coliseum to a two-storey theatre at The Star Vista. This concert was right on the heel of the release of their much-anticipated (and much-delayed) second studio album. They played a good mix of old and new songs, and the fantastic acoustics of The Star Theatre certainly helped bring the sound to a whole new level. During the encore, lead singer Dan Smith climbed on a balcony and performed Two Evils while dangling dangerously off the ledge. But the best part of the night? Meeting the band themselves after the show. One of the perks of The Star Theatre is that its loading bay is easily accessible and fans often camp there after a show in hopes of meeting the band. There were nearly 40 of us and we managed to get a group shot together with the band. With the teasing of their third album, I cannot wait to see this band live once again.

M1LDL1FE - 15 DECEMBER

I'm not that big into local bands, but if there's one I highly recommend it has got to be M1LDL1FE. You might know them better as Take Two but they went through a rebranding in 2017 and released a self-titled EP with a funky new sound. I caught them outside the Esplanade where they played 3 shows in a row, consisting of a mix of old and new songs, as well as some Christmas covers to usher in the festive season. On top of making great indie music, these guys are also humble and as friendly as they get. I spoke with them briefly between their second and third show, mostly to Pengs whom I had been acquainted to already. They really are just four boys addicted to their instruments and jamming out in their parents' basements. I'm really excited to see what else they have in store. Hopefully, just hopefully, they'll finally release Neptune's Eye.