The Jesus and Mary Chain at The Esplanade

Scottish alternative noise-pop The Jesus and Mary Chain (JMC) isn't quite on my radar of bands. I was quite enamored by their debut album 'Psychocandy' that came out in 1985, but that was about it. I was too young (I was only seven) and only properly discovered the band and listened to it like a good 10 years later. The band split and disbanded, and went on hiatus for a whole decade before getting back together in 2007 for a Coachella show. 

Then they started making new songs. They brought out a new album 'Glasgow Eyes' in March 2024, celebrating their 40th anniversary as a band, and went on tour for the rest of year and 2025. Then they came to Singapore on 15 April 2026.

We got tickets late to their show at the Esplanade Concert Hall, so we weren't seated in the stall. But we got pretty decent Cat 2 seats still. I didn't need to see their faces. There was nothing to see. I was happy to simply listen. JMC opened tonight's show with 'Jamcod' ('Glasgow Eyes' from 2024).

Singaporean singer-songwriter Shye opened for JMC, playing for 40 minutes or so. She also joined them for two songs — 'Sometimes Always' (from 'Stoned and Dethroned', 1994), and 'Just Like Honey' (from 'Psychocandy', 1985). That was really nice of JMC to invite Shye to do that! 

Unfortunately everyone in my section decided to sit down and didn't stand up like hip people in the stalls . But I didn't care about that anymore when the encore rolled around. I simply stood up, along with a few others in my section. JMC did 19 songs in total, including three songs for the encore. The band played for about 80 minutes. 

I was glad that for JMC's encore tonight, they played 'Darklands' (from 'Darklands', 1987). There was also 'Taste of Cindy' (from 'Psychocandy', 1985). It wasn't that much of a surprise that they played 'Reverence' ('Honey's Dead' from 1992), a song with potentially offensive lyrics that BBC Radio 1 banned on their airwaves way back when. 

Gifts of Food from the Heart

The friends decided to feed me. They knew I was having it rough these few weeks, and while it's not as rough as what some other people are going through, I'm grateful for their kindness and friendship. 

They didn't exactly ask me if it's convenient to deliver food — they knew I would be home worrying about Choya and not going anywhere. Hurhurhur. When friends are being 'presumptuous', I don't view it as over-stepping boundaries. I see their concern and their lovely hearts, and I'm soooo thankful. My dearest friends are truly angels. 

I got cakes! Two cakes and a tub of rice! There's a cake as a dessert, and a savory one for meals. Ahhh... these friends know. I'm not too opposed to cakes, but many cakes are simply too sweet and not worth the calories or me bouncing off the walls. I only eat cakes that friends bake, and even better if they go low on the sugar.  

Asian Turnip Cake and Glutinous Rice

J realized that it's super hard to find Asian turnip cake (蒸蘿蔔糕) and glutinous rice (糯米飯) to deliver to friends outside of the lunar new year festive period. Teheheheheh. She cleverly found these items at Pine Garden and sent it over.

These were delicious! They were honestly better than Crystal Jade's versions. The sizes were just nice too. There was nothing to portion for the freezer. The portions went to the fridge and we ate everything in 2.5 days. Even the husband didn't mind these carbs at lunch — he was blown away by how delicious they were.

I was very extra, of course, and added lupcheong and yuncheong plus braised baby abalones to the mix. I had plenty of XO sauce and chilli at home to sort out a delicious few meals. Absolutely satisfying and filled my tummy. 

Chocolate, Banana and Walnut Cake

Dear D baked a cake and sent it over still piping hot. It had to sit on my counter to cool. Woah. This cake came loaded with rum-soaked raisins. I can't even... ... Her bakes are the best. She went low on sugar and was generous with the ingredients. It's a dense and magnificent cake that we ain't getting at the commercial bakeries. 

This is one dessert I'm not throwing out and eating up all the crumbs. We froze half the cake. Sowly ate the other half over the next three days. Even the husband decided to inhale 40g and 150 calories once a day. Hahahaha. 

No regrets. I still have a frozen portion to savor for the next week. Wheeeeeee. 

Chinese Razor Clams for Protein at Lunch

We go to Geneo at Science Park 1 because there're three restaurants which takes Choya at their comfortable outdoor seats — Nan Yang Dao, Putien, Din Tai Fung. They're sited in an atrium with a high ceiling, well-ventilated and cooled with giant fans. It's a perfect lunch spot. We rarely go there for dinner since it's a long drive up to the west and the crazy traffic jams on AYE don't make sense. 

Today, we popped by for lunch at Putien. It was raining like mad, and this was an ideal venue. The dog would be fine too. She managed to make a pee before the rains hit this side of town. Then she was happy hiding in a corner to watch the world. Luckily there wasn't thunder during lunch. 

Given the husband's low-carb/high-protein diet, he still found things within the menu that are suitable for him. Putien has its Chinese razor clams this month — duotou clams (多头蛏), so he was very happy.  The husband went all out. A 100g serving of Chinese razor clams would have about 7-14g of protein, low in fat and calories.  

He had clam soup, a whole plate of clams with minced garlic, cabbage rice (of which we had to tapau), and a sweet and sour lychee pork that was mainly for me. Clams kill me. So I dare not have more than two pieces. The pieces of pork and a bit of cabbage rice would do nicely for me.