Ed Kowalczyk's 'I Alone'

With drummer Ramy Antoun.

Not much advertising, but facebook and word-of-mouth saw a rather good turnout for Ed Kowalczyk's intimate solo gig at TAB. (Come 11pm, TAB is now...a Thai disco. Anyway.) We didn't exactly check with the friends to see who's going. It was a pleasant surprise to see quite a number of familiar faces at the gig.

He started off with 'Selling The Drama'. At some point, he urged the audience to give the next person a hug or something, and he joked, "I heard snuggling's legal in Singapore, right?" Many of us chortled. Not too sure what context he was referring to...very probably in the typical assumption of Singapore as a 'fine' city. However, that was certainly not what we decided to take it to mean, in light of the island city's recent salacious scandals.

The 1997 'Lakini's Juice' was totally nostalgic. Must be the effect of growing older. Lots of songs at the various gigs evoke nostalgia nowadays. This was no hipster gig. Well, we didn't feel particularly old at this gig. (Unlike Laneway 2012.) Everyone was about the same age. Hehehehehe. Everybody sang along to 'Heaven'. Wasn't in the mood for a raucous night, so the vibes and the acoustic gig with Ed Kowalcyzk's smooth and gruff vocals were perfect.