Wednesday, October 05, 2016

The Steve McQueens


Jazz and soul-funk aren't quite my thing. But because Ginny Bloop is singing, and beyond her range of electronica and soul sounds with Riot !n Magenta, I had to go hear The Steve McQueens at Esplanade Annexe Studio. At least with a drink in hand standing around, I get to pretend I'm in a jazz club instead of primly seated in a concert hall.

By the time I blog about the Singapore show held last Thursday, the band would have completed their gigs and festivals in Australia and South Korea. Nice! Good going! They went to Japan and Kuala Lumpur last year. It's a tough road for Singapore musicians to take, and I always applaud the determination a hardworking band possesses in order to go as far as possible on this journey. With the help of arts grants of course. Without securing funding and grants, it'll be painful, and disappointing. Yup, this is a not-so-subtle hint to National Arts Council (NAC). It feels good to know that local talents are being supported and Singapore music is being pushed beyond our boundaries, giving our artists the means to open the doors to gain necessary experiences to become savvy musicians proper.

The Steve McQueens played a two-hour set with a 15-minute intermission. Wah! What a treat. I'm not familiar with their songs, and it's good to hear most of them. The quintet played songs from the six-track album 'Einstein Moments'- the very standard 'Dreaming' to the ermm jazzy 'Walls', and songs from the more eclectic ten-track second album 'Seamonster'.

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