Laneway Singapore 2018

As much as I wanted to catch our local bands in the afternoon, there is NO WAY I can hang out at Laneway from 1.45pm till midnight. I went at 7pm, in time for my first band of the festival- Wolf Alice, followed by Slowdive. 

This old bag of bones cannot deal with porta-loos, no seats, rain, mud and crazy humidity year after year after year. Thankfully, the skies held this year. The afternoon was searing. In the evening, the few sputtering drops from those rain clouds got blown away. Cackled when I saw the friends because many of them were broiled lobster-red. People, what happened to sunscreen?!

Retreated to the back and took the opportunity to order food via UberEats. Of course the food must be from the food vendors already set up at the food tents. What a great idea for Laneway to partner UberEats to do this. Skipped the long queues at the main food tents, and UberEats delivered the orders to the designated pick-up point (there were three in the venue), and we collected the food with minimal fuss. Bottles of Evian went for a reasonable $2, and there were easily accessible water coolers to refill our own bottles. Nice. Took it slow with the drinks too. In fact, I only had two cups of gin and tonic, and stuck to water all the way.

Father John Misty (a.k.a Josh Tillman) took a 9.15pm slot, with a full band. It was fun, and fairly predictable. I very much prefer his vocals in a more intimate setting. He definitely talked wayyy less tonight than the last time I saw him in 2016. Hahaha. That was a solo gig and he ditched the guitar for the piano, meandering into political commentary and angst at the world, the sorts. Tonight’s gig was...mild, subdued, even cookie-cutter, but still so enjoyable.

I guess festivals are filled with strange people. But this one left me chuckling. Some dude was like squinting at the stages, asking, "Is that Bonobo? I love Bonobo, are they on now? I can't wait to hear them!" His friends weren't sure either. They were all like, "It sounds like Bonobo, maybe." 🙄 Dude, if you love Bonobo so much, it's pretty obvious that the band on stage is NOT Bonobo. And how in the world does Father John Misty's vocals sound anything like Bonobo's EDM? Duhhh.

There's so much hype about indie rock band The War on Drugs. I like their sound and was curious about them playing live on an outdoor stage. The last band of the night at 11pm. Headliners, but I wished they had taken Bonobo's 10.05pm slot. Teeeehehehhe. I was really impressed. The band was amazing. They’re even better live than on the stereo, and Spotify definitely couldn’t transmit those energy on stage. What wonderful, talented musicians. A pity I couldn’t stay through the full set. Had to catch the last train home.