Joyland Festival Day 3

Minggu yang indah bersama White Shoes and The Couples Company!

Alright moving on to day 3! Last day of the festival, also the day that happened so quick.

The festival begins with me reuniting once again with White Shoes and The Couples Company! Finally catching them live again after.... 7 Years. Yup, I last saw them in 2015 during their concert at Cikini. I always love watching them perform. They're a joy to watch, and this time round I finally get to experience their new album "2020" live! Well part of it. But still lovely. Hari Minggu yang indah bersama White Shoes and The Couples Company!

Next up is Phum Viphurit. I had a long gap between WSATCC and PV, so I went to see a few bands in between. There's The Panturas who's super good live omg I love their energy haha. I also went to see Isyana Sarasvati but the stage ground was full! I just caught her on the side heh.

Hello Phum!

Phum Viphurit is someone I've been wanting to see live for years. Ever since I discovered him in 2015 basically. He did tour in 2019 I think but I had something on that day and I couldn't make it. Bummer! But no worries I finally caught him live now and he's amazing :') He sounds so damn good live. And there's this... I don't know how to say. Friendly aura that he's emitting when he's performing. Like I feel so "light" and cheerful when I saw him live haha. 

Also damn, when he played "Hello Anxiety" and everyone was singing and dancing to the chorus, I thought it was one of the best moments of the festival. It feels so cathartic. To see everyone around you singing and dancing to "Heaven knows we're lost, the sun still shines, so we'll be fine".

So good to see PREP again :')

And last but definitely not least, it's time for PREP! They're the band I look forward the most to in the festival haha cause I've been wanting to hear their new music live! And boy it's so worth the wait. After 2 online concerts and many vinyl spins later, here I am watching them live. I've been seeing their posts during their US and Korea tour earlier this year wondering when it'll be my turn. And yup, it's my turn mwahaha. And it's so good to finally see them again after 2.5 years!

PREP was the last gig I went to before the pandemic hit. Then COVID came, and we're in isolation, and they released their debut self-titled album back in October 2020. Their song "Years Don't Lie" has been accompanying me throughout these 2 years. The lyrics "All those hidden hopes and horoscopes putting us right here tonight" is so blissfully comforting somehow. In those days where life just confuses the hell out of you hah. So thank you PREP for coming to Jakarta. So great to see y'all again! 

Okay so, PREP wasn't the last band I wanted to see. I wanted to catch Hindia, also another band I've been wanting to see live. But.... Being a responsible adult means I had to sacrifice hahaha. I still have work to do and Monday is ahead of me. I decided to call it a night. Also fun fact, I went back home with my flower delivery van hahaha. We had delivery on Sunday as usual and I hitched the ride home.

Alright that's all for Joyland Festival 2022! It was probably the best weekend I had in a long long time. Since my trip to Singapore back in May heh. It feels so good to return to the music scene again. Although like I said in my previous post, I do realise that my life is no longer the same as before. 

But still, my heart is beaming with gratitude. 

Thank you and congratulations Joyland Festival for the fantastic and amazing music festival! I definitely look forward to your next one in 2023. I'm going to write another post about the festival so wait for that. Okay folks, that's all for now. till the next music festival!

Years Don't Lie

Today is a special day, cause PREP released their self-titled debut album today! I gave it a listen last night and boy I am in love. It is such a fantastic and smoooooth debut album indeed. The three months of waiting has finally come to an end and it's definitely worth the wait. Now I'm just waiting for the vinyl!

Well I might be biased because I'm a huge fan of PREP and I love their music but this is definitely my album of the year. Okay maybe a tie with Kinnship Commensality haha. To me this album has really shown another side of PREP that the band seem to be hiding in secret all these years haha. The album has a mix of upbeat, slow, chill songs and to me this versatility is really what make PREP stand out. Yet every song has that "PREP signature" that make us connect with the band.

I would describe the music in the album as full of melancholy. It makes you feel nostalgic and warm and fuzzy inside. It's kind of like a time machine, bringing you back to a certain sweet moment in your life. And the song above, so far, is my favourite from the album. Even though it's so hard to pick one! I think this song speaks a lot to me. It makes me feel a connection to a lost feeling that I've been searching. It just makes me feel good. And the video is awesome too!

Anyway I've been a fan of PREP for 5 years now. I'm usually someone who discovers an artist/band late into their releases (like 2-3 years after their debut) but not for PREP! I discovered them on YouTube from their song Cheapest Flight and I just love all of their songs so far all these years. I was thinking that they might be releasing another EP this year but it turns out to be an album whooop!

Alright I'm going to enjoy the weekend listening to this album now. I hope you give it a listen too! Have a fantastic and PREP weekend mwahaha. Congratulations to PREP on the release of your fantastic debut. Thank you for the great music in these crazy times really.

Java Jazz 2020!

"Redeem yourself through music"

Beautiful festival theme!

Right so here's my post about the lovely Saturday spent at Day 2 of Java Jazz 2020!

Left my hometown at 11 AM thinking that I'll reach at about 2-3 PM so that I can have lunch first. Nope! There were traffic jams on my way to Jakarta, twice! First was during a factory workers' release and another one was some contraflow? Apparently one whole lane of the highway was closed, probably because some government official was going through it. I ended up reaching at 4:30 PM, when the first band I wanted to catch (T-Square) plays at 5 PM. So I just went straight, exchanged my ticket and enjoy the show. But boy was I hungry! Ended up holding my hunger for 3 hours hahaha. Worth it.

T-Square!!! They're so so good.

I can't believe I actually managed to catch T-Square live! I used to listen to lots of their music back in Secondary school days, when I first joined band and discovered "Omens of Love". I couldn't remember which concert, if I'm not wrong it was SP Band (back in 2006) and we were supporting one of our alumni. Discovered the song and T-Square, along with some of their new music. But I did not catch up on their new music, but I enjoyed watching their videos on YouTube. And their show was incredible!

They opened up with Omens of Love, followed with some of their classics like Truth and Twilight In Upper West. And also their newer songs like Love Game. Okay seriously I am blown away by their performance. They are SO GOOD. Like I was just speechless at the end of their set, it was incredible! All the bass, guitar, keys, drums and saxophone solos were incredible. They seriously made me feel like learning how to play all these instruments. And their drummer Senri Kawaguchi is seriously wow! She's only 23, so so talented!!! Still speechless from their set now haha. Still thinking about it!

Caught the last bit of Mondo Gascaro set. Dan Bila is beautiful <3

Next I went to rush to catch Mondo Gascaro but he was also playing at 5:15 PM so I could only catch the last bit of his performance. Managed to see his duet with Rien Djamain and his final song, Dan Bila. I hope to see him live again, no luck this time round :( See you soon Om Mondo!

Maya Hasan ABBA Revival project

After that I went to walk around the Festival ground to get myself familiarise with the area. Then I went to see Maya Hasan with her ABBA Revival project. Her Harp playing is so incredible! I would say it's in an interesting project to have ABBA played on the harp. There was also a harmonica player (sorry I couldn't catch his name) but his performance of Lay All Your Love On Me was superb!

Me: Mas minta nasi jeruk, tapi nasi nya aja

Mas: *shocked pikachu face* 

So by this time I was ravaged with hunger. Haven't eaten a proper meal in almost 15 hours! I just ate some snacks in the car haha. I went to get some food and... As usual there's no vegan food available haha. I went to each of the food truck and the best option I got was this umm nasi jeruk combination. It's supposed to be rice + egg + chicken/lamb/squid. So I went to the food truck guy and asked for rice only. He looked so shocked haha. But I explained that I'm a vegan and I couldn't find any food. The crew from the truck looked so shocked too hahaha. But they gladly sold a bowl of rice for me

Bakmi Gang Kelinci has saved the day with the vegan bakmi

Anyway it's my fault, I didn't realise that there was another area for food. With more options! I was walking around when I see bakmi gang kelinci. I tried this once back before I was a vegetarian and it's really good. I went to ask the lady at the stall if I can have a plain bakmi and she was like why plain?! I told her I'm vegan and she was like "What do you want? Let me cook for you. Nasi Capcay, Mi Capcay, Vege Bakmi". I ordered the veg bakmi and it was filled with mushroom and bakchoy. The noodle was flavourful. Bakmi Gang Kelinci you saved my life haha. Please have it in every music festival!

I then just walked around more and discovered a karaoke session at the Teh Botol Lounge area haha. It was really fun singing old songs with people. And of course we have a Via Vallen karaoke session. I was just waiting for The Jacksons set. This is when... Things started to go a bit awry.

This was the queue to The Jacksons :O

Okay so The Jacksons was supposed to play at 10 PM. My plan was to catch them, and then rush to see PREP at 11. I was waiting around the hall when I realised that the time was 9:20 PM, but there was no instructions about going inside the hall. It was 9:40 PM when we were instructed to start queuing up. And we even queued in the rain for a bit heh. I entered the hall at 10:20 PM and I thought to myself... I don't think I'll get to see them. It was 10:40 PM and people were still queuing and entering the hall. I asked the organiser when they will start but they just said soon.

I really really wanted to see The Jacksons but PREP was the main reason why I went to Java Jazz in the first place. I understand that they put a "time is subject to change" warning on their lineup so well... I just decided to see PREP instead. I knew if I waited, I won't see PREP so yeah.

And when I went to PREP's hall wow there was already a queue to go inside! Haha. This was like 15 minutes before their set. I couldn't imagine if I were to come slightly later, I might not even go inside heh. I ended up being on the last in the queue to the middle of the hall, when everyone who sat down, stood up. Well at least I get to see them so no complaints! It was a huge hall thankfully.

Always a good time with PREP :)

PREP was great as usual. This is my third time seeing them live and they're still as good! They played two of their new songs and I had a good time dancing and singing to their songs. But hmm well I went to their show at Hard Rock Cafe back in 2018. I have to be honest, I prefer their performance back then. The crowd was good and it was more intimate. But I'm glad that more people managed to see em live this time round! After all, their top listeners are from Jakarta mwahaha. Thank you so much for coming to Jakarta again guys! I hope you had a great time and see you soon here again :D

Went home after that and it was raining! Walked in the rain for a while when I was trying to get to the car haha. But somehow the mood was nice, being in the rain on my way home, remembering all the great times I had on that Saturday with some lovely music! After all it was my first gig in like 7 months. First gig of 2020 and I hope more to come. It was a lovely Saturday indeed, despite the jam.

This time round however, the lineup god wasn't on my side haha. It was truly an either-or festival. Usually I'm lucky to manage to see the bands/artists that I want to see on the festival day. But this time round I was forced to really choose which one to catch. It was either T Square of Mondo Gascaro, Jacksons or PREP. Well I hope I'll have better luck next time. Till the next gig, see you!

PREP Live in Jakarta

PREP Live in Jakarta!

Hello hello! Well I just returned... Not really just returned. But yes I got back from Jakarta last night catching PREP live in Jakarta on Wednesday, and also doing some shopping errands on Thursday! Man, PREP's gig was so so awesome. Still thinking about it, and probably will take some more days to move on from it haha. They're my favourite band that I discovered in the recent years.

Anyway I went to Jakarta on Wednesday via train, cause I'll be rendezvous-ing with my worker on Thursday for the shopping errands. Love taking train rides to Bogor, and now I'm kind of familiar with the KRL (Jakarta metro) system, although I'm still pretty clueless about Jakarta itself haha. Before the show I went to catch Coldplay's documentary, A Head Full of Dreams which was co-incidentally showing for one day only on the 14th. I'll talk about that on a separate post!

After the movie I met up with Wilus first before the gig. Wow man it's been almost 9 years since we both last met! We probably last met back in Tanglin while I was taking my O Level results back in 2010 haha. I remembered meeting with some of the Indon peeps on that day. Anyway glad to know she's doing well in Jakarta now! We had lots of catching up and also talking about music and gigs.

The gig was held in Hard Rock Cafe Jakarta. The venue is kinda small but I thought it was a good venue cause the show felt more intimate and fun, moving alongside with the other fans haha. I caught PREP last year at Kampoeng Jazz and it was such an awesome show. They sound really good live. And this gig is no different. They played all of their songs from the 3 EPs and they sound so good T_T

Ollie Weston killing it with the sax solo

Not gonna go into details but some of my favourite songs are Line By Line from their new EP, Don't Bring Me Down from Cold Fire, and to end everything, singing along to Cheapest Flight with the rest of the audience. Definitely one of the highlights of 2018! There isn't a single song that I don't like from them. So to see them play every song from the EP is really like bliss to me. 

Thank you PREP for signing my Futures EP booklet!

And Tom for the photo (sigh, I want to take a photo with the band!)

After the show there was a signing session and we were all queuing for the moment! The VIP ticket holders are given priorities to go in first so we patiently waited to go in. The 4 members of PREP are such a friendly and humble bunch! Had a good time talking to them, and Tom, the vocalist, actually remembered me from Kampoeng Jazz! He was like I think I remembered you, we were at that white tent signing stuff hahaha. No photo with the whole band but got a photo with Tom! 

Great to see you again, Wilus!

Thank you PREP for coming to Jakarta and for the incredible show. Well at least I don't have to take a cheapest flight, just a (second) cheapest train ticket to catch em live mwahaha. I hope to see you again one day in Indonesia! And also thank you Wilus for coming to the gig with me! What a great way to meet after such a long time of not meeting one another haha. All the best to you in Jakarta :)

Then I headed back to the hotel and went to do the shopping errand the next day.

Well, like I mentioned for WTF'18, music has always been my escape. It's great to take a break just for that one hour plus and enjoy some great music. To quote the song that started it all:

"I'll take one more sleepless night, and I'm on the cheapest flight to give my head a chance to clear"

Thank you PREP!

Kampoeng Jazz 2017!

 

 PREP at Kampoeng Jazz

Hello, okay thankfully I caught some sleep in the car just now and I can blog about this awesome festival now haha. Anyway yes I went for the 9th Kampoeng Jazz Festival in Bandung (Padjajaran University) today. I'm not exactly a jazz lover, I'm okay with it but I'm here for PREP! An awesome band from UK whom I discovered about 2 years ago when they release Cheapest Flight.

Also I finally got the chance to see Tulus live! Weeee. And Kunto Aji as well.

To be honest I was rather hesitant to go because it is now a long weekend holiday and Bandung roads are always jammed during long weekends. This is the third of three consecutive long weekends and on the news, they talk about how full the roads of Bandung, and to Bandung were. But it's PREP, I don't know when I can catch them live again so I have to! I brave myself mwahaha. But thankfully lady luck is on my side and there was not much jam actually. Whew! In fact I was too early heh.

I booked a hotel thinking that I might want to stay a night in Bandung if the concert ended late. So I reached Bandung at 2 PM, way too early! Heh. Went to grab lunch first, and buy stuff my sister and mum wants me to get. Then checked in the hotel to rest for a while. Didn't get much sleep last night.

 Cheers to these wonderful kids!

Head over to UnPad at 6 PM (I overslept!) and walked around the festival ground first. There was a Sundanese art showcase going on at the main stage and there were super cool kids playing in an angklung ensemble. Totally remind me of my days at Pei Tong :( I miss playing the angklung haha. And then went to grab something to eat first before catching Kunto Aji.

 Kunto Aji in the Dago stage!

I love Kunto Aji's set cause he's so energetic! Love the energy he's giving to the crowd, and how he interacts with all of us. How we all sing and just sway along with his music.

 Teddy Adithya. Awesome set!

Then I headed over to the main stage to secure a good spot for Tulus and PREP hah. Before these two I caught Teddy Adithya who's an incredible performer! I'm so glad that I discovered him tonight. Love his music, can't really describe it but he's really awesome.

 Seeing him live is a totally new experience

And then Tulus was next. Okay Tulus is really a great male singer in Indonesia. Some say he's the Sam Smith of Indonesia (and I agree!). His music is so beautiful and uplifting but let me tell you, seeing him live is a whole new experience. I love how he talks with us, and just talk about each song. And also his collab with Kunto Aji and Teddy was awesome haha. Especially the triplet part <3

And last but not least PREP was definitely the highlight of the night! Like I mentioned above, I thought I'll never be able to see them live. After all I'm further further down south from London heh, on the other side of the planet. I was just hoping that I can see them live. And I remember seeing their Instagram Post, "Bandung we're coming for you" and I went crazy haha. Bought the ticket right away!

 So thankful to catch them live seriously.

To be honest I don't know much about them, although I've discovered them for two years. They're kinda like a ghost band. I don't know the names of the members, I don't know who play what and so on. Not much live videos are found on YouTube, and they don't even have a Facebook Page hah. But I've been interacting with them via Twitter and Instagram. Seeing them live is just woots!

They played every song from their debut EP and also lots and lots of new songs. And I love every song that they played last night! Especially "Rachel" and "Don't Bring Me Down" (or is it don't put me down?). Their energy, aesthetic and everything else is incredible. And then they closed their gig with Cheapest Flight and the whole crowd lost it mwahaha. I'm so proud we have so many PREP fans here.

Anyway during the show they mentioned that there are some CDs and Vinyls at the merch stand and to "come hang out". I already have the vinyl and I have ordered the CD heh, so I thought I'll just talk to them. Turned out... You can buy the vinyl and get it signed! Okay still I already have it so I just stayed to talk heh. Thankfully I brought my journal and the one of the organisers was kind enough to let me stay!

And something sad happened. So there was only 25 copies of the vinyl available. Some people were queuing, I counted that there should be enough for people who queued. But suddenly they ran out and there were only three left. The girl in front of me couldn't get it and she broke down (awww). But one of the organiser (the same guy) kindly gave his copy to her! So awesome!

 Thanks for signing my journal <3

I also gave out pieces of paper from my journal to fellow fans so that they can get their signatures haha. That's what fans are for people! And screw some people who actually cut queue.

Anyway yes I got the chance to talk and shook their hands! So so awesome. As usual I startled a flipping lot heh. I was like "okay compose yourself, plan out the things you wanna say" and when I meet them "asffgklweormnasdmnsdfwlekjmrt" HAHAHA. Okay not really.

Everytime I got the chance to meet my favourite artists/bands, there are always three things that I will tell them. No matter who screwed up I say to them. They are:

"I love your music/Your music is amazing"

"Love the performance, it's incredible!"

last but not least, and the most important one:

"Thank you for your music"

Because really, music is incredible.

Anyway that's all from me today. I'm still feeling so so happy that I get the chance to see PREP live. And to shake hands and talk with them. I really hope that I can see them live again one day! Especially when they have released their new EP hehe. Thanks for coming to Bandung! :)

Alright hope you're having an awesome long weekend!