my JAM-ming session

i was at Jam 蕭敬騰's autograph session this afternoon. I wasnt a big fan, but now I'm a newly converted 蕭幫 (no la I didnt join the fanclub of the same name). Initially I thought his album was the worst out of the 3 who came out of the singing competition. Aska's album, the first to be released, was packed with so many souvenir, and the album had a clear music and artistic concept. Sadly, as much as his live performance was up to standards, his controversies since his debut marred his success. In person, Aska felt fake and contrived, right down to the words he use. He stopped a song 3 times during the intro, a few lines into the verse, claiming that he was not in the mood yet. I suspect it was just a case of forgetting the lyrics and needing 3 times to remind himself. It seems he does that often.

However, it should primarily be about the music. I bought the album nonetheless because there's some great songs in there.

Yoga 林宥嘉's album was my favourite out of the 3. It was an eclectic mix of genres befitting of the reputation "the-kid-who-sang-ulu-songs" he garnered during the competition, which eventually led him to the crown. He made famous a few old and unknown songs during the competition. But what I love best about the album was how well produced it was. Yoga had an active role in the production, in writing, and in backing vocals. the artistic concept of the album was cohesive and fresh, relevant to the album name "mystery". His live performance was not always steady, but there's a raw energy in his performance unmarked by typical industry vocal coaching or singing postures. it was a very freestyle way of performing, and he's witty to boot.

I didnt like 蕭敬騰's album initially. Lee Wei Song and his brothers didnt do him justice. He had no parts in the background vocals, the songs were catchy but incohesive. there wasnt a very clear sense of style and the way with which he was going (perhaps that can be counted as "one way" as well). It leaned slightly to the rock side, but there werent enough rock songs there to cement his style. There were minor flaws (like how he seemed to be spitting at one point, his diction wasnt clear, which made him seem unsure of what he was singing), but the biggest was how badly the album was packaged. both from Warner Music, Aska's debut had tons of freebies like a calendar and a photo book to attract fans. but for Jam's, there were none! just 11 songs and one album. the album design looks cheap and without focus. The only saving grace, therefore, was his voice.

Thankfully, the second version was a superb edition with a bonus concert dvd and live CD! AND the cover looked stunning.

But of cos, I was won over by his live performance. It was even better than listening to the album! he had such concern over the way he sings that you rarely see him with his eyes open, nor move beyond 10 steps on stage. the times he werent talkin seemed to be an energy-conserving method that was released during his electrifying songs, most examplified by 王子的新衣, my favourite from the album. LOVE.
(he lowered the key a lil thou. pity). but the best part was his handshake. he gave everyone a SUPER FIRM handshake that lasted even after i loosen my grip, and he'd look at you personally and say thanks. now, not everyone has a firm handshake, and his was definitely an appreciative one. you can tell. when he thanked people, he would do a 90degree bow like a Japanese. another thing i like was how frank he was. he reminded me of faye Wong, whose answers always made the reporter or host look stupid for having ask such a qns. for eg:

yes 933fm DJ peifen: so u're learning the guitar?
Jam: yup
peifen: are u learning to write songs on ya guitar?
jam: yup
peifen: so what have u written with ya guitar?
jam: erm, songs?

*crowd breaks into laughter.
not verbatim, but tt's roughly how it went.

I was at the autograph session with Ash and her sista, who was a fan. quite a bit of hilarious stuff happened today, despite the drizzle.

this auntie over here is seen taking a picture of Jam, and the personal is holding something similar to a red packet. For those who've been to autograph sessions, you should know the strictly-no-cameras on stage policy, but this auntie just kept snapping despite the personels warning and pulling her away! on her left, not included in this pic, was another auntie (her friend), tryin desperate to take a pic WITH Jam. The ang pow was given by this second auntie.




We were very very lucky to see Wayne fr Warner music at the session, and he gave us VIP tickets to the Dragonfly showcase! WOOTS! i was worried that i couldnt enter in slippers and berms, and was all ready to purchase one even if i have to. turns out we can enter! and over at Dragonfly, we met the 2 aunties again!

this was the second auntie. apparently, SHE'S THE MOTHER OF THE FIRST AUNTIE AND SHE IS 70 YRS OLD. we were sitting at one side waiting for our ticket to arrive, when she walked over and i very shamelessly asked her questions about her stage stint. she told me she's a Singaporean married to a Taiwanese. she gave Jam perfume and just wanted to take a photo, but they didnt allow. she said "lian2 lao3 ren2 dou1 bu2 fang4 guo4!", which means "even old ladies also cannot be lenient". she didnt mention about the ang pow, so i asked her: "auntie, how much was in the angpow?!"
Ash called my name by the side, seeming disturbed at my audacity to ask such a qns hahahaha. the auntie was surprised i saw it, and ask me to guess how much. hahah. here's wat we said:
Auntie: "only one piece"
me: "50bucks?"
auntie: where got so little?
me: u give Taiwan dollar of SGD?
auntie: $100
me: 100 SGD?
auntie: ya
me: give him SGD for wat? he go Taiwan how to spend?
auntie: -

then auntie began to ramble about how she was in front of the queue at KENJI WU's DRAGONFLY showcase (she was there!), and how it's her 40 yr old daughter who wanted to watch instead of her. the rest of the time she was complaining about the long Q and blaming her daughter for askin her to come ("ask u dun come liao u still come"), which i thought was a saving face tactic hahahahahah. but anw, it was hilarious. =)


recently i've been seeing hip aunties everywhere. the most coolest one was Auntie Catherine who was at St James when we went there and she was dancing on stage with a bunch of young women. becca and xinyi even when to join her. uber cool =)


i dont think at that age i would be half as cool and easy with myself. it takes guts man. and i salute these aunties for not succumbing to social stereotypes of how they should be. aunties who break the supposed rules should have no fear, but be proud of what they're doing. there's really no limits.

but if i were to go dancing on stage at 60, ppl will just think i am a lecher la.hahaha!

I was lucky, yet unlucky enough to be in the VIP session. that area was filled with ppl fr SINGTEL, the organisers for this event. they were there just to be there. these peeps werent even fans and they're just standing there blocking my view. i was standing in between 2 women, one of which just arrive. Yellow started talkin to Black, with me in between. so i kindly moved a step back thinking they just have a few lines to say to each other and i can have my spot back. the next thing i know Yellow bitch moved into my spot and just stood right in front of me, leaving me to smell her hair. i was fumin at these corporate bitches who cant even sing a line of his songs, yet was talkin and sms-ing nonstop even when he is singing, saying nonsense stuff like "i dun mind even if he is 21 yrs old", then break into laughter. WA LAU. cannot stand it. i know i sound damn mean, but i dun like corporate bitches like these la. they ruin the image of supposed smart intelligent women who have more in mind than just making money and looking pretty in corporate wear. they come close to being an ugly Singaporean, go there see see onli. everytime the people on stage play some games, surely one person would ask : what prize ah? and someone wld reply "phone lor, from us". without fail! have some dignity man.

anw the showcase was great la. pity my cam sucks. 90% of the people can see his mole with their camera, and can record his performances from 1st to 100th song. my camera can onli see the metal pole la. sad. my eyes can see better la but nvm.



JAMMING RULES!