It's taken me a while to write about Laneway. I don't know why I didn't do it in Malaysia this week, since I wasn't super busy at work. But I guess I'll do it now.
So, overall the festival was great. The lineup was fantastic, maybe the best one yet. There were tons of bands I was super excited to see. The festival itself was not as good as the past though. Felt like the organization was much worse, and much less in the way of services and vendors. The layout also changed, and I wasn't a huge fan of the new staging area. But, I was there for the music, and that did not disappoint.
I was probably most excited to see Sylvan Esso and The War On Drugs, since I'd never seen them before. And I love Sylvan Esso, and am a fan of The War On Drugs, but also their last album was awesome. And as it turns out, Sylvan Esso was probably my favorite act of the day. My sister saw them last year and told me that I should not miss them, and she was right. They are awesome live. Amelia Meath is a dancing machine. And then my other favorite was, unsurprisingly, Moses Sumney. Love that guy. He's just incredible live. Oddly, Sylvan Esso played really early and Moses Sumney quite late. I did not understand that as Sylvan Esso is actually quite popular, and Moses Sumney is still on the rise. But that's what they did. Maybe to attract more people earlier and avoid clashes with other big acts at the end of the night? I'm not sure, but anyway it was fine with me as I had no clashes for the day. And then The War On Drugs was also really impressive. Only problem was that they came on last, after like 11 hours of dancing, so my body was not really responding to me anymore. Being at a concert I had to dance. I am incapable of standing still (and do not understand how other people can). But I felt like anybody who would have seen me at that point would have just assumed I was a super drunk dude. Which I was not. Only 1 beer all day! And a sunburn. But yeah, they were great and they totally shredded, which is what they do. Everyone was good, actually. And so was the crowd. The crowd was super into it all day. I'm always surprised by these Singapore crowds and how engaged and appreciative they are. Great for the atmosphere, and for the artists.
The one big surprise of the day for me was The Internet. This band had been on my radar, but had never caught my attention. But they were excellent live, and the best unknown act I saw. They're an LA hip-hop/funk group, and they have some pretty badass beats. I have now gone and listened to their entire discography, as well as the solo album of the singer Syd. Their newest album, Ego Death, is fantastic. It's already two and a half years old, and I wish I'd heard it sooner. Their older albums are alright, but not as good as this one. Hopefully the fact that they haven't released anything since 2015 means that they'll release something in 2018, now that I'm paying attention. One of my favorite tracks is probably Get Away, the opener from Ego Death.
Then there's this great song Girl, which is featuring KAYTRANADA, another wonderful LA (I think) hip-hop producer. Seriously, I loved his debut album, 99.9%, back in 2016, so I have no idea how I missed this track he worked on, which would have turned me on to The Internet. But at least I'm on to them now, and will continue to be so.
So, overall the festival was great. The lineup was fantastic, maybe the best one yet. There were tons of bands I was super excited to see. The festival itself was not as good as the past though. Felt like the organization was much worse, and much less in the way of services and vendors. The layout also changed, and I wasn't a huge fan of the new staging area. But, I was there for the music, and that did not disappoint.
I was probably most excited to see Sylvan Esso and The War On Drugs, since I'd never seen them before. And I love Sylvan Esso, and am a fan of The War On Drugs, but also their last album was awesome. And as it turns out, Sylvan Esso was probably my favorite act of the day. My sister saw them last year and told me that I should not miss them, and she was right. They are awesome live. Amelia Meath is a dancing machine. And then my other favorite was, unsurprisingly, Moses Sumney. Love that guy. He's just incredible live. Oddly, Sylvan Esso played really early and Moses Sumney quite late. I did not understand that as Sylvan Esso is actually quite popular, and Moses Sumney is still on the rise. But that's what they did. Maybe to attract more people earlier and avoid clashes with other big acts at the end of the night? I'm not sure, but anyway it was fine with me as I had no clashes for the day. And then The War On Drugs was also really impressive. Only problem was that they came on last, after like 11 hours of dancing, so my body was not really responding to me anymore. Being at a concert I had to dance. I am incapable of standing still (and do not understand how other people can). But I felt like anybody who would have seen me at that point would have just assumed I was a super drunk dude. Which I was not. Only 1 beer all day! And a sunburn. But yeah, they were great and they totally shredded, which is what they do. Everyone was good, actually. And so was the crowd. The crowd was super into it all day. I'm always surprised by these Singapore crowds and how engaged and appreciative they are. Great for the atmosphere, and for the artists.
The one big surprise of the day for me was The Internet. This band had been on my radar, but had never caught my attention. But they were excellent live, and the best unknown act I saw. They're an LA hip-hop/funk group, and they have some pretty badass beats. I have now gone and listened to their entire discography, as well as the solo album of the singer Syd. Their newest album, Ego Death, is fantastic. It's already two and a half years old, and I wish I'd heard it sooner. Their older albums are alright, but not as good as this one. Hopefully the fact that they haven't released anything since 2015 means that they'll release something in 2018, now that I'm paying attention. One of my favorite tracks is probably Get Away, the opener from Ego Death.
Then there's this great song Girl, which is featuring KAYTRANADA, another wonderful LA (I think) hip-hop producer. Seriously, I loved his debut album, 99.9%, back in 2016, so I have no idea how I missed this track he worked on, which would have turned me on to The Internet. But at least I'm on to them now, and will continue to be so.
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