Rockers Allura wow at 100+50 music fest

SINGAPORE — The second weekend of the 100+50 Bands Festival wasn’t short on entertainment.

Held at Bedok Reservoir — with its final leg set for Aug 14 to 16 — the festival treated the crowd to performances by Cherie x Ferry, the duo consisting of Obedient Wives Club guitarist Cherie Ko and Giants Must Fall lead singer Jean Low, who performed their blend of genteel mood pieces; guitar maestro Randolf Arriola, who once again showed why he’s this country’s eminent looping exponent; and hip-hop artiste Masia One, who has been making waves in South-east Asia.

Rock fans were also treated to a rousing performances by veteran musicians Plainsunset as well as younger bands such as Iman’s League and The Psalms. Caracal, who were perhaps using this gig as a warm-up for their big show in Japan at Summer Sonic next weekend, once again pulled out all the stops. They were definitely one of the most exciting bands to watch, thanks in part to the energetic showmanship of the band, in particular, singer KC Meals.

Speaking of energetic performances, one of our highlights was Allura’s reunion. The band’s set marked its first live performance together since their break-up — or, as is the more common parlance these days, hiatus.

For those not in the know, the indie rock band was formed in 2007 and consisted of Inch Chua (vocals), Aaron Wong (guitars), Low Han Quan (drums), Mark John Hariman (guitars) and Matthew Yap (bass). The band released a mini-album, Wake Up And Smell The Seaweed, in 2008 but the members went their separate ways within two years. Part of the reason was that Matt, Aaron and Han Quan were drafted into National Service. And while the members remained friends Allura ceased to exist as an entity.

Chua pursued a solo music career as iNCH and released two acclaimed albums, The Wallflower and Bumfuzzle, while Mark continued to perform with other musicians, most notably Charlie Lim’s outfit The Mothership.

While Allura has always been noted for their live shows, this time, the band seemed to want to make up for lost time. Musically, Allura was tight as it stormed through its set, with iNCH belting song after song in her inimitable fashion, jumping and gyrating onstage, and even climbing up on the drum set at one point.

While there were some hoarse notes — iNCH had been nursing a sore throat for three days — she seemed determined not to let the side down and it was obvious she wanted to give her all. The band members, too, seemed to enjoy themselves, as they occasionally gave each other sidelong smiles. Hariman and Wong laid down some lovely coupling riffs, while Yap and Low locked into the grooves and provided a solid back beat.

iNCH also offered fans another carrot. “We’ve actually been recording some new tunes; you can find them online,” she said, referring to the three-track EP that Allura recently put up on Bandcamp, titled 1832. Allura performed the track Cold*Player, albeit a harder version than the jazz-tinged one found in the EP.

Throughout the set, the band’s energy was palpable even on the slower numbers such as Closure, which iNCH dubbed “the break-up song”.

Those in the crowd who weren’t there specifically to watch Allura were drawn by its stage presence: Towards the end of the short 30-minute set, many were seen moving to the music or bobbing their heads. Inevitably, the set ended with Ladeda, probably the band’s most famous track (taken off Wake Up And Smell The Seaweed), which was greeted with loud cheers and hoots, and with the crowd joining in during the chorus.

“We hope to play more,” said Chua, as she thanked the crowd. Judging from the audience’s response, it seemed they, too, felt the same way. Let’s hope we won’t have to wait another five years or so.

The last leg of 100+50 will be held from Aug 14 to 16, 7.30pm onwards, at Bedok Reservoir. Admission is free.