MLTR in concert | 3/5

SINGAPORE — First, a confession: I have to admit that Michael Learns To Rock, or as they are more commonly known these days, MLTR — a more suitable moniker perhaps in view of the number of musical outfits with acronyms these days, such as MGMT or MNDR — doesn’t rank high on my list of all-time favourite bands. I never gave much thought to their songs either: More often than not, I find their mid-tempo music maudlin and mind-numbing.

That said, I have to admit that when it comes to live performances, MLTR really knows how to put on a show. No need to for pyrotechnics or what-not, just a screen to show videos and other visual effects for impact, that’s all.

And that’s all the 5,000-strong audience at the Max Pavilion @ The Singapore Expo needed on Saturday night as the band played all their fan favourites as well as tracks from their latest album, Scandinavia.

Now here’s the funny thing. Ask any friend about MLTR songs and chances are, they’ll probably be able to name a mere handful. But MLTR has a huge catalogue — 25 years of being in the biz will do that to you — and I found myself going, “Hey, I know that song” throughout the night. But that’s probably because the band’s 23-song set mainly featured material culled from their first five albums.

They have enough in their arsenal to kick off the concert with Sleeping Child, one of their most popular hits here. Their performance, needless to say, was smoother than a baby’s skin: Singer/keyboardist Jascha Richter’s vocals still had its resonance and their harmonies were impeccable. That was pretty much par for the course throughout the two-hour-plus concert.

That’s not to say there weren’t any hiccups. Well, there was only one. They were receiving applause for performing The Actor - the big hit that propelled the band to international fame more than 20 years ago - when Richter’s keyboards went kaput.

While Richter and his tech sorted out the keyboard problem, guitarist Mikkel Lentz and drummer Kare Wanscher took it upon themselves to wander into the crowd — much to the delight of their screaming fans, of course. Technical gremlins may have affected the keyboards, it seems, but it didn’t affect the flow of the show at all.

The band went on to perform immaculate renditions of songs like It’s Only Love, Nothing To Lose, Take It To My Heart (their reworking of Jacky Cheung’s Wen Bie), 25 Minutes, Paint My Love, and That’s Why. There’s the old joke that Michael Learns To Rock never really learnt to rock, but with Wild Women and Someday — the band pulled out all the stops, flicked the volume switch to 11 and rocked out. It’s a pity there weren’t more of such moments during the show.

The band’s banter and great rapport with the audience was also evident. Lentz often came down from the stage to walk through the aisles, shaking hands, hugging fans or posing for selfies. “Where did he go?” asked Richter at one point.

And the band was humourous too. After Richter and Lentz did a break-down version of I’m Gonna Be Around to rapturous applause, Richter joked: “Maybe we should just keep doing it like that, just the two of us — like Air Supply.”

“It’s also a well-kept secret that we don’t own a car,” he later deadpanned before they launched into The Actor.

As for the fans, they needed no encouragement to sing along to their songs. “You guys can sing! You know karaoke, right?” said Lentz, as he exhorted them to sing along to the next song. They duly obliged.

They also swayed as the band played on, waving their light sticks, whipping out their mobile phones and tablets to capture the occasion, clapping and screaming all the way. From the excited chatter I heard as I left the venue, I’d say they won’t forget the way they felt at the concert for quite a while.