Prince of Wales POW WOW, 2009

Wow, Pow, had a great time tonight at the Prince of Wales Pow Wow, 2009, with nine bands POW WOW, apparently, stands for “Prince Of Wales, Why Oh Why?”). They were Ouinarii, Black Discoball, Luna and the Superstarts, Victor Tang, The Pinholes, and The London Fog. I got to the place around 6:40, Ouinarii was just finishing. Two pretty girls and a few guys were on the stage, they played a few recognizable song, like one by the Gallagher brothers. Then on came Black Discoball, with a sort of Linkin Park sound.

They took themselves pretty seriously, and one of the guitarists complained about his small amp. They were good fun, especially the song that sounded just like Iron Maiden. I went out for some dinner after that, and called Naoko and Zen. When I came back, Lupa and the Superstars were playing, and they were good fun – they played reggae songs with ska and punk and jazz and funk all mixed in. At one point, I heard a part from a Back Sabbath song (“Hand of Doom”, maybe?), which was nice. We danced a lot to these guys, forgiving them for losing momentum when the starts of the songs weren’t really that smoothe. Great saxophone playing, nice guitars.

MC of the evening Victor Tang then came out and played his songs. Great guitar picking, great beat and rhythm, fantastic stage presence (for a solo acoustic set), but the songs weren’t really memorable for themselves. The surprise of the evening came from The Pinholes, four guys in matching outfits (think of the early Beatles) who did a sort of weird mix of the Ramones, the Pixies and the Ultra Fuckers, with a little bit of Detroit Metal City thrown in for good measure. They all played Italia guitars, which seem to be made in Japan. The lead singer was demented (or at least acted the part) and talked in a loving Rasta voice about the part of Singapore that he is from (west coast), referred to me as “the man who sold the world”, and did all sorts of crazy antics. Don’t take my word for it – check out the video clip!!

Last up were The London Fog, which The Pinholes referred to as “Singapore’s Next Big Thing.” While the band had blown me away last time, this time it was all a bit anti-climactic. They played two new songs, both of which sound great, and finished the night off with the much-loved “Retro Dancing Girl.” The lead singer has a great soul voice and wonderful guitar chops, but his stage presence doesn’t quite match the inspired lunacy of the Pinholes. I wonder if they will be able to keep it up the next time I see them.

Here it is – “Retro Dancing Girl”!

PICS! PICS!! PICS!!!

Black Discoball
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Luna and the Superstars
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The Pinholes
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