TROUBADOURS

TROUBAGANGER Feb 5th report: We're back!
Selamat Tahun Baru 2006 and Gong Xi Fa Cai from the Troubaganger gang!! Hope this year of the mongrel will bring in more big juicy chunky bites down to the bone than 'tin kosong' barks!! After a month of hiatus, with Jerome in Sabah celebrating CNY with his loved ones, and Jaz being overwhelmed with work and serious business, it was up to the two remaining banditos, Azmyl and Sei Hon, to hold the fort for the year's first Troubaganger (Sun, 5th of Feb). Despite their initial fears of having to run the show themselves, the night lived up and went beyond their journeyman expectations!! This show's line-up has to be one of the most extensive we have served so far, and boy, was it a night! It was night with a good mix of familiar and new, some sacred, some profane but endearingly profound... Thanks to Albert Ng for the photos!














Justin Wong, the night's sole open miker, appeared all by his lonesome with his geetar (sans bag or case) just abt an hour before the show and one thing's for sure: he'll be back. He played us two earnest self-penned acoustic numbers that will definitely grow with repeated performances (he even had a small group of adoring female fan friends!).


















Resident troubadour Kevin a.k.a. Broken Scar, fresh from a stint on the national airwaves, added to his bread-and-butter kick ass energetic performances by going electric this time around with buddy Alda in tow on funky bass for an extra uumph.














The sweet serenades of Lisa Zahran was next which touched upon matters such as lost loves that melted some hearts and kept the crowd glued to their seats (and floors). If you missed her this time around, fear not, she'll be back next month!














Local pub circuit journeyman Errol de Cruz followed complete with the cowboy hat and swagger and proceeded to belt out a flow of downhome country gems by Johnny Cash, Don McLean, John Denver and Kris Kristofferson to bring y'all dowwnnn memory lane which might as well been a crash course in roots music appreciation to the mostly young but appreciative crowd...he'll definitely be back to spread the country gospel.









Zack Tay, who's back on holiday from studies, played a set of radio-ready tunes (plus a John Mayer cover) with his band mates displayed that the good ol' instrument virtuosity department is alive and kicking that delighted old skool folks who miss guitar solos that that is at a dearth in today's corporate pop rock.










Ian Chow and his guitarist Tony showed us some shades of 90s rock ala Deep Blue Something and Better than Ezra with some energetic singing (plus harmonica!). Ian is also the co-organizer of another upcoming gig at KLPAC on the 26th of this month that provides platforms for aspiring musicians (more on that soon!).












Growing crowd darlings The Sofa Sessions delivered a flawless set of covers plus an original flavored with Ariff Akhir's tongue in cheek jabs on life. Their set ended with our very own La Bodega resident crooning waiter, Fikri, rendering the Kembara classic 'Hati Emas' which got the crowd going and cheering.














One of the music scene's best kept secret is finally out of the pandora's box and the beast is named…Panda Head Curry. A truly multi-media and -sensory experience, they dished out original sing-alongs (complete with lyric sheets and chicken nuggets for everyone) on spicy topics such chicken tasting endangered species, homophobia, killing whales, rabies and mutant elephants, satanism and laced cigarettes. 'Politically incorrect' or 'incorrectly political', their set (only their second appearance and already approaching a comedic nadir!) got the crowd and organizers in the right frame of mind to face the impending beast of Monday to the point that they had to be dragged offstage.


















Sweet and shy Su Ann also dropby and recited two lovely personal poems about life and the lessons one could learn from it.

Well that was it…a success by any measure, a measure of success by our standards because of all the wonderful people who came and warmed our quiet Sunday nights with meaning and rejoice (and nuggets). Keep coming and make every first Sunday a night lovelier every month! Thanks for tuning in, see you on 5th March! Keep on songing!