Wow nice shots there!
I went for all there days too and tried my best to catch the local bands. It's been 2 weeks so here's a summary of the most memorable and (mostly) positive things for the three days:
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Friday Day 1:
Barricade's vocalist, Rico, really dished out some
serious kick-ass vocals. He didn't show any signs of pitchiness and he looked like he wasn't even trying when he sustains the occasional high notes.
Screams were constant and didn't sound like he was busting his vocals doing 'em. Really really impressive. Pulled through very well and certainly didn't disappoint for the opening band of the new bands for Baybeat's lineup.
ExDee had this drummer that looked a 'lil geeky for a first impression but his drumming skills were totally wow..
Pretty blown off by his precision and ability to keep time while adding loads of flavour and technical strokes through out their set. Do not judge a book by it's cover =D
The Great Spy Experiment delivered as expected but the thing that spoilt their set was the
sudden boost of volume of the loud speakers halfway through. I suspect the speakers did not have enough power headroom for the volume the compression made sounds of different frequency indistinguishable. The mix was so unbalanced and muddy it was just pure brutal aural assault to my ears.
Not a good thing for a tight, polished band that don't fall under the metal genre..
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Saturday Day 2:
The Powerhouse Stage had a very different sound when
Flawed Element played as compared to the last set the day before. It was soft but the bass was loud.
Couldn't hear much of anything 'cept notes from the bass guitar and kick drums. Vocals were pumped slightly midway through their set but it wasn't enough to fix the
luck lustre sound balance.
In Each Hand A Cutlass dished out tight experimental music which was rather technical. First time hearing them and needed a 'lil time to digest their material. Halfway through there was
some kinda disharmony between guitars and keyboard but I'm not sure whether it was intentional (maybe keys were tuned to 439 or 441? or both the electric and bass went out of tune together). Overall, enjoyed their set and appreciated their technicality.
Meza Virs, the band I was looking forward to for the day. Great showmanship but can't really review whether the sound balance was fixed for the stage since
Flawed Element because I was right in front and
things sound a little different when one head bands >.< The walls of death was great and might have been a first for Baybeats. They certainly didn't let down as the first symphonic black goth metal band at a predominantly indie event.
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Sunday Day 3:
Audiocean 's vocalist, Sarah, have a slight resemblance with Sharifa from a friend's band,
Class Act. lol anyway, they did a good job as the opening band for Sunday but
I was most amazed by the 6-worded lyrics to Take It All Away With Me.. O_O
For Better Endings set was up next at the Powerhouse Stage which was still plagued by the sound imbalance problem. Similar to
Flawed Element's set the day before, Loudspeakers were too soft while sub woofers remained normal so I couldn't hear anything above 100Hz clearly.
Arena Stage was full by the time I got there right before
Anberlin's Acoustic set. Honestly didn't know the band prior to that day, and was puzzled by the hype and the humongous amount of fans
topped up with a gazillion fan girls' high pitch screams and sharp pain to the ears >.< Stephen's singing and harmony lines were very in-pitch and guitar work between Joseph and Christian were tight. Made me wonder what they had installed for their closing set.
Caught
Zero Sequence's set right after dinner at the Powerhouse Stage. The problem with sound balance seemed to have magically disappeared. Didn't know how they did it but the mix was suddenly fixed and every instrument could be heard clearly at various parts of their sets.
Anybody know if they brought their own sound tech? Because balancing the mix from stage is definitely no easy job for a 6-piece band. Mang's vocals shined especially when he
hit a frickin' high note and sustained it for 4 seconds with smooth vibrato near the end of their 2nd song. Coordination within the band was precise to say the least and it was an aural treat from where I was standing (right dead center where the tiles meet the pebbles).
Stayed for
Anberlin's closing act after a long merch shopping session.
Despite the problems with the mic's connection at the start, the band was still super energetic and kept going. However, all the jumping/ spinning and screaming must have taken a toll on Stephen's vocals because he seemed to have pitching problems and dry sustains without vibratos. Very different from the quality he dished out during the acoustic set. Mic volume was intentionally pumped to match the overall volume of all the instruments, so I needed to strain a lil' to hear 'em.
They were tight nonetheless, but drowned by a very scooped vocal quality which didn't cut through, resulting in slight muddiness. Crowd was still going crazy all the way till the end though.
Imho, their acoustic set was much more superb as compared to their closing set.
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Overall, good experience with this year's Baybeats. They
introduced more metal bands this year which was a change. A major
problem was the bad sound balance at the Powerhouse stage on and off throughout the three days. It was a real put off and the bands who performed there totally didn't deserve it. What a waste to such a powerful setup, because it was either too loud, compressed and muddy or it was too soft and bassy for most sets.
This didn't help to bring out the best of each band playing there. I sure hope the cause of the fault was identified so that it may be avoided in subsequent shows 'cause a simple screw up like this in such a renowned public music festival, showcasing local music, will give a bad first impression to a society which already has an underlying prejudice against local music.
