Clash of the Bands 2013: Rocking it in the Hood

By Muhammad Haiqal Bin Sari

SINGAPORE, 23 JUNE 2013  ̶  As local band Take Cover made their way up the stage at Hood Bar & Café, the audience applauded in approval of the judges’ choice of winners for the 2013 edition of Clash of the Bands (COTB). With the audience’s cheers and applause filling up the entirety of the live music venue, the band members basked in the glory of their win under the bright lights.

From the judges point of view, local and foreign musicians took turns to wow the audience and judges at Hood Bar & Café for the opportunity to perform at IGNITE! Music Festival (Photo by: Sariyanto B. Slamat)

The event, which was supposed to be held at the The Coliseum in Resorts World Sentosa’s Hard Rock Hotel, was forced to move to a different location due to the unhealthy haze standards. Fortunately, MSWorks, the organizer of COTB, managed to find an alternative location in Hood Bar & Café. The change of location turned out to be a mixed blessing.

“Hood Bar is much more intimate as it is a smaller space, so the bands can really feel the energy of the crowd,” said Tony Kam, one of the judges for COTB and also the Assistant Director of Technical Operations at Republic Polytechnic (RP). “I am really glad that we are having this event at Hood bar, which is an ardent supporter of local music.”

COTB crew member Vikkash Suruchand, 21, felt that the event was a good warm up for IGNITE! Music festival, which is to be held in RP on the 23^rd and 24^th of August. The RP student pointed out that he was impressed by the mix of different genres from alternative rock to pop music.

“I was expecting the competition to comprise bands of multiple genres and it’s great that that was the case,” said the 3^rd year student of Diploma in IT Service Management.

One band that delivered on this expectation was guest band Youthwreck, who are 10-year veterans in the local music scene. Lead singer and guitarist Fadil Yusof believed that it was about time that the band added in a new element into their sound.

The band decided to hire a session keyboardist for their upcoming IGNITE! Music Festival and Baybeats gigs. “The keyboardist has a classical and jazz music background so we thought it would be good to have a new sound for our fans to listen to,” explained the 29-year-old musician.

In the end, Take Cover impressed the judges most with their rendition of Bruno Mars’ “Treasure”. As a result of their success, they won themselves a performing slot in the IGNITE! Music Festival 2013 lineup. Clarissa, the band’s lead singer, was clearly still trying to digest the night’s events.

“I can’t describe how I’m feeling right now. It’s a mixture of both shock and delight. Nonetheless, we can’t wait to put on a good show at IGNITE!” said the 18-year-old Anglo-Chinese School (International) student.

IGNITE! Music Festival 2013 already looks like it is going to be one hell of a show.