Bright Lights, loud music and 1 crazy mosh crowd. Michelle Tan experiences Baybeats 2004 and lives to tell the tale.

By Michelle Tan · UrbanWire
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What happened, you ask? Baybeats 2004 did.

Produced by Awakening Productions and supported by Wakemeupmusic, Rockstar Collective and Wallwork Records , Singapore’s very own alternative and indie (short for independent) band festival was back to rock the Esplanade for the 3rd consecutive year. With a decent line up of 34 local and foreign talents showcased over 3 days on 3 stages (The Arena, the Chillout Stage and Electronika), Baybeats drove approximately 17,000 music-lovers at the venue wild.

UW donned a tee from the limited edition Baybeats survival kit and headed down to where the action was. Here were some things we liked about Baybeats 2004:

The Baybeats Survival Kit
The Diverse Crowd
The Craziness at The Arena
The Upclose and Personal Sessions
The Support
The Not-So-Goods

The Baybeats Survival Kit
You won’t find any piping-hot meal in the nifty Baybeats Survival Kit, served up in a pizza box. For those who couldn’t bear to part with their cash (all $20 of it), the survival kit contained a sticker, a Baybeats badge, a programme booklet, earplugs, a mystery toy (which turned out to be a toy soldier complete with parachute) and a cool Baybeats t-shirt. The item that was most helpful, of course, was the pair of earplugs, which probably saved many a fest-goer’s hearing.[^top]

The Diverse Crowd

The Baybeats crowd.

If you’re an avid people-watcher, then Baybeats was the place to be. What a crowd; there were those who were there strictly for the music, those who were there to be seen, and finally those who just happened to be at the Esplanade. Nevertheless, the weekend families, tourists and curious on-lookers were game enough to give the bands a go, even if alternative music wasn’t their cup of tea.

The average age of the crowd was probably between 16 and 27, but you’d be surprised – even some of the older folk wanted a piece of the action. On the last night, UW spotted a few ‘young-at-hearts’ among the Chillout Stage crowd, including an uncle with his newspaper in tow, and a wheelchair-bound couple at KL band Couple’s set. Evidently, they weren’t all there by choice – the poor Auntie had her fingers permanently stuck in her ears. Her husband, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be complaining. [^top]

The Craziness at The Arena

Last Days of April rock the Arena.

Though Baybeats attendees had 3 venues to choose from to enjoy great music, the real fans congregated at The Arena, where bands like Last Days Of April, Return To Fall, Whence He Came, Buddhiston, Surreal, Electrico and many others rocked the place with their dynamic and energetic sets.

Aside from the music, the happenings there were also fun to watch. The bands certainly relished throwing, into the crowd, stuff like water bottles, CDs and badges (thanks to the generous guys of Return To Fall), and even drum sticks, 1 of which was promptly thrown back on stage during Surreal’s set! Clearly, the crowd enjoyed themselves, and showed their appreciation by brandishing their lighters (a la Nirvana, maybe?), flashing the ‘rock’ sign, and by getting down into some playful moshing. Alas, the men in blue came in to break things up. Party-poopers. [^top]

The Upclose and Personal Sessions

Sandy and Pimluck of Venus Butterfly.

Fans wanting to meet their favourite bands didn’t have to camp for hours backstage just to get a glimpse. All they had to do was head down to The Village (which also sold band merchandise and food for the hungry hordes) for the nightly upclose and personal sessions with bands like Supermarket Hero, Blueline Medic, Venus Butterfly, Kenneth Ishak and Last Days of April.

During each session, they answered audience members’ questions and performed acoustic sets. It was great to have the bands come down to connect and interact with their audience, instead of us just watching them perform on stage.

The band that probably got most personal with the crowd was all-girl Thai band Venus Butterfly, who used their feminine charms to their benefit. As they performed and talked about themselves, the girls drew lots of cheers (and wedding proposals!) from the guys in the audience. Spurred on, the girls also crooned the birthday song to one lucky birthday boy. [^top]

The Support

The guys of Whence He Came. Lead singer Joshua wore a Buddhiston shirt on stage.

Whether the bands at Baybeats knew each other personally or not, they were readily supporting each other by encouraging the audience to catch each other’s sets, or simply by wearing each other’s band shirts. Aside from the internal encouragement, the bands were also very encouraged by the support given by the local fans and fest-goers alike.

“It’s great that Singaporeans are out here [at Baybeats] enjoying themselves, and that the whole city’s into it,” remarked Joshua Wong, lead singer/guitarist of Hong Kong band Whence He Came, “The government backs [Baybeats] too. It’s good. This is all about supporting the bands here. ”

Agreeing with Joshua was fest-goer Gabriel Teo, 24, who also thinks that more music festivals like Baybeats should be held locally.

“Our local music scene is very small, but it has moved from smaller, independent showcases to much bigger festivals like Baybeats. The scene is growing,” said Gabriel, “And [Baybeats] is really doing its part to promote local music. It’s definitely a step forward since it’s also government aided.”

Baybeats may still have quite a way to go before attaining Warped Tour status, but it’s certainly making a name for itself in the local music circle. Artistes like Venus Butterfly consider it a “great honour” to be able to perform at Baybeats.

“We heard that Baybeats is a big festival here in Singapore,” exclaimed bassist Katy, “And we’re so proud to be able to play here.” [^top]

The popular merch stall.

The Not-So-Goods

Call us biased, but we really did have a great time at Baybeats. But okay, to be fair, here are some things UW didn’t really fancy too much:

As the music stops and the lights are dimmed, peace is restored to the Merlion’s territory once more. Life may go on as normal, but us alternative/indie music lovers will continue its quiet anticipation for next year’s Baybeats. We just can’t wait.

Pictures by Michelle Tan.