REVIEW - St. JEROME'S LANEWAY FESTIVAL SINGAPORE 2012

Last year's torrential rain did not seem to dampened concert goers from attending this year's St. Jerome's Laneway Festival. With a new line-up and public pressure to impress, was Laneway Fest a success?

The implementation of having two stages made the show run smoothly. The stages were mounted side-by-side; a band would play on one stage, then when their set was over, the next band can start to play on the other stage, thus eliminating time spent on setting up equipment.

Cults opened the festival with such earnestness that it was a shame that the crowd present wasn't at capacity. Yuck was next but while the performance was engaging, their people skill were not. Still, it was a pleasure watching a nonchalant Mariko Doi pound away on the bass while front man, Daniel Blumberg disappear into one of his fugue moments making faces.

While we can speculate on what the show would be like if WU LYF hadn't pulled out of the lineup, Chairlift was a fitting replacement for the press-shy band. Front woman, Caroline Polachek, brought the crowd to their feet with Bruises and the mouthful-of-a-title, Amanaemonesia.

Unlike last year, the rain made a brief visit as a light drizzle before clearing way for the sun. The crowd started to feel the heat until thoughts of "wouldn't it be nice if it would rain" started creeping into the collective mind-set.

Given Laneway Fest’s penchant for throwing balls out of left field, the electro-operatic performance by Austra accompanied by the choreography of twin back-up singers, Sari and Romy Lightman, certainly fit the bill.

One of the many highlights of the festival came from Girls. Lead singer, Christopher Owens, came out on a stage adorned with flowers and began a soulful rendition of Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You (news of Houston’s death was reported that morning). The crowd sang along to the chorus as Owens’ voice teetered under the emotional strains of the dedication.

The Drums were met with the frenzy of their (mostly female) fans; Anna Calvi wows with her delivery emanating from her petite frame and the ever-dapper Twin Shadow put on an energetic performance despite the humidity. The tone of the festival shifted when Laura Marling appeared on stage with and belted out more sombre and introspective pieces.

The prize for “Working Through Murphy’s Law” goes to The Pains of Being Pure At Heart as technical glitches plagued their set. Despite the hiccups, the band trudged through to the end. Toro Y Moi brought the festival on track with his mellow brand of music. Feist gave a spirited delivery and her rapport with the audience bellied her ability as a consummate performer.

Midnight loomed when The Horrors takes the stage. The Southend on Sea band wow the crowd but tested their patience with a last piece that regressed into jangly guitar riffs.

Finally, electronic act, M83, closed off the festival with a stellar performance and dazzling lightshow display; a perfect footnote to an otherwise impressive festival.