It Had To Be Harry
Harry Connick, Jr.

That charm oozing out of every fiber of his being, those leading-man good looks and, of course, that voice that would melt even the coldest of hearts… Ladies and gentleman, there is only one Harry Connick Jr. — and what a show he put on!

Playing mostly songs inspired by his hometown New Orleans and that were off his latest record Oh, My NOLA, the incomparable crooner, pianist and entertainer wooed the audience with his charismatic stage presence and an exuberant, rollicking performance.

From big band, jive and jazz to blues, gospel, honky tonk and good ol' boogie woogie, it was all there in an abundant, bubbling, heartfelt stew of a tribute to the hometown he so obviously loves.

The night started on a cool and calm note with tracks like Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey? and Working in a Coal Mine, but things soon heated up as Harry got up close and personal to chat with his appreciative audience.

"I was told when you go to Asia, the people are very reserved," he said. "You're not reserved!"

And the performance only got hotter with trombone player Lucien Barbarin, who almost stole the show from the man himself, strutting his stuff with powerfully eloquent, muted trombone work.

At the end, Harry and his band were greeted with a roaring standing ovation which led to the inevitable encore, featuring one of his most memorable hits It Had to Be You.

And it just had to be Harry Connick Jr. who could kick things off for Mosaic with such a bang.

The audience said:

"It was great from the start to the end. I want to ask him for some dance tips!" - Aliah Ali, undergrad

"He was flawless. We were just waiting for It Had to Be You!" - Cindy Wong, undergrad


"Fantastic. Just fantastic! The best part was when he performed Basin Street Blues." - Diana Chan, associate with CRX

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Death Jazz Lives!
SOIL & "PIMP" SESSIONS



It seems almost a travesty to refer to a SOIL & "PIMP" SESSIONS performance as a gig; it's more of… an (out-of-body) experience.

From the second they set foot on stage, the boys from Tokyo gave off an irrepressible energy that had the audience going into a flurry of psychotic slam dances and sultry salsas for the whole night.

Dubbing their sound "death jazz", SOIL & "PIMP" SESSIONS started the evening with the explosive Makuroke, and continued to make its way through a repertoire of crowd pleasers like Low Life and Suffocation. Things went through the roof, however, when the band broke out into one of its most popular tracks, Summer Goddess, sending the audience into an uncontrollable frenzy.

Not letting a simple thing like a language barrier get in their way, the guys—particularly unofficial frontman and "agitator" Shacho — kept the talking to a minimum, speaking only to charge up their fans even more, like leading them in a punk-inspired chant of "Soil! Soil" as the crowd wildly punched their arms up in the air.

By the time they finished things off with Satsuriku, there wasn’t a single person in the Heineken Music Club that wasn't sweaty, nursing a killer sore throat…and clamouring for more.


Later on at the All Stars Jam after SOIL & "PIMP" SESSIONS
Later in the night, things got wilder and steamier as several Mosaic performers invaded the stage for a completely improvised jam session. Drummer Jimmy Lee, keyboardist Mei Shum and bassist Colin Yong started off with jazz straightup. Then they were joined by red-hot lady trumpeter Saskia Laroo and her band members including beat-boxer Stewlocks, as well as SOIL & "PIMP" SESSIONS’ keyboardist and drummer Josei and Midorin, which shifted the sound to a more hip-hop vibe. Continuing into the wee hours, it was hard to tell who was having more fun: the audience who were grooving along - or the musicians themselves.

The audience said:

"I have never seen live jazz like that before. These Japanese blokes sure are crazy!" - Stanley Tan, accountant

"I'm surprised that they're quite famous here. I saw them once in Tokyo and they were much better tonight." - Takashi, banker


"The world is falling apart--but their hair was gorgeous!" - Sophie Wang, mortuarist

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Urban Union


8pm: The minute the babelicious Jeassea Thyidor bounced onstage and sang her first power-packed note, the venue started filling, and from then on, it was all systems go as the Singapore Idol finalist, TV host and popular St James Power Station resident singer and her band powered through contemporary R&B, funk-soul-pop from the likes of Chaka Khan, Alicia Keys and the Doobie Brothers.

9.15pm: Next up was sexy, sassy, sweet quartet Quadrose from Malaysia. And from booty shakin' Beyonce hits to slow-groove numbers from the likes of Faith Evans, it was a performance that was all sweet vocal harmonies and irrepressible giggles - "It's our first time in Singapore...we're so excited…we love you! Hehe!"

Quotes of the Day

"Damn hot sia!" - Adil, student (on Jessea Thyidor)

"You know the first thing we did when we got here, we went shopping! We went to Bugis Street and it was crazeeeee!! Hehe!" - Quadrose (to the audience)

"If you know the song, just sing along, or clap, or snap! Hehe!" - Quadrose

"Huh? Uh…the mood tonight is great. There may be a hardcore-construction vibe going on, but the mood is still great." - Shee, passer-by travelling from the Powerhouse to SOIL & "PIMP" SESSIONS

"Soil! Soil!" - SOIL & "PIMP" SESSIONS (to the audience)