FOSTER THE PEOPLE LIVE IN SINGAPORE 2012

Date: 14 January 2012
Venue: Fort Gate, Fort Canning Park

THE FIRST CONCERT OF 2012!

Mark Foster – Vocals, keyboard
Mark Pontius – Drums
Cubby Fink – Bass guitar

Concerts at Fort Canning Park are always very energetic – it’s probably due to the excessive amount of sweating involved.

The crowd went wild when they opened with Houdini – one of my favourite tracks from their album! Probably because FTP have only released one album, EVERYONE knew the lyrics to every song! AMAZING!

The extended mix of Pumped Up Kicks was great and everyone went crazy. It was fitting as the final song on the setlist. Cannot wait for them to be back in Singapore with their new album later this year!

“All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You better run, better run, outrun my gun

All the other kids with pumped up kicks
You better run, better run, faster than my bullet”

SETLIST:
Houdini
Miss You
Life On The Nickel
I Would Do Anything
Broken Jaw
Waste
Call It What You Want
Don’t Stop (Colors On The Wall)
Say It Ain’t So (Weezer cover)
Helena Beat
Ruby – encore
Warrant – encore
Pumped Up Kicks – encore

2011: KJ’S REPEAT MODE

Honourable mentions:

1. Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera – Moves Like Jagger
2. NKOTBSB – Don’t Turn Out The Lights
3. The Band Perry – If I Die Young
4. Paramore – Monster
5. David Cook – The Last Goodbye
6. Britney Spears – Criminal
7. Katy Perry – The One That Got Away
8. Rihanna – We Found Love
9. Christina Perri – Jar of Hearts / A Thousand Years
10. Bruno Mars – Grenade / It Will Rain

To be honest, I cannot remember much of what happened in the first half of the year except that I was really into My Chemical Romance and The Script (they came to Singapore!!!). Now, at the end of the year, I can tell you Foster The People‘s album, Torches, has made quite an impression on my eardrums. 😉

Take That re-emerged onto my iPod after they contributed to the end credits of X-Men: First Class. Elsewhere, the introduction of the Warblers on Glee Season 2 brought Darren Criss – his amazing form and voice – to our eyes and ears! I’ve never been this excited about a new character before.

Aldous Huxley: After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.

1, 2, 3, CLOSE YOUR EYES AND COUNT TO FOUR

REAL STEEL
— 4 out of 5 stars

I’m really glad I saw this during its last week of showing. Every boxing match is so exciting! I think if I saw this in the privacy of my own house, I would be punching the air and shouting.

And the moment Hugh Jackman starts to “box”, which is a moment of triumph for him and those around him, you just start to tear up and feel really proud that he’s still got that spark in him.

Dakota Goyo, the boy who plays Hugh Jackman’s son Max Kenton, is so adorable! He’s practically an adult trapped in a boy’s body. I love it when he dances with Atom! Robots do hip-hop!

THE THREE MUSKETEERS
— 3 out of 5 stars

LUKE EVANS!

In my opinion, he’s the only one that looks better than Orlando Bloom with a moustache. Logan Lerman looks really young among all the other actors and since I haven’t read the book since Primary School and no matter how many times I’ve heard it, I can’t pronounce his character’s name – “D’Artagnan”. Give me Aramis anytime.

It seemed a little too action-packed, probably to factor in the 3D effects and as much as I liked a strong female presence, or girl power, I didn’t really get how Milady (Milla Jovovich) fitted in. Thank goodness for Luke Evans – who looks even hotter with glasses!

THE IDES OF MARCH
— 4 out of 5 stars

RYAN GOSLING!

A gripping political thriller that goes behind the scene of Mike Morris’ (George Clooney) presidential campaign. Ryan Gosling stars as Stephen Meyers, a promising Junior Campaign Manager who gets a taste of dirty politics when he gets implicated in matters that snowballs into some serious shit.

I’m not a fan of politics because it’s always very dirty. No matter how one tries to stay upright, somehow they always get pulled into the dirt.

Ryan Gosling is simply on a roll this year, first he dabbles in comedy (Crazy, Stupid, Love.), then action (Drive) and now drama! OMG why is he so talented?! He should totally be 2011: People’s Sexiest Man Alive but he was robbed by Bradley Cooper. If I were there, I would wear Ryan Gosling’s face-mask and protest too!

DRIVE
— 4 and a half out of 5 stars

RYAN GOSLING! (AGAIN!)

This was way more bloody than expected. If I didn’t know better, I would think they were all trained to slash arteries. *splash*

This is the must-see Ryan Gosling movie of the year! Mechanic and stuntsman by day, getaway driver by night, Gosling is the ultimate representation of a man. Always seen in his signature satin scorpion jacket, he gives his all to protect his neighbour, Irene (the lovely Carey Mulligan), when she is implicated in a heist gone wrong.

I love the elevator scene, though it must have frightened Irene. I can hear the bones crack. And his driving is so good, it really inspired me (for the duration of the movie). The ending was bittersweet, and I guess it was expected in a sense because bad guys will always be bad guys.

The soundtrack is also very groovy! Electro-80s-synth pop!

IN TIME
— 3 and a half out of 5 stars

Part of the reason I watched this because it stars:
Justin Timberlake. Matt Bomer. Cillian Murphy. Alex Pettyfer.

In the year 2161, time is everything – it pays for your meals, your rides and you earn it by contributing to the society once your clock starts ticking down from the age of 25. Like everywhere else, there is inequality and Will Salas (Timberlake) discovers this the hard way when he gets wanted by the Timekeepers. Amanda Seyfried’s really pretty in her role here, most probably because she “comes from time” – because time is money. I liked how Will and Sylvia (Seyfriend) becomes the modern day Bonnie and Clyde!

TOWER HEIST
— 3 and a half out of 5 stars

I love heist movies – isn’t it always amazing how they can always pull it off and they don’t show you the final trick till the end of the movie?

How do they rob a man from the very building he owns?

Gabourey Sidibe is really funny in here – I have not found the time to watch her breakthrough movie, Precious, but she appeared in Foster The People’s Don’t Stop MV! So cool! It was funny when Slide (Eddie Murphy) said “lunch is on me” because he had a trick up his sleeve… in a ziploc bag.

IMMORTALS
— 3 and a half out of 5 stars

This is a story of how Theseus (Cavill), a mortal, was chosen by the Gods to defend his people against King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), a ruthless ruler who is after the Epirus Bow to release the titans and destroy humanity.

This show was pretty bloody too. But it was expected because the people behind 300 brought you this! Henry Cavill is sooo chiselled! He’s your future Superman! But of course, I’ve already set my sights on Luke Evans. The Gods are really golden – literally. And pity there’s only one female – Athena (Isabel Lucas) – amongst them. They should have let her done more action scenes! Kellan Lutz (Emmett from the Twilight Saga) is Poseidon – but you can only see his face 35% of the time. Blame it on the mask.

Here’s another collage because the posters were simply beautiful and Luke Evans is so hot!

FOSTER THE PEOPLE – CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT

AWESOME VIDEO.

YOU BETTER RUN, BETTER RUN, OUTRUN MY GUN

Hello, yes, this blog is still alive.
I am too.
~~~ 

CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE.  
— 4 and a half out of 5 stars

Jacob Palmer: I don’t know if I should help you or euthanize you.

Cast featuring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone? Of course I had to watch it.

Not to mention there’s Goslings’ “photoshopped” abs to ogle at. Seeing him in a comedy is a first and I love that he’s so smooth in this movie! One of the my favourite scenes was when Gosling takes Carell’s character shopping. The velcro-ed wallet was so old-school! And there’s that sauna scene.

It’s been a long time since I laughed so much, got charmed by the attractive cast and felt a fuzzy warm feeling at the end. One of the best romantic comedies in ages.

GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE
— 3 and a half out of 5 stars 

I’m a Gleek and I think every Gleek should watch this.

And good marketing there, limiting the movie’s run to only two weeks! Two short weeks!

Lea Michele was simply amazing – don’t you just feel like crying everytime she does a solo? There’s also Darren Criss, doing his thing with The Warblers – the best thing that happened to Glee besides Darren Criss himself. Dancing-wise, Harry Shum Jr. and Heather Morris take the hat. Loved it when they danced to Valerie. And of course, Heather Morris’ boobs were amazing in 3D – she said so herself! Best of all, Kevin McHale (Artie) was dancing too!

Loved the encore performance of Somebody To Love during the credits – one of my favourite songs from the entire series!

BAD TEACHER
— 3 out of 5 stars

Cameron Diaz plays a teacher who is working for the bonus to get a boob job in order to get the attention of Scott (Justin Timberlake), a wealthy substitute teacher. Lots of weed-related jokes and that dry humping scene was kinda eew. Kaitlyn Dever from Justified and Noah Munck from iCarly play kids in Diaz’s class and I just loved that dodgeball scene (“Twilight, look at me”). Now you know you got to hit the ball THROUGH the object of your affection.

But I gotta say, Cameron Diaz looks real good for the age (she’s 39 this year) and set everything on fire with that car wash scene.

TALIHINA SKY: THE STORY OF KINGS OF LEON
— 4 out of 5 stars 

The highlight of SIFF 2011!

This is probably the only time any KOL movie will be on the screens of Singapore so if you saw it, good for you. There are plenty of videos from their Youth & Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak days and it was pretty refreshing to see them so young and… bearded. OMG I forgot how much I missed them all bearded and long-haired.

There was this really old video of Nathan and Caleb singing their gospels and they looked so clean-cut! Not much mention about Matthew (unfortunately) since it was mainly focused on the three brothers and their piercing blue eyes, but I loved that they used the photo where young Matthew broke two arms. Do you know how difficult it is to break both arms?

CHALET GIRL
— 3 and a half out of 5 stars 

Ed Westwick! He is so much more charming with a British accent!

Besides, it’s been so long since there was a British rom-com. And if you don’t know how to ski, watching people ski can be enriching too. Felicity Jones really shined in this and I can’t wait to watch her and Anton Yelchin in Like Crazy!!!

ABDUCTION
— 3 and a half out of 5 stars 

This is the only other movie I’ve seen Taylor Lautner in outside of the Twilight Saga; the other being The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl. He was so adorable as Sharkboy!

Anyway, in this movie, his real identity is a mess because he found himself on a missing persons’ website. Internet 101: be careful of what information you give out and always cover your webcam! Despite all the guns and chases, Lautner still manages to find time for some smooching. At least he took Time Management 101. I bet he did most of his stunts! Cool!

This marks the first time I’ve seen an actor from the original Swedish Millenium Trilogy films – Michael Nyqvist on American screens. He will be in MI4: Ghost Protocol while Noomi Rapace will be in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Can’t wait!

FRIGHT NIGHT
— 4 out of 5 stars 

This movie scared the shit out of me. Colin Farrell is very hot as the vampire in the day but at night, those fangs and distorted facial features is just not hot. This vampire is the real deal; afraid of holy water and crosses, loves the fear in his victims and cannot enter the house unless invited. But being an old-school vampire, he morphs into something-like-a-bat in his true form.

But half the time, I was semi-crushing on David Tennant, who plays stylized vampire hunter Peter Vincent with the fake sideburns, eyeliner and leather pants. He steals every scene he’s in and even when he’s about to die, he still has his sense of humour. Totally crazy about him! Anton Yelchin totally kicked ass in the final scene (his suit!), just as those creatures from the soil popped up was so scary! This just shows remakes aren’t always horrible.

ATTACK THE BLOCK
— 4 out of 5 stars 

Sad to say, this one scared the shit out of me too. I don’t like aliens with luminous, multiple rows of teeth! They really love to tear up things with those teeth.

The British slang and humour really helped to make this movie more interesting. The way they swear is very charming! Since the kids are the ones protecting the block, I was really amazed at what “weapons” they kept hidden in their houses! They are concerned with things like prepaid texts as one line explains it all: “I’ve only got one text left. It’s too much madness to explain in one text!” One thing you’ve got to admire is how these group of guys stand up for each other! I’ve got a weakness for this kinda brotherhood thing.

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS
— 4 out of 5 stars 

Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis having benefits equals benefits for the audience. They have such hot bodies! Though the premise is similar to No Strings Attached that starred Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman, this one just packs more chemistry between the leads. Woody Harrelson (Tommy) was hilarious as the guy trying to make JT switch sides.

Tommy: Everybody want a shortcut in life, my guidebook is simple: YOU WANNA LOSE WEIGHT? Stop eating, fatty! YOU WANNA MAKE MONEY? Work you ass off, lazy! YOU WANNA BE HAPPY? Find someone you like and never let ’em go!

A big plus: they used Foster The People’s Pumped Up Kicks during the end credits!

FOSTER THE PEOPLE – HELENA BEAT (LOLLAPALOOZA 2011)

This song is getting stuck in my head:

Yeah yeah and it’s okay.
I tie my hands up to a chair so I don’t fall that way.
Yeah yeah and I’m alright.
I took a sip of something poison but I’ll hold on tight.

 

//I love it when frontmen get sweaty.

FOSTER THE PEOPLE – CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT (LIVE AT SOLANA BEACH)

You’ve taken your words and you take your judgments
And stick them onto everything
If it don’t conform to what you were born into,
Then you run the other way
You say, “Now what’s your style and who do you listen to?”
Who cares?
Well that rat race ladder-climbing fake-face smile’s got nothing on me

We’ve got nothing to lose
You better run and hide
Yeah you’ve crossed the line
I’ve got a knife behind my back (just sayin’)
We’ve got nothing to prove
Your social guides give you swollen eyes
But what I’ve got can’t be bought so you can just

Call it what you want
Call it what you want
I said just call it what you want
Call it what you want

FOSTER THE PEOPLE – HOUDINI (LIVE AT SOLANA BEACH)

I’ve got shackles on, my words are tied
Fear can make you compromise
With the lights turned up, it’s hard to hide
Sometimes I want to disappear

FOSTER THE PEOPLE – HELENA BEAT

FOSTER THE PEOPLE – PUMPED UP KICKS

BEST NEW SONG I’VE HEARD IN A WHILE.

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks,
you’d better run, better run, outrun my gun.
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks,
you’d better run, better run, faster than my bullet.