Enjoy it while it lasts, indeed

Events: TOPMAN presents Spector live in concert (or was it showcase?)
Date: October 6, 2012 (Saturday)
Venue: The Stage, Avenue K, Malaysia

It’s one of those nights, when days leading up to it, you already have a very strong feeling that it’s gonna be a good night, a good, good night. You look forward to it, listening to their only album again and again, day in and day out, to and from work, so sure with all your heart that just based on those 12 songs, it’s going to be a great live show. And when the day has arrived, you decided to dress up a little bit more than you usually would to a music gig, hoping you would not miss out on this good night you have been feeling about for days.

For a Saturday night, the indie chic Londoners Spector got everyone on an immediate high with their dance-y number Friday Night, Don’t Ever Let it End, and continued to keep us on a high throughout with their popular singles like Celestine (which I like to pretend is my song, for obvious reasons, heh) and Chevy Thunder. A good percentage of the crowd was nothing short of style, compared to vocalist Frederick Macpherson, guitarist Christopher Burman, bassist Thomas Shickle, synthesiser Jed Cullen and drummer Danny Blandy, donned to the nines onstage with their quirky yet suave style.

However, we were still building ourselves up to a high, when Frederick introduced their first single, Never Fade Away, to be the last song of the night. Perhaps he was pulling our legs, we thought. One cannot perform a gig in Malaysia, or anywhere else really, without having an encore. But when the tech guy at the side of the stage started packing up their guitars and amps, we reluctantly and begrudgingly accepted that it was indeed over.

What about True Love (For Now), or Lay Low, or No Adventure? Heck, what about the rest of their album, or perhaps a few cover numbers thrown in the mix? Anything to make a gig like this seem more like a concert rather than a showcase, really.

Personally, I thought it was a waste to have them only perform a mere 45-minute set, so much so that a lot of us were left lost and confused when things ended so abruptly. Where do we go now, when we have initially planned for this to last the entire night, we found ourselves asking. (Which I find somewhat amusing, actually, despite the conundrum).

Spector is what I could say is a new band that I have gotten on with rather effortlessly after such a long time, and I rarely get on with new bands so easily. I cannot remember the last time I would actually pore over the CD sleeve just so I could sing along perfectly with a band whilst driving, instead of haphazardly mumbling along what I consider as proper words. I could listen to Frederick’s melodic love drunk voice forever.

But then again, that’s just one regular concert goer’s sentiments. For all I know, it could be the band’s, or the sponsor’s, or the organiser’s request to only perform a short one. It is just a shame that we only got to have a taste of Spector, instead of the whole ordeal.

I suppose they meant it when they say “enjoy it while it lasts”, eh?