Hi guys,
It must had been a while since I last visited Wala Wala… Reason being really the distance from my new habitat…
But I popped by last Saturday to meet up with my best pal, Ting. It had also been a while since I caught up with her so, why not…
To my surprise, Wala Wala changed quite a bit… It had “live” bands now… actually, its been a while already, so I’ve heard… goes to show how long have I not been going to Wala Wala… The Wala Wala that I used to know is one that does not have air-conditioning and its very much a laid back black and white watering hole (lots of ang mohs and Indians then) with a rather mature neighbourhood crowd… The Wala Wala now, is more hip and the younger crowd seems to stream in from as far as Bedok… and last Saturday was packed… Bar-top dancing, however, doesn’t seem to catch on at Wala Wala (erm… don’t think they have a dancing license anyway)…
So what brings in the crowd??? Though the price of drinks at Wala Wala is not exactly cheap to begin with, I personally think that the band is the main attraction... couldn’t see how else could Wala Wala sustain that kind of crowd… afterall, how many night spots have good bands these days… or for that matter, how many bars have bands at all??? The few good ones that I frequent like Harry’s @ Boat Quay; BarNone @ the Mariott; Somerset Bar @ Westin; etc… all have very established resident bands there… in terms of music, I must admit that they are hard to beat… but in terms of entertainment, I think the band @ Wala Wala scores fairly well… That makes every penny its worth...
“The Unexpected Band”, as they are named, is a very versatile 4-piece band playing a wide repertoire of music ranging from rock to contemporary pop… Shirlyn, the lead singer/guitarist, has strong vocals… the “Kit Chan” look-a-like (only that she’s prettier), also has a bubbly personality… and I swear that she would make it as a stand-up comic if she ever decides not to sing… her rapport with the crowd is good and her ability to whip up the crowd into a frenzy is quite a feat… Fellow guitarist, Roy, shares her sense of humour and he’s kinda entertaining with his nimble fingers and silly jokes from time to time… Azri, the bassist, doubles as vocals too and his “Guns & Roses” covers are really good… Brandon, the quiet man on the drums, who often goes unnoticed, could be one hell of a drummer… he rocked the whole bar with his burst display of banging that I swear, is one of the best that I’ve seen… the entire bar just erupted when he did his “show of drummer ship”… the roars of applauds went on rolls...
I guess what makes “The Unexpected Band” stands out, is that they interact very well with the crowd on stage… very intimate... apart from the good music and jokes, they also make patrons feel very much at home… And at closing time, it was still packed and the crowd was still shouting for more… And if it wasn’t for the licensing restrictions, the party would had gone on…
It’s a pity that I didn’t have my digi-V-cam with me… else, I would had recorded a sample clip of their show to post it here… Nonetheless, I had a great time at Wala Wala… and if there’s anything to draw me from my other regular hangouts with “live” bands, it would be “The Unexpected Band”… truly unexpected… so, Wala Wala, I’d be back… and guys… you should check out the band too…
PS: The Unexpected Band only plays at Wala Wala on Thursdays and Saturdays…
(KPNN-NiteSpots)
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