Why, oh why, do men have nipples? That was a question that was being thrown to the crowd at Esplanade Park on Saturday evening. Pondering over this were five men who looked nothing like the beach boys they claimed to be – not that anyone in the crowd cared about this or about the perennial question that was left unanswered.
Joseph Wong pondering over why men have nipples.
The five – Budak Pantai, or “Beach Boys” translated from Malay, really needs no introduction – having been on the scene for some 18 years. And while much of what Budak Pantai does on stage isn’t taken too seriously, the group possesses the talent of any accomplished a cappella group. It was in a cappella that the group excels in – although of late a guitar accompanies most of what they do on stage. The guitar as is explained officially is an addition as the guitarist, Danny Lai, “did not know what to do with his hands on stage”.
A guitar was introduced to the a cappella group because the would be guitarist, Danny Lai, ‘did not know what to do with his hands on stage’.
The group’s repertoire is a great testament to the singing prowess of the group – they take on a range of familiar favourites that range from Il Divo’s Unbreak My Heart to popular Hokkien tunes – all done of course with a twist. The songs – or parodies of them (if I may call them that) are peppered with lyrics that never fail to draw a chuckle – some with local references as well in local languages or dialects. One, Plain White T’s Hey There Delilah even comes with an East London accent courtesy of Michael Loh – who more often than not doubles up as the group’s spokesperson.
Michael Loh (a projection on shipping containers which formed the back of the stage).
It was with Mike that I had a very brief chat with after a performance in November last year at the Republic Polytechnic. That was probably something I should really have prepared a blog post on – but as I was in between trips and rather short of time, and since a friend had already put up an excellent blog post on that performance, I never really got down to doing it.
The group on stage.
The group traces its origins to Rollin’ Good Times – a television talent contest in the 1990s that sought the best imitations of popular artistes (those with more than a few grey hairs like me might remember it). That also provides a clue as to the origins of the name Budak Pantai – the group aspired to be a local version of the Beach Boys, winning a Beach Boys sound-alike segment of the television contest in 1994.
Ho Kah Keh who hits the low notes.
Gordon Ng who hits the hard to reach notes and entertains with his facial expressions as much as with his voice and sound effects.
When not pondering over a redundant part of the male anatomy, the group’s members masquerade paper-pushers – there even is a banker and a lawyer among the five. I did wonder how, with full-time jobs, the five managed to stay together all these years – I was given to understand the blame for that rested with the plates of chicken rice that brings them together and over which their creative juices flow.
Another projection of Michael Loh …
Another of guitarist Danny Lai.
Talented and creative they no doubt are. What, however, does set them apart must be the sense of humour, which provides a very unique blend of humour and guitar accompanied a cappella that never fails to entertain. Entertain they did – at times to rapturous laughter, a performance at the end of which had the crowd who were most comfortably sprawled on the lawn below the stage on mats laid out for the purpose, baying for an encore. The five were pleased to oblige, observing that as the festival village’s closing act – they had the time to do so. That brought the curtains down on the wonderful array of live performances in the festival village which over the two weeks had drawn many singing and swaying members of the public to the festival village. The attempt to bring the festival to the public must certainly be seen as one that has been extremely successful and if this is what will be seen at the next edition of the Singapore Arts Festival, it would be one that we will certainly want look forward to.
Time to say goodbye …
The crowd that had gathered were enthralled throughout the hour long performance.
A slideshow that contains a few more photograph’s of the evening’s performance:
The Long and Winding Road 
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