There’s something about live performances that takes you to another dimension—and that’s what Laneway did to me.

 

St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival in Singapore is the biggest music event on this tiny island. The festival has grown in scale from its original venue at Fort Canning Park in 2011 to The Meadow at Gardens by the Bay, which became the playground of more than 10,000 people.

 

I had the chance to go for the second time this year with some friends who flew in just to catch the gig.

 

Windy weather

 

The cloudy, windy weather last Saturday made the 12-hour festival more enjoyable this year.

 

The lineup, which boasted of 18 acts, featured debut appearances by Savages, Haim, Kurt Vile, Xxyyxx, Frightened Rabbit, Chvrches and James Blake. This year also saw the inclusion of Singaporean artists.

 

Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy took us to a rocking riptide start as we danced and people started to trickle in. The set of another Australian act, The Jezabels, carried on the energy from the earlier performers.

 

Disappointed

 

I was really looking forward to the live version of “Ffunny Ffrends” by Unknown Mortal Orchestra, but sadly, I was disappointed because it didn’t sound as good as I hoped.

 

I have to admit that a few bands were too loud for me, though I was still happy to sway along to their music.

 

Scottish group Frightened Rabbit noticed how laid-back the crowd had become at one point, so the vocalist yelled, “a big shout-out to everyone up on the hill, thanks for nothing!”

 

The response came via loud cheers.

 

London-based band Savages commanded the stage with intensity, even better live than Swedish singer-songwriter Lykke Li.

 

Another London band, Daughter, was quite memorable because Elena Tonra cried towards the end of the last song, “Youth.” She also made “Landfill” my new favorite song; she had me at “I want you so much, but I hate your guts.”

 

Australian band Jagwar Ma’s act was plagued with the nonappearance of frontman Gabriel Winterfield, leading Jono Ma to perform solo DJ sets. And I was looking forward to hearing “Man I Need” live, sigh.

 

Chvrches from Scotland livened up the crowd with rave-worthy tunes. But I thought the lights were too much, and the music was getting too loud for me as the set ended. Then again, maybe it’s just old age.

 

Best moments

 

Perhaps the festival’s best moments happened with Haim and James Blake onstage. The latter’s magical appeal was mesmerizing. A friend described him as a Pied Piper: “He can do anything, bring us anywhere, and we’d willingly follow him.”

 

I couldn’t agree more. I’d want him to perform for me live all day, every day.

 

I wanted to be best friends with Haim. Having caught this American band’s first appearance on “Saturday Night Live” in November, I was immediately attracted. The energy of this trio of sisters, specially the percussion prowess of its youngest, Alana Mychal Haim, put me on fire.

 

I fought my way to a good spot near the stage to get a good view. The band treated the crowd to an impromptu steel-drum session, which had me screaming at the top of my lungs from too much excitement.

 

I won’t mind getting into that dimension again, where I could get lost and allow all my senses to move along with every beat of the music.

 

Looking back, St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival was an avalanche of emotions—exhilarating, soothing, mesmerizing—that took me to the unfamiliar with a sense of awe and wonder.