The Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra performance on Saturday night was fantastic. I don't think I've ever been to a concert at the Esplanade where the crowd was so enthusiastic from the get-go. From the moment the band started up till they played the final song of the night, the audience in the stalls were standing up throughout and jumping/dancing the night away. As for me, stuck up in the front row of Circle 2, all I could do was dance in my chair while crazily waving the lightstick all audience members were given upon entry.

I hadn't heard of the 10-men band prior to the Mosaic Music Festival and certainly didn't expect them to have that huge a following in Singapore. And yet, this turned out to the most awesome performance I'd ever been to, at least in the history of all the Mosaic performances I've been to.

Every member of the band was very... Japanese. From the way they danced to the way they moved when they played their instruments to the way they spoke and sang. "Good evening, Singapore, tonight we exchange energy. You give us good energy and we give you big energy back!" the lead singer said by way of introduction. It was just so Engrish, it made me giggle. Hee!

Was the exchange of energy good? It was very good indeed. I'd been drinking right before the performance and, in fact, had been fairly inebriated right before the show, but all the dancing and the moving sobered me right up. Playing a mixture of big band, jazz, soft rock and of course, ska, the TSPO never failed to keep people entertained. Every moment, something would be happening. Either the lead singer would be hoarsely shouting his way through a song, or the saxophonist would be indulging in some crazy dancing, and so on and so forth.

I'm really glad I took a chance on this band. I'd never left a concert feeling so energised yet exhausted before.