by Taina Teravainen

Sundown Festival 2010
Sundown Festival returns this year in the wake of 2009’s hugely successful Seouled Out, featuring South Korean supergroups Brown Eyed Girls and FT Island. Prominent names from the Japanese and Korean music scene will be bringing a K-Pop and J-Rock frenzy to our shores again, with acts like Afterschool, F.Cuz, SuG and LM.C on the lineup. There will also be Asian Fashion Parades – you can look forward to seeing eye-catching Harajuku Street fashion.

Date and time: 31 July, 8pm

Venue: Universal Studios Singapore, Sentosa

Tickets are available at http://www.sistic.com.sg at $118.

Wallflower by Inch Chua
Formerly the vocalist of local band Allura, solo artist Inch Chua will be performing her quirky blend of electronica and acoustic music, featuring tunes from her debut EP The Bedroom and new album Wallflower, both of which were recorded within her own bedroom and are free for downloading off her website. She will be performing with her backing musicians, known as The Metric System. Inch has played in concerts everywhere from Texas to Beijing, but this is her first full concert here at home.

Date and time: 30 July, 9.30pm
Venue: Esplanade Recital Studio
Tickets are available at http://www.sistic.com.sg at $25.

Rakugolobal: Japanese Sit Down Comedy
Rakugo is a type of traditional Japanese storytelling, where a single performer sits on stage and tells jokes and monologues. Rakugolobal features comedienne Showko, whose performances of classical rakugo merged with puppetry have been enjoyed by audiences in London, Singapore and Japan. Don’t miss the chance to catch this 400-year-old art form live.

Date and time: 1 August, 3pm (In Japanese). 2 August, 7.30pm (In English).
Venue: The Japanese Association, Level 3
Tickets are available at http://www.gatecrash.com.sg at $45.
 

Tasmanian Spring Bay Mussels at Oriole Café
Seafood lovers, take note. From 1 – 15 August, Oriole Café will be flying in live mussels twice a week from Spring Bay in Tasmania, allowing you to savour their deep-sea taste at its freshest. Order the mussels cooked in a variety of methods, such as sautéed in white wine, garlic and herbs, or cooked in a spicy Tunisan hot chilli sauce.

Date: 1 – 15 August

Venue: #01-01, Pan Pacific Serviced Suites

Please call 6238 8348 for reservations.
All mussel dishes are priced at $24.

Watch Precious
Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) is 16, pregnant for the 2nd time by her absent father and is suffering emotional and physical abuse under her mother’s hand. She is also concealing another secret: she can neither read nor write, but has managed to get consistently get good grades. Grabbing the opportunity when she is offered a transfer to an alternative school, Precious begins a journey that enables her to overcome the pain and darkness in her life with strength and determination.

This film is based on the novel Push by Sapphire, and won 3 awards at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

The Strip Show Book Launch Party
After losing everything as a business woman, Mel. dnirmala left her job as a shipping manager and wrote her first book at 35, entitled The Strip Show. She recounts the major events in her life, everything from her childhood, being the victim of sexual abuse and experiencing financial turmoil. Local artists such as stand-up comedian Kumar, percussion group Wicked Aura Batucuda and rapper/producer Mark Bonafide will be putting together an exciting show to celebrate her official book launch at The Boiler Room.

Date and time: 31 July, 4pm onwards
Venue: The Boiler Room
Tickets are available at http://www.tdc.sg at $15.