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‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ creator filming food travel show Posted: 15 Sep 2012 08:11 PM PDT Keller is set to film a new food and travel show. — Picture courtesy of ©Deborah Jones LOS ANGELES, Sept 16 — The writer of US sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond" is pitching a food travel series that puts the TV producer in front of the camera and into the expert hands of top chefs like Thomas Keller and Nobu Matsuhisa. According to Deadline.com, Phil Rosenthal will be shooting a pilot for the as yet unnamed series with Keller in London, where the pair will spend nine days eating out in the city, visiting everything from highbrow restaurants to hole in the wall joints. Keller is a Michelin-starred chef whose flagship restaurant The French Laundry is considered the standard bearer for fine dining in California. Last year, the American chef opened a pop-up version of the restaurant in luxury department store Harrods in London. Other planned episodes include a trip to Italy with chef and noted baker Nancy Silverton, and a trip to Japan with Matsuhisa, chef of the Nobu restaurant empire which is co-owned by actor Robert De Niro. Many observers, meanwhile, have already drawn comparison to popular food TV host Anthony Bourdain's travel show "No Reservations", in which he embarks on culinary tours in foreign countries with the help of local experts. The story also points out that Rosenthal is a big foodie, with investments in popular California eateries like Hungry Cat, Mozza — co-run by Silverton —  and Bouchon, owned by Keller. — AFP-Relaxnews

‘Seafood charcuterie’ poised to become next North American food trend Posted: 15 Sep 2012 07:32 PM PDT A new trendspotting report predicts seafood charcuterie to be the next big thing. — Picture courtesy of ©sutsaiy/Shutterstock.com NEW YORK, Sept 16 — It's predicted to be the next big trend to make waves in the restaurant industry: platters of preserved, salted, smoked and cured fish designed for sharing, dubbed "seafood charcuterie". Following in the heels of the charcuterie trend, chefs in the US are applying the same preservation methods to fish and serving them on large platters for guests to share, a trend spotted by industry publication Nation's Restaurant News. Like red meat charcuterie boards which encourage the act of sharing, picking and finger-licking, seafood boards are being served with an assortment of smoked fish mousse, salt cured hamachi, soy-cured sturgeon and scallop sausage terrine, for example, says NRN. In a marine take on the Ploughman's lunch — a British board of cheese, bread, pickles, onions, chutney, ham and paté — chefs are also designing seafood charcuterie platters with fish paté, pickled onions, basil, toast, chilis, lemon thyme and basil. And while the industry tracker stops short of calling it a "full-fledged" trend in the US, a quick search reveals that seafood charcuterie is catching on most notably in cities like Boston and Toronto. As noted by NRN, chefs at Boston restaurant 80 Thoreau, for instance, have made fish rillettes, smoked bluefish paté and other cured seafoods, while Toronto eatery Hoof Raw Bar makes a cured fish board with scallops, mackerel, black cod and albacore tuna. — AFP-Relaxnews

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Man United and Arsenal move up after emphatic wins Posted: 15 Sep 2012 09:02 AM PDT LONDON, Sept 15 – Manchester United and Arsenal moved into the top four of the Premier League after emphatic home wins over Wigan Athletic and Southampton today. United beat Wigan Athletic 4-0 at Old Trafford with Paul Scholes among the scorers on his 700th appearance for the club, while Arsenal hammered Southampton 6-1 at the Emirates Stadium to hand the newly-promoted side a fourth successive defeat. Chelsea stayed top of the table but lost their 100 per cent record after their west London derby at Queens Park Rangers ended in a 0-0 draw. Champions Manchester City also dropped points in a 1-1 draw at Stoke City where Peter Crouch put the home side ahead before Javi Garcia replied with his first goal for his new side. Chelsea remain the early leaders with 10 points from four matches, followed by Manchester United (9), Arsenal (8) and Manchester City (8). Swansea, who started the day in second place, slipped down to fifth after losing 2-0 at Aston Villa, while West Bromwich Albion, who were third at the start, lost 3-0 at Fulham where Dimitar Berbatov scored twice and Albion had Peter Odemwingie sent off in the first half. – Reuters

Sangakkara named cricketer of the year at ICC awards Posted: 15 Sep 2012 08:53 AM PDT COLOMBO, Sept 15 – Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara was named ICC cricketer of the year and test player of the year at the governing body's annual awards ceremony in Colombo today. India's Virat Kohli took the one-day player of the year honour and West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine was named emerging cricketer of the year. Sangakkara scored 1,444 runs in 14 test matches between August 2011 and August 2012 at an average of 60.16, with five centuries and five half-centuries. He also amassed 1,457 runs at 42.85 from 37 one-day internationals in the same period, during which he picked up 42 dismissals as his country's wicketkeeper. The 34-year-old edged out a shortlist of South Africa's Hashim Amla and Vernon Philander and Australia's Michael Clarke to win the award. "This is an amazing honour," said Sangakkara, who also won the people's choice award. "I've seen the people who have won it before me and the nominees too, to be named alongside them is wonderful. I admire them greatly and even more so when I looked up at their records on the screen this evening." India's Kohli was named one-day cricketer of the year for his 1,733 limited-overs runs at an average of 66.65. He said: "I think I have tried to keep things as simple as possible and it's worked for me on the field. This year has been a learning curve along the way from the seniors in the team. It's been an all-round effort and I'm very happy to have won this award." Narine, 24, from Trinidad, claimed 12 wickets at 31.50 from three test matches for the West Indies. South African batsman Richard Levi won the international Twenty20 performance of the year award for his 51-ball 117 not out against New Zealand in Hamilton in February. The awards were slightly overshadowed by Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal not being nominated for an individual award despite his heroics over the last 12 months. Pakistan in the end decided not to boycott the ceremony. The World Twenty20 takes place in Sri Lanka between Sept. 18 and Oct. 7. – Reuters

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Universal announces sequels for ‘Bourne’ saga and ‘Ted’ Posted: 15 Sep 2012 05:20 AM PDT Jeremy Renner in 'The Bourne Legacy'. – All Rights Reserved/Universal Pictures. LOS ANGELES, Sept 15 – NBC Universal's CEO announced his intention to bank on the studio's latest hits, The Bourne Legacy and Ted, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In a recent talk at a conference in Los Angeles, CEO Steve Burke announced plans for the future of Universal Studios. Burke hopes to add other film franchises to Fast and Furious, which is getting a sixth chapter scheduled to hit theatres in May 2013. The Bourne Legacy will get several follow-ups based on the new lead character Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner). Seth McFarlane's Ted is also getting a sequel "as soon as we can," announced Burke. The comedy starring Mark Wahlberg and his foul-mouthed dope-smoking teddy bear has already grossed US$395 million on a budget of US$50 million, which provides a clear incentive for a follow-up. – AFP/Relaxnews

China filmmakers should focus on domestic market: Chen Posted: 15 Sep 2012 04:16 AM PDT TORONTO, Sept 15 – Internationally acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige, citing a "big cultural gap" between the East and West that makes foreign markets harder to crack, on Tuesday urged his compatriots to make movies first for China's box office. China's domestic market "is big and it's important to satisfy the Chinese audience first, just like Hollywood films (are) made first for American audiences, not really international audiences," Chen (picture) said at a press conference at the Toronto International Film Festival. "I don't think there is a need for all Chinese-speaking films to be shown abroad," he said, urging Chinese filmmakers to focus on "the domestic market first." The director of the Oscar-nominated movie "Farewell my Concubine" (1993), the first Chinese film to win a Palme d'Or at Cannes, is arguably in a strong position to promote Chinese films abroad and many Chinese expect that of him. "The problem is that there is still quite a big cultural gap between East and West," he told reporters. "I'm not sure that Western audiences are that interested in films made in the East, honestly." Similarly, Chinese audiences are "not interested" in movies made in Canada, or the United States or elsewhere. "They'll say, 'I'm not interested, I can't relate to those characters, and so on.' That shows that the culture difference is quite big." Chen's comments shocked proponents of exporting Chinese culture and put him at odds with a growing trend of international cooperation on financing, production and distribution of films. Hollywood and Bollywood, the world's largest movie industries, for example, in 2010 signed a landmark pact to boost cooperation for producing and distributing their films. This has fuelled a swell of cross-border co-productions and star-swaps that led Bollywood superstar Anil Kapoor last year to say he "feels more alive" after starting fresh in Hollywood. Chen, who switches between English and Mandarin with ease, last came to Toronto with his film "Together" in 2002, and is now back to seek international distribution for his new thriller "Caught in the Web." The prescient fable about the dangers of cyber-bullying and online voyeurism has already been theatrically released in China and was scheduled to premiere internationally in Toronto on Wednesday. The Toronto film festival, which runs through September 16, is the biggest in North America and has traditionally been a key event for Oscar-conscious studios and distributors. "Caught in the Web" was a smash hit in China. Chen however is ambiguous about its potential to win over North American audiences, despite positive reviews. The film opens with a beautiful young woman, Ye Lanqiu (Gao Yuanyuan) who has been diagnosed with advanced lymphatic cancer. Numb with shock and hiding behind dark sunglasses, she is oblivious to goings-on around her on a crowded city bus and fails to register the conductor's persistent request that she give up her seat for an elderly pensioner. A short video of the incident taken by another passenger goes viral, triggering a massive hate-mail campaign against the already stricken Lanqiu, turning her into a public pariah. Chen said he made the movie to capture the dramatic changes shaping China, such as the introduction of citizen journalism. "We don't see (many films) about the changes taking place in China," he lamented. "That's why I wanted to do this film. It brings a very interesting new image of China and also a new message from a very complex situation there." – AFP/Relaxnews

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Deaf gerbils hear again with human stem cells Posted: 15 Sep 2012 12:16 AM PDT LONDON, Sept 15 — Scientists have restored hearing to deaf gerbils using human embryonic stem cells in an advance that could eventually help people with an intractable form of deafness caused by nerve damage. The procedure needs further animal research to assess safety and long-term effectiveness but researchers said this week the experiment was an important proof of concept, marking a further advance in the growing field of regenerative medicine. Scientists say they have found a way of helping deaf gerbils hear sound once more. — Stock photo Marcelo Rivolta from Britain's University of Sheffield, who led the research, said the first patients could receive cell therapy for hearing loss in clinical trials in "a few years". After treating 18 gerbils with complete deafness in one ear, his team reported in the journal Nature that stem cells produced an average 46 per cent recovery in hearing function, as measured by electrical signals in the animals' brains. "If this was a human patient, it would mean going from being so deaf as to be unable to hear a lorry or truck on the street to being able to maintain a conversation," Rivolta told reporters. "What we have shown here is functional recovery using human stem cells, which is unique." Gerbils were selected for the test because their hearing range is similar to that of humans, while mice — the usual choice for laboratory tests — hear at higher frequencies. The animals were deafened using a drug to destroy their auditory nerves before receiving an injection of around 50,000 human embryonic stem cells, which had previously been treated with growth factors to coax them into becoming ear cells. The response among the gerbils varied, depending on how well the new cells were integrated into the cochlea, the spiral-shaped cavity in the inner ear. Deafness is caused primarily by loss of sensory hair cells in the ear and auditory nerves. Since these cells are created only in the womb, there is no way to repair them once they have been damaged, resulting in permanent hearing loss. Cochlear implants offer a partial solution to loss of hair cells but there is no treatment for nerve loss, or auditory neuropathy, which accounts for 10-15 per cent of cases of profound deafness. Rivolta said stem-cell treatment would initially address nerve damage, although it could also be used in a wider range of patients if it was used in combination with implants. Significant uncertainties remain. In particular, the ability of embryonic stem cells to morph into any of the other cell types in the body means they can cause tumours — something that was not seen in the 10-week gerbil study but which Rivolta said needed longer study. Another danger is that transplanted cells may be rejected by the recipient's immune system. The research on deafness parallels more advanced work on the eye, where stem cells have already been shown to improve vision in small-scale human tests. Doctors hope one day to use stem cells to treat a wide range of diseases such as Parkinson's, diabetes and cancer. But localised approaches in the eye or ear may be a promising first step, since fewer cells are involved. Ralph Holme of the charity Action on Hearing Loss, which helped fund the Sheffield research, said the work was "tremendously encouraging" and gave hope of a fix to some types of hearing loss in the future. "For the millions of people for whom hearing loss is eroding their quality of life, this can't come soon enough," he said. — Reuters

US regulators: Muscle ache ointments may cause burns Posted: 15 Sep 2012 12:05 AM PDT Consumers are reporting mild to severe skin burns from ointments for muscle and joint aches, says the US FDA. — AFP/Relaxnews LOS ANGELES, Sept 15 — US drug regulators said this week that consumers are reporting mild to severe skin burns from Bengay and other over-the-counter ointments for muscle and joint aches. In many of the incidents, which were rare overall, the burns appeared after the first application and sometimes led to complications serious enough to warrant hospitalisation, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. The products cited include Johnson and Johnson's Bengay, Sanofi's Icy Hot, the generic Capzasin, Ari-Med's Flexall and Mentholatum, produced by a company of the same name. — AFP/Relaxnews

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Bekas bendahari Umno Sabah sertai PKR Posted: 15 Sep 2012 12:25 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, 15 Sept — Bekas Bendahari Jawatankuasa Perhubungan Umno Sabah Tan Sri Ibrahim Menudin hari ini sah menyertai PKR. Perkara itu disahkan kepada The Malaysian Insider oleh Timbalan Presiden PKR, Azmin Ali yang dihubungi hari ini. "Sepertinya macam itu ... tapi kita akan maklumkan lagi," kata Azmin (gambar). Ibrahim yang memegang jawatan tersebut telah digantikan oleh Ketua Menteri Sabah sekarang, Datuk Seri Musa Aman adalah merupakan Pengerusi bukan eksekutif Suria Capital Holdings yang dimiliki kerajaan. Azmin dalam laman Twitternya sebelum ini turut menyatakan akan ada berita penting yang akan dimaklumkan. "Baru tiba di Labuan. Dalam perjalanan ke Bilik Gerakan KEADILAN Parlimen Labuan. Jam 3 petang ada pengumuman penting," kata Azmin dalam Twitternya pagi tadi. Sementara itu, Ahli Parlimen Batu Chua Tian Chang dalam Twitternya turut berkata kehadiran Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim di Sabah hari ini turut disambut oleh Ibrahim di Lapangan Terbang Labuan dan mereka turut makan tengahari bersama di The Waterfront Labuan. Ibrahim merupakan pemimpin keempat meninggalkan Barisan Nasional (BN) di Sabah mengikut jejak langkah Naib Presiden Pasokmomogun Kadazan Dusun Murut (Upko) Datuk Maijol Mahap, Timbalan Presiden Upko, Datuk Seri Wilfred Bumburing yang juga Ahli Parlimen Tuaran, dan Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin yang merupakan timbalan menteri pusat. Kerusi di  Sabah dan Sarawak dijangka menjadi kubu pertahanan BN menjelang pilihan raya umum akan datang, termasuk Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan, menyumbang 57 kerusi, atau 25 peratus daripada 222 kerusi Parlimen. Pada pilihan raya 2008, BN tewas majoriti dua pertiga Parlimen dengan tewas lima negeri termasuk Kelantan di Semenanjung. Peti undi BN datang dari Sabah dan Sarawak, termasuk Labuan, apabila parti pemerintah itu memenangi 55 kerusi Parlimen kecuali dua di tangan pembangkang sebelum ini. Bagaimanapun, BN kini hanya memiliki 53 kerusi Parlimen dan pembangkang pula memiliki empat kerusi.

Bersyukur kerana Umno direstui Ilahi, kata Najib Posted: 14 Sep 2012 11:55 PM PDT PEKAN, 15 Sept — Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berkata anggota Umno perlu bersyukur kerana perjuangan Umno selama ini diberkati Allah dalam memimpin perjuangan membela bangsa, agama dan negara. Najib, yang juga Presiden Umno, berkata sejak penubuhannya 66 tahun lepas, Umno terus mendapat restu Ilahi untuk memperjuangkan kemakmuran negara selama 55 tahun pemerintahan di negara ini. "Kitalah parti paling berjaya di dunia, tidak ada parti berdiri tegak berbanding parti Umno. "Tanpa mendabik dada dan angkuh, kita perlu bersyukur, rasa rendah diri bahawa kejayaan yangg dicapai selama ini adalah dengan izin Allah," katanya ketika berucap merasmikan persidangan perwakilan Umno bahagian Pekan, di sini hari ini. Turut hadir isteri beliau Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor dan 932 perwakilan dari 145 cawangan di bahagian berkenaan. "Kemampuan kita belum tentu dapat kejayaan tanpa keizinan dari Allah," kata Najib. Beliau berkata apa yang penting kini ialah barisan kepimpinan Umno dan anggotanya perlu tanya pada diri apa yang dilakukan sehingga Allah mencintai perjuangan itu. "Allah akan sayang, kasih kita jika kita berjuang mengikut landasan Allah dalam barisan teratur. "Cara bertindak, bererti kita ditadbir urus dengan kemas, sistematik, bekerja kuat, itu bererti perjuangan dikasihi Allah. "Selagi tak berjuang dalam perjuangan yang kukuh dan teratur, Allah tidak akan mengasihi perjuangan. "Kalau kita idamkan kejayaaan kita mesti bertindak dalam barisan teratur, sebagai parti, sebagai bangunan tersusun, kita akan perlihatkan kejayaan pada pilihan raya akan datang," katanya. Najib berkata apa yang penting semua anggota Umno perlu mengetepikan kepentingan diri, sebaliknya meletakkan kepentingan parti yang memperjuangkan bangsa dan agama itu melebihi segala-galanya. Dalam perkembangan lain, Najib, yang juga Ketua Umno bahagian Pekan, turut menempelak pihak pembangkang yang mendakwa kononnya parlimen Pekan masih tersisih daripada arus pembangunan meskipun parlimen itu disandang oleh seorang Perdana Menteri. "Ada pemimpin pembangkang datang ke Pekan, kata tak ada langsung pembangunan. Sama ada mereka tak nampak, mata telah dibutakan Tuhan, atau telinga dipekakkan oleh tuhan, atau sebenarnya lidah mereka bercabang," katanya. Perdana Menteri kemudiannya menyenaraikan pelbagai projek pembangunan di Pekan yang bernilai beratus juta, antaranya pembinaan lebuh raya Kuantan-Pekan, projek infrastruktur dan pendidikan. — Bernama

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Mengurus ‘indie’ Posted: 14 Sep 2012 06:16 PM PDT 15 SEPT — Pasca-2008 bukan saja latar politik berubah, latar seni budaya terutama scene "indie" baik penerbitan, muzik, teater, filem dan penganjuran acara seni turut berubah. Sebelumnya maksud indie bagi saya bebas tafsir bergantung kepada sang pemakna. Namun secara umum indie dalam takrif Malaysia adalah sesuatu yang frinjan atau pinggiran (fringe), alternatif, eksperimental, urban dan apa-apa yang berlawanan dengan arus perdana. Sebelum 2008 penganjuran acara berbau indie sangat sedikit dan jika ada didominasi muzik dan kekerapannya sekejap ada dan sekejap tidak ada. Dari segi geografi, kebanyakan acara masih berpusat di Kuala Lumpur. Sekadar menyebut beberapa nama acara; Acara Baca Puisi Keliling (Apuke), Layar Tancap, Maskara dan Rantai. Penerbitan terutama berbahasa kebangsaan boleh dikira dengan jari; Sindiket Soljah, Sang Freud Press dan Republik Kutu. Kini suasana berubah; penganjuran acara mulai tersebar ke luar Kuala Lumpur; Projek Rabak di Ipoh, JOHO di Johor Baru, Frinjan di Shah Alam, Buku Jalanan di lapan buah kota termasuk Sabah dan Sarawak dan banyak lagi yang tidak tersebut di sini. Penerbitan bersemangat "indie" sudah merambah pasar yang lebih besar tanpa perlu menjadi Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), malah beberapa judul dari penerbit Fixi yang dimiliki Amir Muhammad dan Lejen Press menjadi buku terlaris di beberapa kedai buku tempatan. Pementasan teater bersemangat "indie" pula jika kena cara boleh membuat keuntungan, sesuatu yang tidak pernah terfikir pada masa dulu. Sebagai penggerak awal Frinjan yang aktif pasca-2008 dan bersama-sama membangun scene, apa yang terhasil sekarang sangat di luar dugaan dan harus disyukuri. Meskipun semakin besar, semangat "indie" hampir semua yang terlibat dilihat tetap utuh walaupun pendekatan mengalami penyesuaian dan strategi baru digunapakai. Apa yang saya maksud dengan semangat "indie" adalah obsesi untuk menghasilkan sesuatu yang terbaik dan diingini tanpa campur tangan pihak-pihak yang bermentaliti untung rugi. Walau tidak dinafikan faktor wang sangat penting untuk kesinambungan, ada beza yang jelas antara kepentingan wang untuk mengisi perjuangan dan kepentingan wang untuk mengeksploitasi dan kemudian hilang apabila tidak menguntungkan. Persoalan sekarang bagaimana untuk mengurus scene "indie" yang sedang rancak ini supaya tidak mengulangi kesalahan yang dilakukan tanpa sedar oleh beberapa scene yang akhirnya sekadar menjadi tren seperti berbasikal fixie. Sudah lumrah sesuatu scene akan mengalami pasang surut, namun biarlah ia berlaku dengan meninggalkan isi dan jejak supaya suatu saat akan didokumentasi dan dijadikan kajian akademik. Lebih cemerlang jika debat intelektual muncul darinya. Maka, keperluan untuk mengurus sangat penting supaya daya tahan akan lebih lama dan tidak terjebak dengan sensasi luaran tetapi miskin dalaman.  Menurut saya, salah satu mekanisme kawalan yang boleh dilakukan adalah dengan tidak bersifat eksklusif, dalam erti kata lain hanya untuk kawan-kawan yang disukai. Sudah menjadi tabiat scene selalunya tidak ramah terhadap kawan-kawan yang belum dikenali, apatah lagi kawan-kawan yang tidak disukai. Meski tidak dinafikan sokongan kawan-kawan yang disukai amat penting, namun dengan berjiwa kecil acapkali mematikan apa yang kita mulakan dengan kadar segera. Lalu bagi saya, kerjasama atau koloborasi dengan pihak-pihak lain terutama yang berbeza baik ideologi, bahasa, metode dan lain-lain amat penting supaya pengembangan dapat berjalan. Jangan dikeranakan kelompok berseberangan berideologi kanan atau berbahasa elit kita menjarakkan diri. Malang jika memilih untuk menolak diversiti dan pluralisme dalam berkesenian kerana yang akan lahir adalah minda tertutup.  Terakhir, jangan sesekali menganggap gerakan "indie" kita paling benar dan cool sehingga lahir pandangan mereka yang memilih jalur berbeza sebagai kampungan, mat rempit, tidak urban dan sebagainya. Mengaitkan sesuatu gerakan untuk sekadar dilihat berbeza dan kelihatan cool adalah pembodohan yang wajib dilawan. Mengatakan jika hadir ke Pekan Frinjan sebagai contoh adalah aksi cool dan ke Jom Heboh sebagai tidak cool adalah dosa besar dan buah paku keras yang akan membunuh gerakan. Sebuah gerakan harus berusaha untuk merakyat, merata dan mempersatu bukan sebaliknya membezakan darjat dan memecah belah atas faktor luaran. Andai perbezaan terlahir atas faktor dalaman atau isi dan pertandingan idea itu barangkali masih boleh diterima. Lebih keji perbezaan dan perpecahan dilahirkan kerana merebut sang lelaki atau sang wanita. Introspeksi atau melihat semula wajar dilakukan dari masa ke semasa supaya scene indie akan terus bersinar secara semangat sampai bila-bila seperti contoh scene di Korea Selatan dan Indonesia. Arus perdana dan indie wujud untuk saling lengkap melengkapi dan kita semua bertanggungjawab untuk merayakannya dan mengurus keduanya supaya lambat laun pengisian yang berbicara bukannya wang ringgit dan kepalsuan semata. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Here comes the sun Posted: 14 Sep 2012 06:08 PM PDT SEPT 15 — There will always be loads of great bands that end up unjustly overlooked in this world. Sometimes it's plain bad luck and mismanagement, sometimes it's just coming into being at the wrong time, and sometimes it can even be a simple case of being unjustly ignored even when you have all the right ingredients already in place. In the world of power pop, this is overwhelmingly the norm as almost every single great power pop band that has come into being so far in the history of rock 'n' roll has been pushed away far into the margins of history. Only one power pop band defied that rule; Big Star, a band that made three blindingly great records in the 1970s that barely shifted any copies, only to become cult heroes in the age of alternative and indie rock as their sonic template became the sonic touchstone for so many of the bands of today. It resulted in the almost improbable release of a CD box set containing all three albums and all sorts of rarities and oddities they managed to record in their short lifespan. I'm setting out this fact not because I'm saying that the band that I'm about to mention next is as great as Big Star, but to merely illustrate how wrong people can be during a band's lifetime. About two weeks back, on August 29 and 30, an indie pop band from the Philippines calling themselves The Camerawalls made a two-night stop in Kuala Lumpur to play at No Black Tie, one of KL's premier jazz venues. I had made a note of this low-key show around one or two months in advance as I've been an ardent admirer of the band since the last two years or so, when I first heard them after they released a smashing EP called "Bread & Circuses." In fact, I've actually been in contact with the band after I first heard that EP online so I could write about them in a local online music website in the hope of introducing their brilliance to KL's more discerning listening public. Happening just a few weeks after the Raya holidays and also during the lead-up to National Day eve, I anticipated (or probably more just hoping) a decent enough turnout for one of the Philippines' leading indie pop bands making their "live" debut here in KL. The reality was quite otherwise on the first day of the show on August 29 as there were very few of the usual faces I see at gigs around town who turned up for the show. Maybe I set my hopes up a wee bit too high, but this is an indie pop band we're talking about here and even in hipster circles there have always been room for good indie pop bands, especially those channelling the spirit of classic '80s indie pop like The Smiths and Morrissey. Those who did turn up undoubtedly left with "wowed" expressions on their faces as The Camerawalls, who played two sets that night, showed some really amazing understanding of what makes indie pop and jangle pop tick. Their originals, especially with songs from their EP like "My Life's Arithmetic Means" and "Birthday Wishes" (this one won the grand prize at the international John Lennon Songwriting Competition — yes it's that good), are no doubt true highlights of their sets. But what's even more amazing to my ears are their quite impressive Beatles covers. I've always thought that their debut album has probably a bit too much The Smiths in it, which was something their follow-up EP corrected by suddenly displaying a real flair for Beatlesque jangle pop, so the Beatles covers are definitely expected.  What I didn't expect was how so many of the covers are George Harrison songs, delivered so winningly that I found myself getting goosebumps on more than one occasion, especially on their cover of "Something" and the jingle-jangle magic of "Here Comes The Sun". I've always avoided doing cover songs in my band's "live" sets because I've always thought of myself as too simplistic and punk rock of a musician to truly pull off covers and do it justice in my own way. And covering The Beatles is a sure-shot way of giving people a ready-made stick to beat you with should you mess up. So it takes quite some balls for the boys of The Camerawalls to decide to do so, and it takes quite some talent to pull it off as spectacularly as they did that night. Maybe too few people knew of them enough to actually attend the show and witness for themselves how special this little Filipino band is, which is a crying shame. But the boys are planning another stop here in the future, so let's hope more people will find out about them by then. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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