The future’s too bright. Gotta wear shades

What happens exactly when a performance is fashioned out of acrobatics, live music with the energy of a full fledged orchestra, and fireworks of extreme dramatic bravura?

You will witness the Campus Green in Singapore Management University teemed with a sea of people, from families to photography aficionados and teenagers preferring to paint the town red on a Friday night, in a number you find hard to believe.

And… you will also be blown away.

PAN.OPTIKUM, the bellwether of outdoor musical theatre productions from Berlin, Germany, engaged in their highly specialized craft in an act called The Loop of Life, from the Campus Green and the Li Ka Shing Library. With the National Museum as the backdrop, the multidisciplinary performance culminated in the splendor of fireworks so bright, it could have been daylight.

I overheard an auntie behind me asking her husband in awe and disbelief, “How they do the fireworks until like that?” to which he quirkily replied, “I don’t know. You ask the boss, and then let me know.”

I would have giggled if the missus did not express her annoyance with me earlier for blocking her view of the speeding pyrotechnics.

After PAN.OPTIKUM concluded their act around 11pm, the crowd migrated to Campus Green for Bersama Hijau, aptly named since hijau means green in Malay.

Marrying the traditional Malay hand held drum, the kompang, and the electrifying sounds of local band Amateur was a refreshing take on fusion music. Their gamut of musical potential was hilariously showcased when they sang a verse of Justin Timberlake’s Sexy Back a la dikir barat style.

Veteran musicians, Tiramisu, besides presenting their own panache of rock, also exhibited their eclectic choice of costumes. I like music, and I love it more when musicians incorporate their personalities and stage philosophy in their outfits. Tiramisu did just that, with wigs, ge-tai worthy glitter coats, and jumpsuits. Their drummer anchored the look with white sunglasses. I like to think the optical accesory sums up Tiramisu's presence as this; future's too bright. Gotta wear shades.