The All-American Rejects: Kept A Dirty Little Secret.

27 February, Singapore

One would expect that when chart-topping band The All-American Rejects were to drop by to the remote (or otherwise) island of Singapore, much would be advertised and charged for.

But to the fans’ pleasant surprise, the Rejects promotional performance, consisting of a six-song line-up, was – and this is almost unheard of in a country known as ‘Fine City’ – absolutely free.

The show was almost a hush-hush in the beginning (“The Rejects? Free show? Singapore? No way!”) but the crowd turn-up proved that all the gossip and iffy information was worth trusting. All fans had to do in order to get in for free was don a striped apparel.

The band was flown in especially for the Nokia Music lounge on Friday, Feb 27, and came on at 10 pm on a stage set-up like no other.

With a less than cinematic backdrop of a beat-down construction site, the Rejects played an energetic albeit brief set on a raised stage, overlooking Zouk (popular night-club) carpark where the audience stood, necks craned to glimpse their idols. It was the one gig where it’s almost virtually pointless to score a spot in the front row.

The set-list was a toss-up between old and newer songs. Hitting off on the right note with the 2002 hit, Swing, Swing, the band brought the oomph back into old favorites, and got the crowd yelling for more upon performance of songs from their latest album, When the World Comes Down.

Vocalist and bassist, Tyson Ritter was more than an entertainment, oozing the kind of sexual confidence you see in the better front-men of modern rock bands.

“You might remember us best as the band who gave you dirty little secrets,” he drawled. “You might remember us as the band who helped you move along. But I forever hope, that every time we come back, we will be the band…that Gives You Hell!”

Ending of with a bang though a lack of encore (slightly disappointing for those of us who had been hoping for a repeat of their all-too funny and almost epic cover of Britney Spears’ Womanizer), the Rejects definitely gave some hell that night - though only the best kind of hell one could have ask for.