Leeson Carefully

Tonight I went with some friends to catch Leeson at the Prince of Wales backpackers' pub in Little India.


Despite the cramped, intimate setting, they played with a full band and belted out 7 originals and 3 covers. It was, admittedly, an unspectacular gig, but there's always a feel-good factor about watching people you know perform.

They may have butchered The Smiths' "There is a Light that Never Goes Out", but they did a tight rendition of Bowie's "Heroes". The highlight for me, however, was a complete reworking of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" with nothing but its lyrics intact. I honestly can't tell if the band meant it as a joke, because it actually had a rather understated, heartfelt beauty.

As it turns out, this gig was Leeson's swan song, since their bassist and their chief songwriter will be leaving for Australia to study soon. My guitarist friend later told me that the rest of them would probably carry on doing just acoustic gigs for the time being. He also invited me to jam with them since they're currently looking for a keyboardist. I don't know if I'll take up that offer, given (i) my false starts with other bands and (ii) my intimidating backlog of schoolwork. But we'll see.