For decades, a battle has raged in rock music between Britain and the US. Both are strong when it comes to music.

An old saying says, a British band’s mission is always how to conquer America while on the other hand, American bands are taught that success means planting their feet on British soil.

What if two bands from each side of the Atlantic come to Southeast Asia to play a regional gig? It should be massive.

Britain’s Kasabian and America’s Foo Fighters are planning an excursion to the Asia-Pacific region — to Singapore — which sadly will be their only gig in what is becoming known as the new hot-spot in the world’s touring circus.

Kasabian will play Fort Canning Park alongside another Brit rock phenomenon, The Vaccines, on Feb. 8, while Foo Fighters are scheduled to rock The Padang on March 2. Both are open-air gigs, which are expected to draw thousands of rock fans.

These two gigs are highly anticipated, not only by the Singaporean fans but by fans from around the region. Both bands released their most recent albums in 2011.

Kasabian’s Velociraptor! is the band’s fourth album, which finally brings the band to another stage in rock where they dig deep into the influences of the 1970s. It is a big break to move on from their masterpiece so far, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, which was the band’s third album and one that drew a clutch of awards.

It has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide with 75, making them one of the biggest bands in the country.

Earlier this month, they were nominated once again for the 2012 Brit Awards for the Best British Group category; they had been nominated three times before and won the award in 2010.

The band is led by two charismatic figures: songwriter Sergio Pizzorno and front man Tom Meighan, with backup from Chris Edwards and Ian Matthews.

To date, besides the above-mentioned albums, the band has also released two other good albums: Self Titled was released back in 2004 and the follow-up, Empire, was released in 2006.

Now let’s roll to the American part. Well, it’s sad to say, but you must be living in outer space if you haven’t heard the name Foo Fighters.

The band will mark their comeback to Southeast Asia after stopping off here in the early stage of their career back in 1996. Well, that stopover included a memorable performance in the Jakarta Alternative Festival, which saw the Foo Fighters rock the stage with the Beastie Boys and Sonic Youth.

This time around, there will only be a single gig at The Padang, Singapore, a venue that has been home to concerts in between the F1 night race series for the past few years.

As their reputation has increased over the years, the now five-piece band (after Pat Smear’s return) is highly anticipated to present a really big show.

More than 10,000 people are expected to fill the arena to watch them perform songs from their seven albums, including a few from Wasting Light, their most recent, 2011 release.

This latest album was a significant contribution by the band during 2011 as they mostly toured in America and closed the year by playing Australia.

So, Singapore is quite lucky to add their name as the opening gig for the band’s next tour.

In fact, it will be their first live concert of the year in a big arena — the band will play at the Grammy Awards early in February — which we all expect will be a blast.

Plus, the Foos are getting harder in terms of their music’s decibel levels. Wasting Light saw them pursue another tack in rock music by mixing three guitars played by front man Dave Grohl, guitarist Chris Shiflett and returning member Pat Smear, while the charismatic drummer, Taylor Hawkins, rocks the beat from the back, accompanied by a cool and calm bass player Nate Mendel, who along with Grohl is the one of the original lineup.

The album, despite the low number of singles it produced, was a hit everywhere. The band produced the record with an analog system, something that is mainly avoided by modern musicians nowadays as the new digital method has conquered the “old-but-sexy” way to record songs.

Wasting Light also sees Grohl’s reunion with Butch Vig, the producer of Nirvana’s – Grohl’s previous band — masterpiece album, Nevermind.

Imagine a very large gig with a bang and a huge sound system and wonderful lighting. You surely will get that with the Foos’ gig. Definitely not to be missed.

Now, collect your thoughts, do some preparation and budgeting, browse for accommodation and don’t forget to book the show — it might be selling fast; booking details are listed below. Have a rocking trip to Singapore!

Let’s just hope, next time, our country will be the host.

Kasabian (with support from The Vaccines)

Feb. 8, 2012
Fort Canning Park
www.lamcproductions.com

Foo Fighters

March 2, 2012
The Padang
www.chuggentertaintment.com
Tickets available from: www.sistic.com.sg

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