WHAT: Stereophonics - The Keep Calm And Carry On Tour
VENUE: Fort Canning Park
ATTENDANCE: 5,000
WHEN: Last Friday (April 30)

A SLIPPER could have changed the entire concert experience for those at Welsh alternative rock band Stereophonics' gig last Friday.

Picture this: The gig is approaching the tail end of the concert, and frontman Kelly Jones is enthusiastically belting out one of the bands' earliest hits, Local Boy In A Photograph. Suddenly, a lone flip-flop is flung towards the stage, right at Jones.

Unlike former United States president George W. Bush in December 2008, Jones was not quick enough to duck the flying footwear, and it hit the 35-yearold squarely in the head.

Jones stopped mid-song, muttered a curt "Thank you" and stormed offstage. The rest of the band - including bassist Richard Jones, guitarist Adam Zindani and drummer Javier Weyler - quickly followed suit.

Oh dear. The audience wondered if this meant an abrupt end to the show.

But the band chose to take its own good advice - "keep calm and carry on", which is the title of its latest record. The lads, who were here for their second Singapore performance, returned just minutes later to carry on with their set, which consisted of two more songs.

By that point, the Phonics - as they are affectionately called by fans - had already put on what can only be described as a flawless, no-frills rock 'n' roll show.

Appearing at 9.15pm, they ploughed through a plethora of numbers from their seven-album catalogue, from Mr Writer (2001) to Maybe Tomorrow (2003) and Superman (2005).

As an outfit, the band - which started out playing the club scene in the village of Cwmaman in Wales in 1992 - was so tight musically that you would have been forgiven for thinking you were listening to one of its CDs.

All raspy vocals and furrowed brow, Jones had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand. His emotive rendition of Traffic, from debut album Word Gets Around (1997), was one of the 90-minute show's highest points.

And so, after leading their following in a frenzied singalong of the anthemic Dakota (2005), Jones and the Stereophonics took their leave.

Let's hope they will remember Singapore for its supportive - and not slipper-flinging - fans.