asian correspondent trisha takanawa explores the limits of the nanny state

'at a festival it's OK to smile at strangers or talk to your neigbours'. although this quote comes from a brit, it's so singaporan to put it as the opening words for the programme of the beach music festival here. you are explicitly told what behaviour is permited. smiling is granted, it seems.

or if you look too gay on the stage and make an ironic comment that you'll do a song 'about how you love singapore', it might well be your last tune, 15 minutes short of 40 mins gig time.

with the controlled freedom, zookout 2007 didn't look as the music festival at all, very clean and tidy, everyone from they-say-20000 behaving well. it was more like a party in the disneyland rather than the sex, drugs and rockenroll type of night.

the line up was alright though.
smiling asian girls in bikinis even better.