09.18.08
Up, up and away!
Ever since I heard about No Black Tie two years ago while I was still in Australia, I told myself that if ever I return back to Malaysia, I will make an effort to go there and check out the live music there. Besides, it has been a while too that I have been wanting to check out the indie music scene in the country, so it was a good opportunity for me to stop by On The Up last night.
No Black Tie was a small bar hidden at a back street in the KL city, and the crammed interior was tasteful at best. The slim bar works its way to the back, where dim lights compromised with the black surrounding, giving just enough light to guide the fans to their reserved seats. At the back, three orange lights punctuated the platform that was the stage, anticipating to shine their light on the five featured groups for the night.
Around 9.30PM, Brian took the stage and introduced the first band of the night, Free to Fall - an all-girls’ band from Klang. They had an entourage lining the staircase up to the second floor, and they reminded me a lot of a milder version of Letters to Cleo. Their easygoing beats and perfect female vocals worked well with their simple lyrics of boys they like, just like how every guy bands would sing about girls they like. They were quite a typical indie pop girl band, singing away about being saved and finding freedom. Not really outstanding, but they were good enough to kick start a good night ahead.
Next up was Apple Juice, a male band with a female vocal. They kicked off their set with their own rendition of Fly Me to the Moon, but did not really capture the crowd. It did not really impressed me too, because I remember Brian saying, “no covers, just originals tonight” from the performers, so they kind of hit off the wrong note there.
But luckily, they kind of made up after that with their versatile song choices. The lead’s throaty voice brought the listeners from Lounge music – which was boring to say the least; they looked like a bunch of resident musicians you see at hotel lobby lounges – to a more catchy Blues beat, before moving on to the conventional Pop. Maybe it was just me, but for some reason, the group portrayed a cocky kind of aura throughout their set. Not that I have a problem with that, but the lead was after all good with her voice so I guess it is no sin to feel confident about yourself.
The crowd was beginning to buzz with heightened conversations and booze by the time the third set came on. Najwa Mahiaddin had already made it in the indie scene when she stepped on the stage carried by the hearty applause. All she had to do that night was turn on her charm and she would already have the entire crowd eating at the palm of her hand.
Najwa was like a storyteller in the form of a singer. She told stories about a French guy named John Pierre, and a girl called Alice, spending sweet and memorable times at the cafe sipping coffee and eating crossaints, as well as about a little boy who lost her mother during the war. She also reminisced the time when she missed a lover while studying in Melbourne, and about finding love at last.
Her songs were the kind you would listen to when you cannot sleep at night, and it was only you and the moon and the Godsent voice of this songstress. The moment she played the piano and sang with her immaculate voice, the crowd just stopped and listened. Nobody dared to breathe or move as everyone was so captivated by her voice. As if a shift of the pinned and needled leg would make one miss out too much of her. When her last note echoed off the wooden walls around us, the crowd burst for an encore.
She made the RM10 spent that night – RM2 for every act – worth every cent’s while.
Wrapping up the night was the quirky Jazz group, Seven, the only all-guy band for the night. The lead already had us at his Afro-do, but his drunken humour made us want more from them. Intoducing their band as “five members with two imaginary friends”, they wowed the crowd with their funky beats that always find a reason to jazz up every song after a languid start. I would say they were the most fun band to listen to that night, as the lead cracked jokes in between songs, and even during songs, as he bravely admitted a cheesy one he wrote when he was 16 – and boy, was it really cheesy – and one he wrote after an inspired sex-making session. Not to mention that he was already drunk when he went on stage, and even raised his bottle of Heineken to cheers with the crowd too. And to pull off a set without going off key throughout intoxicated, it was not bad. Not bad at all.
All in all, it was quite a nice experience for me. I have always liked going to music events, so it was definitely my kind of way to have a good time. And to know there is a place like you would usually see in television shows, where music fans gather at tables with drinks with a small stage up front big enough to hold the performers in a tight grip together, here where you are and where you can visit from time to time, it brings a smile to my face knowing that there is an underground music scene alive still, despite the immense overshadow of commercialism.
Peyton Sawyer once said kids went to concerts and acoustic shows in search of hope in music. That night, hope was very much alive in every passing second and every beating heart and every exhaling breath.
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On the Up is a monthly music event organised by Time Out KL at No Black Tie.
09.14.08
Sunsets at five.
It felt like a heavy burden was lifted off my chest the moment the plane landed in the tiny airstrip of the Pangkor Island Airport. It was one thing taking off from the Subang Airport, where it was noisy as hell what with the place being under construction, and we had to wait for an hour or so for the plane to arrive. It was another thing taking off with a propeller airplane.
Yes, it was my first time hopping on such a plane, and as I took the seat in the 48-seater, I could not help thinking of that flipped and moss-grown yellow propeller plane in Lost, the one that got Boone killed off the show. It did no good to my senses too when I took my seat, and saw that the wall was agap and I could actually see the outside through the little crack. Scared the crap out of me too when the co-pilot pressed the wrong button and we were shooting down head first to the ground for like 3 seconds.
Don’t get me wrong. I do like flying and it was an experience flying in these old skool planes. My first experience just was not really smooth flowing. Heh.
The last time I was in Pangkor Island, I was cooped up in a resort I could not remember the name of for a church retreat. So that did not really count as being to Pangkor Island before, thus it was nice to finally get to go back there again and reset my holiday experience there. And boy, was it resetted.
A chartered bus – or truck, more like it – rolled up to the so-called airport and loaded us all up to bring us to Pangkor Island Beach Resort, which was a short journey because it was after all a small island and the resort was just practically at the backyard of the airport. On board, we were entertained for a while by the resident performers of the resort with Paris Hilton’s Stars. Meh.
Upon arriving at the resort, we were greeted by a band of kompang players and presentation of leis to each of us. I thought it was quite a nice touch to things. It almost felt like the plane had landed us in Hawaii instead, if not for the kompang band. Yet, the resort made an effort during our stay there to convince us that being in Pangkor Island is definitely a nice and quiet place for an island retreat.
We each had a room to ourselves, and all of the rooms – and I mean all – face the ocean. So, if you leave the balcony door open, you could hear the waves lapping against the shores. It was the best thing to hear at night.
However, beware of leaving your balcony doors opened for too long because Pangkor has got the meanest and cheekiest monkeys. Apon arriving into his room, my photographer, Yusman, opened his balcony door and immediately a whole family of monkeys rushed in and helped themselves to the complimentary food basket. One of them saw the shock on Yusman’s face that he even threw a banana back at him to cheer him up. That was the joke for the entire trip, but I bet none of us would like to be in Yusman’s shoes then when the monkeys attacked. So yes, keep balcony door opened with care.
Take it from me that Pangkor Island is a quiet island, literally, because there is not much life outslde of the resorts, especially at night. So, it was a perfect time for me to retreat back to my room after a sumptuous dinner and leave the TV off for the night. There was a sitting area by the balcony door, where I could hear the oceans on full blast as the fan spun quietly overhead while I caught up on lost chapters of Stephen King’s The Talisman.
It felt really serene. Like the world just fell apart somewhere out there, and I was in a refuge where nothing could touch me.
Every day, around 6.30PM without fail, a school of hornbills will start appearing around the premises. The resort has set up a hornbill feeding station for them, so they would just stop by and hang around the guests like they are part of the species. I have not actually seen anyone going up to them and patting them, so I do not know just exactly how friendly they are. But usually, I guess they are just there for seeing and snapping pictures. I do not get to see them everyday in the city, you see, so it was still a nice feeling being so close to their kind.
Asides from the hornbills and good food, and perhaps the notorious monkeys residing at the jungle next to the resort, one thing Mother Nature has blessed the resort – and the island – with is this.
Sunsets.
What more can I say but that it takes my breath away every dusk watching the sky leaks a fiery orange and red as it sets at the horizon. Holding a house-brewed cocktail in hand as you sat on the beach chair with a front row seat to such a panaromic show. As you breathed out, it felt like the troubles you have your back to means nothing more than blurry shadows. And that exhalation will take away your problems to the sinking sun, where they will disappear along with the sun as it sets.
It was a pity I had to leave the island and go back to work after two blissful nights of nothingness. It would be nice to stay there for a few more days and enjoy every inch of it. The people were nice there and they made you feel like you are at home. And the atmosphere made it feel like it is home. It could be the perfect place to be when one decides to drop out the face of the earth for a little while.
Also seen on VM @ Travel Talk.
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Pangkor Island Beach Resort
Teluk Belanga
32300 Pangkor Island
Perak Daruk Ridzuan
Malaysia
T: +6 05 685 1091 / 1800 88 7777
E: reserve@pangkorislandbeach.com
W: http://www.pangkorislandbeach.com
09.04.08
Another year, another Merdeka.
The last time I had to wake up at the wee hours of the morning to go to a Merdeka Day parade, was probably more than five years ago, and for the sake of the high school marching band. Being a Penangite, and being away overseas to study, it was my first time attending the Merdeka Day parade at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur. Probably the mother of all Merdeka Day parades around Malaysia.
The theme for the 51st Merdeka Day celebration this year is Perpaduan Teras Kejayaan (Unity, The Pillar of Success). Despite the lacked of hype this year (being Malaysians, I bet you all should know why), the crowd still managed to file into the Square before the break of dawn, to get a good spot by the railing along the parade stretch.
Not long after, the MC announced the arrival of Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Deputy Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Razak, both coming into the venue driving a Proton Persona and a Proton e-Savvy respectively.
Then, at precisely 8AM, came the Majesty himself, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin. And just as his polished shoes stepped on the red carpet laid out for him, the clock tower above chimed eerily. It was so amazingly coincidental that I was impressed, yet freaked out a little at the same time. It just brought out a kind of superiority or power. Shivers.
The ceremony proceeded with the general. I stood amongst the spectators and listened to our National Anthem played twice – and another two more at the end. I raised my hand as we recited the Rukun Negara, the words still fresh in my head, as if it were just yesterday our primary school teachers forcefed the words into our heads for Monday assemblies. I watched around me as the crowd was led to the seven Merdeka! cheers. That was probably the most patriotic I could ever get as a Malaysian after so long. Heh.
Then, the parade truly began.
Across the march past, in the field stood some 6,000 participants from high schools and primary schools all over Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. Some filling up the seats with flags and pom-poms in red, yellow, white and blue – the colour of the Malaysian flag. Some flocking the field with uniforms in the colours of Jalur Gemilang, some in multi-cultural costomes, all set for a formation performance along with the patriotic songs – save Lux Aeterna, from the movie Requiem For a Dream – blaring from the speakers around us.
It brought chills down my spine, watching them move in one accord. And when Eye of the World came on, I thought I felt my eyes well up when the chorus came on. That song always make my skin go pimply. And it was at that moment, that I thought I felt a tiny piece of peace sprouting in me. Cliche, I know. But right then, I thought everything would be alright again for this country.
One thing good about a Merdeka Day parade in the capital city, is that you get to see the real big guns come out and play. We got the Ministers at the grand stand, along with the King himself. We got contingents of all governmental bodies there: the Royal Malay Regiment orchestra, the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), the Malaysian Fire Brigade (BOMBA), the Kuala Lumpur City Council (DBKL), as well as the proud faces of the Malaysian Armed Forces, which formed the largest contingent that morning, with over 1,000 strong personnel tailed by ferocious battle tanks and invulnerable armoured vehicles.
There were the known leaders of Malaysia, rocking up the parade in 12 Lotus cars. And also the Proton Holdings Berhad, our own carmaking company, with 11 of their Proton models, dating back to the first Proton Saga in 1985 till the latest re-designed Proton Saga of 2008.
There were also contingents in smart uniforms and marches.
And also those in peculiar outfits. Meh.
But the highlight of the parade for me would be the marching bands. What I would give to be one of them again: dressed in the smartest uniform and flawless boots, marching past the grand stand in the most rigid manner you could muster, making sure your instrument is measured at 90 degree and you don’t run out with the others on the same line, marching along to the proud beat of the snares. Weeks and weeks of practice just to be godlike perfect for five seconds in front of the distinguished guests.
I perked up whenever I heard a marching band I recognised from back in the days. Victoria Institution, Ave Maria Convent, SMK Chung Hua… They did not fail to bring a smile on my face when I see their straightened backs and grandest salute, the immaculate tap of the snares and their purposeful and detached tumit marches, the majestic blare of the brass with the harmonious woodwinds and pipes.
I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
Things may have been bleak this year for Malaysia, what with the recent changes and havoc with the politics, and price hikes in practically everything and anything. I would be telling a lie if I tell you our country is doing fine. I bet everyone present that morning knows how fucked up things are now. From the performers dancing along to the patriotic medleys in the finale, to the father bringing their children to yet another Merdeka Day parade, to the Ministers standing on the stage.
I am not saying we should just forget about celebrating Merdeka Day, because there is not an ounce of unity and independence left in us anymore. I am not saying let’s just pretend as if we are fine all along. I am saying remember what happened 51 years ago and since, who made this country possible, who made this country livable, who made this country visible. And not forget what we have been through to be united in a place we all call home, and how we are so close to breaking everything apart.
Happy Merdeka Day, my fellow Malaysians. Wherever you are. Near or far. We have come a long way.
