03.31.09
Into the Devil’s lair.
Event: STYLO presents “The Devil Wears…”
Date: March 30, 2009 (Monday)
Venue: Hap Seng Star, Kuala Lumpur
The elite fashion people scare me. There, I said it. It is not like they have done anything mean to me before, but there is just an air they breathe that we normal people would normally choke on, and they see something in between the hung clothes you have in your wardrobe; whilst it is just another round of rinse-and-repeat for the week, they see a chance to break the convention.
The STYLO Fashion Grand Prix is back for another year, and the fashionable and fabulous are buzzing with excitement for a week long of parties, runways, parties, runways and more parties.
Last night, STYLO made their return in the façade of the Devil with an evening party themed “The Devil Wears…”. After affirming my sins to the Father and have him bless me with holy water, I worked out an outfit that would seem passable – unless the fashion police decided to squint real hard at me and saw throught me – I stepped into the Devil’s lair to see what their hype was all about.
When I arrived, I thought I was tagging behind a group of boys from Of Montreal or PANIC! or something. Everyone in the fashion industry was dressed to their best of gothica and boudoir as they were lured into the hauntingly sultry Scarlet Mansion ala Van Helsing that was decorated with flowing red curtains dropped from the ceiling of chandeliers, and cobwebbed red candles burning beside thorn-stricken roses. At the centre stage is a golden gilded cage clambered with a bed of roses, where models and stage presenters would go into for a pose.
Suffice to say, I was out of place, walking around like a lost puppy without a master, and standing around like a withering wallflower. Not to say anyone noticed me anyway because I doubted they did. Everyone was engaged in conversations with people of their own kind. I could break a wine glass and fall on the ground and nobody would take note anyway. Heh.
While waiting for the guests of honour to arrive, guests were greeted by vampirism models in surreal outfits with magnificent hair-art done by Winnie Loo of A Cut Above, Malaysia’s top hair salon.
A little after 10PM, the Devil herself, Dato’ Nancy Yeoh strut into the mansion clad in a blood red gown that complemented the setting for the night. By her side was Dato’ Jimmy Choo OBE.
At this point, half of the crowd was strangely drawn to where the VVIPs were, tipping on their toes and peeking over tall models’ shoulders to have that one glimpse of their most beloved star. Like moth to a flame, lady to the vampire.
After a few words from Dato’ Nancy Yeoh, the party began.
The Devil must have been a lady, or in the least, gay, because that night was dedicated solely to the masculine sex.
First up, it was an avant-garde presentation by designer Daniel Cho.
It featured a combination of all-black and futuristic masculine clothing, adorned by male models wearing distinguishable gold make-up. On their heads were projective horn designs by A Cut Above, giving the models a strong and authoritative air as they go charging down the ramps.
Brings a whole new meaning to the word “horny” indeed. Heh.
A music performance by Amanda Imani with her rendition of Rolling Stones’ I Can’t Get No Satisfaction. Only 17 and probably the only underage person in the room that night.
Next up, Bon Zainal’s casual men’s wear collection all year round.
This collection was not really favourite. I thought the style and colour combination were a little off. The boys were pretty though. Heh.
But I love Key Ng’s men’s wear collection.
Leading the pack is the Malaysian singer/songwriter Reshmonu.
And local actor William San.
The leisure strut was like a walk in the park with smart collars and plaided sweatshirts in dying colours of hued brown. It is a collection of futuristic-looking designs with hairstyles by some of the most innovative designs in the hairstyling scene. Unfortunately, the pictures I have do not do Ng’s collection justice. Bah.
Complementing the catwalk is a jazzy twist from violinist Dennis Lau and a saxophonist.
As the night drew to a close, the Scarlet Mansion began to buzz with excitement as Jonathan Cheng and Voon’s high-end men’s underwear brand, STUD, was about to take the stage. With 12 male models wearing nothing but STUD’s collection of briefs, boxers, trunks and other hot undergarments, specially designed for STYLO.
Yes, you heard me right.
I was staring at rounded asses and washboard abs for the rest of the night, I started seeing them in my sleep. Meh.
If this is what the gateway to Hell looks like, heck sign me up already.
But. You know what they say, leave before the Devil knows you are here. It was already midnight when the showcases finished, and the crowd was shifting towards an after party that would go on for the night. I tipped my hat to the great gates of the Scarlet Mansion and took my leave.
I took a peek into the world of fashion saw that it was quite alright. But some things pretty are better left untouched. Like a grand vase display in the museum. If your curiosity gets the best of you and prompts you to touch it, you might break it, along with the beauty that drove you into feeling it.
++
The STYLO Fashion Grand Prix, KL ‘09 happened from March 28 till April 5.
03.26.09
Hot hot heat at the Sunburst feat.
Event: Sunburst International Music Festival 2009
Date: March 21, 2009 (Saturday)
Venue: Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club, Kuala Lumpur
There was a lot of big hoohah on who Sunburst was going to have over for this year’s festival. There was wind on Coldplay, but it blew them to Singapore instead. There was even one about BB King swinging by, but that definitely turned out to be a big fat fart. People got disappointed. People got excited. Time passed and before you knew it, there was Sunburst hogging the a part of Mont Kiara once again, ready to give people “the biggest music festival in KL”.
I have never been to a music festival before. I have heard a lot about the Big Day Out in Australia, but always, before I could get myself to get tickets, they have already sold out. I cannot go to Summer Sonic in Japan because RM500 plus for a festival is just silly. I could go to Singfest in Singapore, but I am starting to get a little weary doing these little stints for concerts there. It is not like festivals in Malaysia is that bad – even if it is, I will not have anything to compare it with anyway – so things went down and I was at the venue from 1ish on a fucking hot Saturday afternoon as a guest.
Or that. I was a little confused. What with the heat and all.
Things kicked off at 2PM sharp over at the Livesounds stage with Aseana Percussion Unit (APU). They are the same people who brought you the wonderful tonga-ful Tugu Drum Circle every Sunday, and although it was still way early in the festival, but I felt like we were already in the middle of it, when the crowd was in a good vibe and were dancing around.
APU played their rendition of some Asianic folk tunes and I thought they were pretty good. Kind of made me proud of being Malaysian for a while. (Don’t mind me, my experience here in Singapore has not been good so far so I am kind of all for Malaysia for this moment).
Straight after that, under the same marquee just opposite the stage was the Loud & Clear stage, where Reza Salleh took over.
Halfway through, I strayed to the Sky stage and saw They Will Kill Us All. OK, I know they have achieved quite a good fanbase in Malaysia already, as well as regionally, but I have not really checked them out till that day. And I was impressed. I was seriously impressed. Their sound reminded me of. I want to say Secondhand Serenade, but not that mellow and emo. So, maybe The Juliana Theory. Or Finch. But all in all, I liked the sound of them. I liked it a lot.
There was quite a crowd for them too, so I could not have been hearing things wrong. Heh.
There was also the Indonesian band 21st Night at Livesounds.
And also Juwita Suwito, Dead Mushroon, Meet Uncle Hussain, the Australian band Russian Winters, Nao and Gerhana Ska Cinta.
Other than music, Sunburst had also F&B areas peppered across the field, just in case you would like to quench your thirst with a bottle of Orange Twister or Revive. Anything to keep you from passing out on such a hot day.
There was even a makeshift 7-Eleven. Heh.
There was also a marketplace set up, selling band and Sunburst merchandises, and more food. KFC, Coffee Bean, burgers, cheese fries and many more.
Artistic ones can also let loose their arsty farts here with some graffiti art.
Lomo, anyone?
Unleash the artist in you as you leave your mark on any pair of Levi’s jeans.
Or discover the next musician in you with Guitar Hero at the Junk booth. Who knows, you might be rocking out the Sun stage in next year’s Sunburst. (But don’t count on that).
Roll around in the Zorb ball. Ack. Looks more like a torture to me than fun.
Or if you are more of the fast and furious type, perhaps the F1 stimulator in the Speedzone Interactive Tour marquee will waken your senses.
With girls in short skirts getting chummy with you and giving you small portable ashtrays as gifts after helping you with some easy-peasy games.
At around 6PM, there was a Tugu Drum Circle gathering outside one of the Tuborg tents.
Empty beer bottles with beans inside and sticks attached with rings of beer caps were handed out to the public. There were people banging on pails and clapping together thrash bin covers, as well as those leading the pack with drums and other percussion instruments. Everyone just got involved with the jam session and just bang it out. It was a beautiful sight.
The sun was beginning to set as Cosmic Kitchen took the Sun stage.
Everyone loved them. Their cosmical sounds and loving ska rhythm and dancing swing beats. Everyone just got to the groove of it all, dancing and cheering and singing to all the goodness that is the love for music.
They were like the cut-off time for the first half of the festival. After that, Estranged and Nidji kicked off the second half of more intense festivity as they brought forth the mood for the more famous acts long awaited for the day.
I did a little stopover at the Silent Disco Arena as well as night came about.
Now, I first experienced this thing when I was at Sunburst’s press conference a while back, and I am torn in two with this new phenomena.
This is the thing. 300 people in a small arena, all wearing headphones and no speakers going on. So, if you were to walk up to the arena without the headphones, you would be wondering what the deuce is going on as people were dancing it out to nothing at all. I did. I took off the headphones while I was standing amongst the people and I found it amusing to see everyone nodding their heads to the same unheard beats.
The good thing: No sound pollution. You can adjust the volume to however loud you want. You can tune in to whichever DJ was playing. There were two DJs spinning simultaneously per set throughout the night, so it counts for saving space as well.
The bad thing: There is no kick. I like the beats the speakers give my bones and I like it loud. If I want to listen to my headphones, I can just do it at home.
Anyway, I bailed around 8ish. Yes yes, I know. I missed out on all the good stuffs after night fall, like Butterfingers, N.E.R.D, KORN, Naturally 7 and Skye. But the heat has done a good part on my energy and I just wanted to go home, pack my bags and get ready for my trip to Singapore the next day for Coldplay. *Laughs back at your face*
I had quite a good time at the music festival. Not the best because of the heat, but enough to call it a nice first music festival experience. It kind of goes to show that Malaysia is capable of holding a up-to-standard event after all. Probably need more thrash bags around instead of encouraging music-goers to litter around (It does not mean anything selling “save the environment” T-shirts when you are not playing the part yourselves), but other than that, it was pretty much all good. So, good job, Pineapple Concerts. Maybe you might really get Coldplay and BB King over next year. Heh.
03.25.09
Onward the Prospekt’s March.
Event: Coldplay live in concert
Date: March 23, 2009 (Monday)
Venue: Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore
Two things. One: Singapore has this eeriely perfect vibe going on, it gives me the creeps. Two: I have been having an upset tummy since last Friday so if I wrote out of line for this entry, blame the tummy.
On to more serious business. I did not receive any news that there was going to be a supporting act for Coldplay that night, and I was quite surprised to see Mercury Rev, an American psychedelic rock band probably as old as I am, warming up the stage with Jonathan Donahue’s strangely outrageous body antiques and their famous tracks like The Dark is Rising, Goddess on a Hiway and Holes. Not to be biased, but Mercury Rev did sound quite good live compared to their studio tracks. Alas, the sold out crowd of more than 10,000 was restless because they paid good money to see Coldplay. And when Donahue announced it was their last song, the crowd roared with applause, not because they loved the band that much, but because the minutes towards Coldplay were running out.
For the half hour leading up to their appearance, the crowd was teased with songs from all over, shooting nothing straight at the British rock band. There was even a thin black cloth let down on stage covering the entire set. And I was totally caught off guard when Blue Danube started trembling the inside of the stadium. I thought Live Nation had gone bonkers for playing a classical waltz piece, but enjoyed watching the crowd going at the clapping and conducting all the same. Then, as the last fortissimo notes blasted off the air and the lights suddenly went off and the crowd went crazy. I changed my mind; that was a fucking brilliant idea for an introduction.
Being in the industry for about 10 years and with four albums under their sleeves, Coldplay knows how to get the crowd going. They played all of their upbeat songs, leaving the more solemn ones from Parachutes in their grim hometown. They also made sure they hit all the popular tracks so the crowd of more than 10,000 could sing – or scream, more like it – along with them. There were Violet Hill, Clocks, In My Place, The Scientist, Fix You and of course, the song that started them all in the first place – Yellow.
I liked it also that they had spent time with the gimmicks on stage. Before that, all of the concerts I have been to, the backdrops were either bare or merely accompanied by timed LED screens. Coldplay took the time out to even change the backdrops: from the Viva La Vida album cover to the logo, even had a montage of them playing live there and then, and one of Japan during Lovers in Japan.
There were balls of projectors hung from the ceiling, screening mini shots of the big screen on stage. There were even giant yellow balloons let off from the ceiling and the crowd during Yellow, whereby half of it was made out of fans in their mid-30s and mid-40s, suddenly turned into little kids, hands reach up to the sky groping for the balloons. Those of us on the sides could only watch and pout as we could not have a bounce at the balls. Meh.
And I liked it when the confetti rained down on us – or more so, once again, at those in the centre – during Lovers in Japan. It was as if Japan was brought right into the stadium that night, and the confetti was like sakuras falling on us when the spring breeze blew past the garden of Eden. It was a beautiful sight.
I liked it that there was a bunch of crowd interaction going on. There were two runways on each side of the stage, where Chris Martin would often bounce – seriously – himself down to the sides, giving out high fives and waving hello’s.
The entire band squeezed themselves into a corner on the right runway, as they launched into a minoric medley of God Put a Smile Upon Your Face/Talk before Martin took over with his piano solo medley of The Hardest Part and Postcard from Far Away on his trustee sidekick of a piano. Then, before they went on a break, they high fived their way up to the left wing and stood amongst the crowd performing an acoustic version of Speed of Sound and a couple of cover tracks.
And I loved, loved, loved the Mexican phone wave during the break. Before the band ran off for a short break, Chris led us into a little activity, where very much like the Mexican wave, we would use the light on our cell phone screens to do the wave. I tell you, when they dimmed the lights and everyone was doing their part for the wave, it was pretty.
When Coldplay burst into the opening chords of Viva La Vida, it was as if the hefty lawsuit on plagiarism never happened at all. The fans did not care as they sang along to the bridge of wo-oh-oh-oh-ohhh… and very much still even after the concert and the crowd had spilled out of the stadium. And Coldplay certainly did not care; performing the song in front of a very satisfied 10,000+ crowd was like giving Joe Satriani a big fucking middle finger.
Chris Martin may be a crowd-pleaser for his fast songs, but when he kicked up his tail coat and took charge of his piano for the slower songs, he was a heart wrecker. When he started the eerie opening of Fix You, the crowd went on another bout of screams while I stilled myself and listened to his words: “When you try your best but you don’t succeed / When you get what you want but not what you need / When you feel so tired that you can’t sleep / Stuck in reverse…”
Lovers around me looked at each other with a loving look before embracing and swaying to the song, and friends wrapped arms around one another as they sang along to the chorus of “Lights with guide you home / And ignite your bones / And I will try to fix you” . I was like a solo entity at that moment with goosebumps spreading on my skin. When the band joined in for a powerful second half, I felt tears dwelling in my eyes as they crooned in unison: “Tears stream down your face / I promise you I will learn from my mistakes…” The organ that derived from a solitary church and the soothing words like a sinner’s peek into the Bible. I have always been one to put my life in the hands of a rock & roll band, and that night, Chris Martin had my entire life – body, heart and soul – in his hands.
The concert may have gone on for a mere two hours, but it felt like forever. Remember in my Jason Mraz concert review I said he was one who was conceived on stage, well, Coldplay is the one giving birth to Mraz. They made the stage. So what their gimmicks were already seen in some other parts of the world. So what their ending song was not that perfect – the confettious Lovers in Japan would have made a perfect finale compared to Life in Technicolor II, which should have just been done at their opening. So what Coldplay is facing plagiarism charges for Viva La Vida.
I am sorry Ben Gibbard. This is Death Cab’s performance on top spot of my life. This is Coldplay giving a good kick on their behinds and taking over their spot there.
I asked my friend once how was her recent Coldplay concert in Australia and she said: “Do you even have to ask? They were like Gods!” And believe you me, they were. They were.
PS: And yes, it sucks you could not be there. *laughs in your face*
03.20.09
Holy crabs!
It is always a good thing to have a Chief Eating Officer (CEO), as your boss. For one thing, wherever there is good food, he is sure to know about it, and in due’s time the entire crabula nebulae will be off to it. So, not too long ago, CEO’s radar caught whiff – pun intended – of allegedly the best salted egg crabs ever tasted somewhere in Seremban.
Before we knew it, emails were blasted to the nebulae and on Wednesday – after some nail-biting wait arounds, we were off in full speed to Seremban. Yes, just for crabs.
There were some teasing going around to make us crave for the main dish even more. There was bean curd, roasted pork, fried eggs, mutton and veggies – bleurgh. All these dishes were lightly entertained, before finally, the moment arrived and served up to our table were five perfectly cooked mud crabs all chopped into limbs and pieces, and tainted with salted egg sauce.
Look at those babies.
My crabbing philosophy is this: leave no meat behind. Every time I eat crabs, I would spend an immense amount of time making sure all pieces of meat were plucked off its pincers, and all sucked out from its joints. I am proud to have a molehill of cleanly swiped crab shells when I am done.
This time, it was by far the slowest I have ever gotten while enjoying my crabs. Even before I delved into the meats, I seemed to be spending a very long time cleaning off the salted egg sauce off its shell. The sauce was fantastic; thick as thieves in custard yellow and yet not too salty till you are wincing for mercy. It was addictive. Every time I saw a tiny spot left, I would go after it till there is nothing more to lick for.
When it comes to the meat, these babies did not disappoint. With such huge pincers, the meat was as full as a bed of anemones at the Great Barrier Reef. Half of me just wanted to stare in amazement at so much meat all to myself, and the other half of me could not wait to run my teeth over them, swept them off and into my mouth. Yum.
In the end, we managed to clean up 10 mud crabs. By the end of the meal, everyone had their own crab shell shrine to show off, and a bloated tummy to boot.
Was it an awesome dinner? Well, I would say that was the best crab dinner. Ever. I could lie about it to make me feel better for driving all the way down to Seremban just for crabs, but fortunately, I do not need to. And the fact that it is new and secretive and do not have much people crowding the place, we will be guaranteed plenty of crabs to go around every time we visit. That is until someone starts spreading the word on where we have been.
03.13.09
A spot of breakfast.
Last Saturday, it was raining almost the whole time, and I do not know what wires in me were loose, but I ended up spending the most of that day snoozing away, like I have not slept in weeks. I woke up the following morning at 8 and thought to myself, hmm, I would like some breakfast for myself.
And I do not mean cereal-and-milk-from-your-fridge, do-it-yourself half-boiled eggs kind of breakfast; I mean a decent breakfast outside of your home, where you can watch the suburb wake up while sipping on your glass of orange juice and reading a book, and a down-to-earth waiter serving you the best sunny side ups.
I guess Malaysia has never been a morning kind of country – alright, maybe the big gang of yum cha/dim sum crowd counts, but no, not the mamaks because they did not exactly close from last night – so spots for good all-Western breakfast is quite hard to find. Most good English breakfasts are complimentary at hotels, but I am not about to check myself into a hotel just for some runny eggs. Sure, there is Coffee Bean with their before-11AM refills, but their scrambled eggs are not scrambled at all. Just some mixture they pop into the microwave and serve it up to you. Nothing personal at all.
Today, I want to go out of the way for something different. So, the only place I can think of with my 8AM blurry mind was Departure Lounge. The last time I was there, Loo mentioned that they serve breakfast as early as 8AM, so it was good enough for me. Something non-fancy and something non-commercialised.
I went against traffic and drove all the way to Mont Kiara for a spot of breakfast. I was the first to arrive, and Loo and Annie greeted me with warm smiles, surprised to see me paying them a visit in a morning that is way too early still.
At Departure Lounge, besides serving the usual breakfast available all around – French toasts, omelette, muffins, pancakes and so on – they have this Make It My Way (MIMW) breakfast set, where you get to choose what they put on your plate. You can have a choice of three, five or seven items of grilled tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, beef bacon, turkey bacon and so on.
I made my selection of grilled tomatoes, scrambled eggs and turkey bacon. With my glass of freshly squeezed orange juice with the pulps (Nah, just kidding – Annie whipped up a plastic cup from the Sunkit carton), I took my seat outside the calm and the quiet, and anticipated for my breakfast.
It was as close to ‘homey’ breakfast as I could get. So, the turkey bacon was not really bacon, but kind of a slice of ham. And the tomato was not really thoroughly grilled till blackened on the outside, and mushy on the inside. And yeah, a glass of fresh orange juice would be dandy. But. Beggars cannot be choosers. I wanted a good kind of breakfast, went out to get it, got it, and was quite pleased. Yum.
So, to all breakfast folks out there, if you know some more good spots for breakfast, do let me know. We can even make a date out of it. I am quite willing to go out of the way for one, when I am up at such hours.
++
Departure Lounge
Solaris Mont Kiara
10, Jalan Solaris 4
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Opens Monday to Saturday @ 8AM-10PM; Sunday and Holiday @ 10AM-5PM
T: +6 03 6203 0362
E: cafe.departure.lounge@gmail.com
03.06.09
Sorry, I can’t hear you with all the Mraz going on.
Also guest blogging at Backseat Radio: Remembering Damien Rice.
—–
Event: Jazon Mraz @ concert
Date: March 4, 2009 (Wednesday)
Venue: Stadium Negara, Malaysia
Jason Mraz. Mr A-Z. The curbside prophet. The geek in the pink. The wizard of ooh’s and ah’s and fa-la-la’s. Whatever you may.
I have already expected his concert to not be a disappointment from the reviews I got from friends who have gone to his concert overseas. None of them were let down. One of them was even converted. So, there was no second-thinking when it was announced that he would be performing in Malaysia (finally, someone who cares enough to swing by Malaysia instead of Singapore). Plans were made on who should go with who and which seats should be taken for the best view.
That evening I barely made it in time, no thanks to a certain someone living in Bandar Utama, and a boss who decided it was time to lecture the staff on ‘challenges’ and ‘career’ 15 minutes before I have to leave the office. The KL traffic was kind that day though, and we managed to arrive on the 8PM dote. I even had time to have one cigarette for dinner – a real fully tobacco filled Dunhill Menthol Light cigarette, honest!
The crowd was wild as we made our way to the seats. Practically everyone in the stadium – 9,000 strong – was screaming and cheering at the top of the lungs. As we took our RM168 seats (way up there, one of them ‘elevated’ ones, heh), Jason Mraz greeted the insane audience and launched into a natural opening of Make it Mine. With him was his own brass band, dressed in the Malaysian football team jerseys, which I thought was a cute gesture.
I told myself that I would go see Jason Mraz live, the same reason I would like to see John Mayer and Damien Rice live for their live improvisation of opposite polar ends. However, Jason Mraz is not like the latter two. He did not have much improvisation. In fact, his voice was so flawless he sounded exactly like how he would in his studio albums. Not that it is a bad thing; I love performers who can sing live, and by singing the way it is in the albums he has enabled fans to sing along entirely to radio hit songs like The Remedy, I’m Yours and You and I Both. Fans would have a problem following if he had flowered up his performances. By playing accordingly, he could just set his guitar down, sit at the edge of the stage and watch us performing for him.
Saying he is a charmer is already an understatement, but when he seamlessly launched into Oasis’ Wonderwall medleying with The Remedy, I loved him even more. If you have known me before this, you would know that is my all-time favourite song, and to have him sneak an attack like that, I could not help smiling like a silly fangirl.
Mraz asked the crowd if anyone was here with their best friend that they have been crushing on for a long time. And I remember him asking the same question (though not in the exact same words) in Tonight, Not Again: Live at The Eagles Ballroom before performing his old track No Doubling Back. That night, he played something new, which everyone would have more likely heard of instead – If It Kills Me.
Here on end began his trend of ballads: Life is Wonderful, Live High, and my favourite song off We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things, A Beautiful Mess. But, judging from the location I was watching his concert, I could not quite feel the impact of the song I would usually feel listening via headphones. It was as if I was too far back, and no matter how still I sat and how attentively I listened, I could not grasp it well enough. The song did not move me to tears, but it will always be something nice to hear your most loved song live. I guess it just suggests that this is just what happiness is.
Mraz also performed songs that would get even the ones who were conscious of their image to start dancing: The cheeky Geek in the Pink off Mr A-Z, and from his newest album, the wordplaying extraordinaire The Dynamo of Volition – in which he attempted the crowd to do some dorky dance moves of sending 9,000 high-fives his way – and the brass-filled Butterfly.
Now, it would be a self-convicted Mee-Rah-Zee sin if he did not perform Lucky. So, after a quick joint at the back (hey, it could be possible), he emerged with a I heart KL T-shirt and was ready to perform the duet with the Taiwanese-Malaysian singer, Penny Tai.
“Maybe she isn’t real, maybe I made her up and she’s all in my head,” Mraz joked when Penny failed to come up on stage in time for the first verse. And, Mraz, I wished she has been all in your head as well. Mraz went ahead with the song and had an awesome duet with the crowd, before Penny showed up and ruined the rest of the song, and trust me, I bet everyone in the crowd thought the same thing too because I could feel a heavy ‘wtf’ in the air. There was no chemistry and she seemed to be overdoing her vocals, which was not good in the first place. Throughout the set, I was hoping Colbie Caillat would burst through the back of the stadium and reclaim her duet with Mraz. Sadly that did not happen. Heck, I would have the 9,000 dueting with Mraz, if I could.
Did he put on a great show? Yes, pretty much. There are some musicians who seem to be conceived on stage, and Mraz is one of them. Everyone in the stadium that night was smittened by him. (Well, perhaps not that one guy sitting one row in front of me – he seemed to be sulking throughout the concert, as if Mraz single-handedly stole his concert set that night).
But I bet even Mraz knew he left us hanging when he provided only a one and a half hour’s concert, and clumsily wrapped things up with Butterfly. It was a very upbeat song, and to just finish things off with it, after only one and a half hour, it was like working a man into a very close pre-climax and then say no.
And it was probably not fun either to sit at the back. Yes, the view was not bad up there, but see, I have a problem sitting at concerts. Half of the time I was not sure what I was doing wrong. You wanted to stand up, but you do not know if the guys behind you will tsk at you. You wanted to dance to the song, but moving only your upper body part seems a little retarded. I would love to join the floor crowd, but with my height, it would probably be a worse idea, and I might go home smelling like everyone but myself (circa 2004 Linkin Park in Singapore).
Mraz came and he delivered 100%. He danced, he sang and he stole things – mostly hearts. It was quite an appropriate kind of entertainment you would look for during a midweek madness. It would have been lovelier if he had performed in a more intimate set with a smaller crowd, maybe No Black Tie or Laundry Bar like Colbie Caillat, but I guess it would be a problem when you are so famous with such a strong fanbase. Either way, Malaysia still loves you. Wherever you choose next time, the 9,000 strong will come a-screaming.
* Bah, pictures from a 2.0MP camera phone. I am not getting better with this, am I? Heh.
