Hey there, readers! Just flew back from Malaysia… and boy, are my arms tired!
Okay, lame jokes, aside, I’ve just spent an entire weekend rubbing shoulders with Kasabian, All-American Rejects, Hoobastank, Boys Like Girls, Raygun, Estranged and Pixie Lott, and don’t worry, I’m not going to say, “boy, are my shoulders sore”.
I had the opportunity to do something that I’ve never done before: Watch a concert in a swimming pool. (Okay, it was actually the Sunway Lagoon Surf Beach but I’m taking artistic licence here.) Anyway, I was there for MTV World Stage: Live In Malaysia – the first time ever that MTV was wholly organising one of their World Stage events.
Now, I like to think of myself as an intrepid muso enthusiast, having seen artistes as diverse as Beck, Jay Chou, Chage & Aska, Gypsy Kings, Shawn Colvin, Radiohead, Lady Gaga and even Yanni (although, admittedly, I fell asleep at that one).
But, as someone once said, you learn something new everyday. And MTV World Stage had enough surprises to keep me on my toes.
Here are some other things we learned over the weekend:
“I’m with the band.”
That’s one line that won’t work at MTV World Stage because everybody’s with some band.
Pixie Lott: So not Duffy. Okay, so they’re both British, have similar blonde hair styled in similar fashion, sing songs that sound alike and wear matronly clothes, possibly even from the same retro designer. But ladies and gentlemen, the rumours can be laid to rest. Pixie and Duffy: Not the same person at all. Not even related. Didn’t even go to the same school. Didn’t even have crushes on each other.
“They’re in the band.”
Overheard at the hotel lobby:
Girl 1: I think that’s them!
Girl 2: No, it’s not All American Rejects!
Girl 1: They are! Look at their tattoos!
Girl 2: But I don’t recognize that guy in the hat! Just because they’re a group of ang mohs with tattoos, doesn’t mean they’re in a band, you know?
(Turns out they were half right. It was guitarist Nick Wheeler from All-American Rejects with his guitar tech.)
Hoobastank: Not as boring as they seem. I’ve always hated – HATED – that song, The Reason, and called them Hoobastinks. But for their set, Hoobastank tore up the stage. (Well, not literally, of course; otherwise the show would have to be called MTV No Stage.) And they turned out to be more entertaining than I thought. “This is a song you can sing along to,” said singer Doug Robb, before getting everybody singing along to… the Ghostbusters theme song! Priceless.
“They’re in the band.” (part two)
Overhead at the VVIP lounge at the gig:
Girl 1: I think that’s them!
Girl 2: No, it’s not!
Girl 1: It is Ladylike! They’re all blonde what!
Girl 2: You go and ask!
Girl 1: Don’t want, lah! What if it’s not them?
(Turns out it was them, Ladylike, the “rock” girl group of Swedish blondes signed on by Malaysia’s Norman Halim, one-time member of hip-hop trio KRU, and now head honcho of KRU Studios.)
Brit rock band Raygun: Unknown but good. I had no idea who Raygun were – and apparently neither did the majority of the 15,000 gathered there. Until I met them and realised they were probably the craziest bunch of musicians ever. Funny and fun-loving, entertaining and just so likeable, they were easily the best act of the night. After their enthusiastic and exuberant performance; I was definitely a fan. Judging by the response of the crowd, I was not alone.
Korean boy band 2AM: Better when drunk. Their performance at the post-show party at Euphoria by Ministry Of Sound was good but colder than leftover kimchi. Think Boyz-II-Men. Didn’t somebody tell this was a partay? Leave it to Raygun to set things right, though. After some persuasion – and we’re assuming a fair amount of alcohol – 2AM pumped up the jam, and started bustin’ some serious moves on the dancefloor, much to the delight of their girly fans.
If you want to see what the excitement is all about, tune in to MTV (Starhub Channel 20) on Aug 28 for the two-hour Asian premiere of MTV World Stage: Live In Malaysia at 8pm.
Tags: 2AM, all-american rejects, bassist, boys like girls, CD, concert, country, drummer, events, guitarist, J-pop, jazz, kasabian, keyboardist, metal, MTV, new wave, pixie lott, pop, R&B, raygun, recordings, Reviews, rock music, singer, World Stage 2009
