Scream out!

The year is coming to an end and with coming events and celebrations spell excitement, stress has no ticket to turn our brains off. Nevertheless, events that went by left warm traces to be kept intact, and here are some.

Celebration of Arts

Hujan and Komplot brightened the night's open performance which was part of a charity art event. Organised by Unithree Productions, sales from the event consisting of food, independent clothing products and art stuffs are to be contributed to the Agathians Shelter. Charity it was and the performances rocked everybody's heart out! Little publicity was made, so a relatively few but lively crowd turned up at Plaza Mont Kiara. Hujan never fails, and during the event Noh publicly detests the negative remarks made at Hujan fans and themselves, over the internet in the middle of the band's performance. '***** diorang,' he went, before continuing with 'Empayar', 'Ludah Amerika' and 'Pagi Yang Gelap'. Komplot was featured at Fly-fm's Campur Chart at the Laundry Bar in August, but they are still new to my ears. Check out 'Nora Zain' and 'Disko tanpa Risiko', and for those who are eager to catch their next act, rush to the third day of We've Lost Our Beauty Fest at MCPA Hall, KL on December 25.

Live & Loud KL '07: Acoustic

Don't hate me, but this guy is cool. He's listed in my 'guilty pleasure' list and James Morrison performs greater live, but do not bring your girlfriend along. Girls were nuts at an event that is so 'neat', I nearly fell asleep. Dayang Nurfaizah made an opening, she was good but of course people wanted something else (duh, who else) that night. The audience seemed to recognise only 'Heaven Knows' by Australia's Rick Price, who may have suited perfectly of the event's theme of being acoustic. Funny how he is relatively unpublicised, I mean, Whitney Houston and Elliot Yamin has their portions of fans here of course, but hey, I thought many people listened to James Morrison too. Audience sang along to the familiar 'Wonderful World', 'You Give Me Something' and other singles from 'Undiscovered'. He gave an encore by singing 'The Last Goodbye'. He gave us more than an encore, though. The audience became 'one of the first in the world' to listen to his brand new single from his next album. Mistaken for the sound guy and his stuttered 'terima kasih', James Morrison left his Malaysian (read: girl) fans more than satisfied.

Fly. fm's Second Flyniversarry

Mawar Berduri from Ahli Fiqir got pissed off a bit when the crowd down at Central Park Avenue demanded more Hujan than their plagiarised hip-hop act. Featured at the euphoric Fly.fm's Second Flyniversarry were the most anticipated Hujan and Meet Uncle Hussain, alongside the enthusiastic Dina together with Deja Voodoo Spells and they've made our usual avenue by One Utama plunged into a hysterical sweaty fiesta. It was my first time seeing Meet Uncle Hussain live and they've perfected by their appearance with 'La La Kerjalah', 'Pari Pari Bawah Angin' and of course, 'Lagu Untukmu'. And what more the crowd wanted than Hujan? Before their show ended with grand curtain closing (not really literally, there would be club hits afterwards much to the shufflers' delight), Noh and gang sent the crowd mad with their hit singles (need no mentioning, right?). And yeah, kudos to my favourite radio station that accompanied me during the driving part of the day (read: traffic-jammed). I love you, Jules!

P. Ramlee - The Musical

Siti Nurhaliza acting! Something of a must-see, so I did last October. Istana Budaya hosted of what could be second-best to last year's Puteri Gunung Ledang: The Musical (sorry, Zahim Albakri), but still a feast to the eyes, and might be the best one of its kind this year. P. Ramlee - The Musical... The Live, the Loves and the Inspiration heated up the chilly Panggung Sari with lively acts from Sean Ghazi, Liza Hanim, Melissa Saila, Siti Nurhaliza and newcomer Atilia. It was important to not to focus on Siti Nurhaliza as Azizah alone. Her acting part, however, needs some brushing up, but her singing really don't need any damn brushes. She played as who could be P. Ramlee's first ever love, before he went on to settle things up with his three wives. Liza Hanim became my personal favourite, and maybe everyone's when she gave the audience first class performance as the legendary Saloma. Hell, she was Saloma!

But of course, the show was all about P. Ramlee, and after the show I wondered about how Malaysia once had a very great, all-out, versatile entertainer. And by versatile, P. Ramlee deserved that adjective without any further doubt. Nevertheless I'm expecting something fresher from Enfiniti Productions, something that goes beyond any known persona (i.e, Puteri Gunung Ledang and P. Ramlee). I believe the guys there are well-prepared to serve us more with stories of life, and I'm ready to book a seat for their next show if there will be one.

My Chemical Romance makes a great band, they bring pop to rock altogether, but things are just OK with them on the mainstream side. Well, it seems to me not only our friends down in Stadium Merdeka are snapping pictures of Gerard Way and his fellas.

Either way, these guys have two things in common: they're cool!

The days of hip-hop and bling-bling are suffering a slow death, and indie rock certainly is raising up to the top of the ladder in the local music scene. Alternative really is good at times (no puns intended). Support Malaysian art scene, folks, and buy original (accordingly, of course. If can't, we all know what to do).

Events in line: 1. Have a Happy M.U.N.D.A.E Acoustic gig down at No Black Tie on December 10, 9.30pm. Reza Salleh is lined up alongside Warren Chan, Sara Lo, Paulo Delfino, Broken Scar and Najwa. 2. RANtai Art Fest Anticipation is rising on what could be the most-awaited event of the month. Art enthusiasts, buckle up! December 12 till 16, Art House Gallery, Jalan Ampang. I'm thinking of catching every single day of it. 3. Figure Eight Music and fashion will unify (as if they haven't) greatly under one roof at Central Market Annexe. Be there on December 16 to catch Meet Uncle Hussain, One Buck Short and Couple among others.

Pictures from top 1. Lead singer of Komplot, Zac, rocking the scene 2. James Morrison during his encore performance 3. Hujan lebat! 4. Gerard Way and Ayah on the way to KL, from Auckland, New Zealand. My Chemical Romance has just finished their part of the tour at Auckland Arena on December 6, is currently in KL and will be heading for their next performance down in Singapore. More events JunkOnline, KakiSeni.com

I hope 2008 will see The Fray coming to town. Or should we wait more?

All pictures are subject to copyright of Syukrishairi, 2007.