Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Illuminight - The Light Beat Of Love

Instead of blowing thousands of ringgit on travelling to Indonesia ...I paid RM78 only to enjoy three Indonesia top acts - Afgan, Yovie & Nuno and Maliq & D'Essentials in one show (with our very own Jazz Princess, Atilia thrown). Indeed value for money right?

But how come only a small group turned up for the mega concert like this? (Insert scratching head action here)

I met up with my friend, CK (who specially flown in from Sandakan, Sabah for this show) at Bangsar LRT station before taking a cab to Bukit Kiara Indoor Arena. I hated the venue because it is so difficult to reach that place unless you have your own transport.

We arrived at the arena about 6:30pm. The taxi ride took longer because the driver had mistaken the venue with Mont Kiara. So, we almost landed in Mont Kiara before I sensed something was amiss and asked the taxi driver make a long u-turn back to Bukit Kiara. Arrggggh!

Upon arrival to the arena, we were asked to wait under the white tent. The gate only scheduled to open at 7:00pm. So, we waited. It started to drizzle. Stuck with nowhere to go, we counted the people who turned up. Thirty – three!

Yikes! For a mega concert like that only 33 people at the gate waiting half hour before the show? I would be shitting bricks if I were the organiser! LOL!

There were three booths allocated to sell the concert merchandise. The one for Maliq was empty. Tees, buttons and keychains at Afgan booth while slippers, tees, CD (RM19.90) and other small items at Yovie & Nuno booth.

One of the major reasons for the poor turnout was MTV Live Stage was being held on the same night at Sunway Lagoon. International rock acts like All American Rejects, Kasabian, Boys Like Girls, Hoobastank and more were flown in for the show. And that concert was absolutely effing FREE.

It was reported that 15,000 turned up for MTV Live Stage while I think only about a few hundreds came for Illuminight! Look how empty the arena was...

Around 7:50pm, Atilia took to the stage. The show started with a bang with pyrotechnics and all. The stage was impressive. Huge screens. Booming sound systems. I must take my hat off for the organizer to have the balls to carry on with the show despite poor ticket sales. (Insert tabik hormat here!)

Atilia practically sang her heart out in her 40 mins performance. She looks uncannily like Sheila Majid from afar. Petite but with powerhouse vocal.

Atilia performed songs from debut album, Sangkar and also previewed some of her new songs slated for the 2nd album. She even collaborated with Maliq & D'Essentials on the CD. Wow! I can't wait!

Atilia is the daughter of popular Malay songstress Salamiah Hassan. Atilia updated one of her mother’s hit song – Gelombang. The songs is OK but I think the lyrics are too bleak for my liking.

Nasibku dirundung malang (My fate is unlucky)

Sederas gelombang (as fast as waves)

Menghempas di pantai (crashing at the beach)

Semalam aku ternoda (Yesterday I was made impure)

Dalam sinar cahaya di jendela (in the window light)

Tiada esok lagi (No more tomorrow)

Gelap masa depan (The future is dark)

Sinar hidup ini tiada erti (Life is meaningless)

Sweet but sexy dress.

Afgan was next. This boy CAN sing!

He looked kinda "chubbier" from the last time I saw him during his promo tour late last year.

Click here for Afgan Malaysia Promo Tour 2008 video

Time to hit the gym, Afgan! LOL!

Afgan performed songs from his debut album - Confession No.1.

He even tried to dance and did a couple of dangdut numbers in his tribute to his homeland musicians. LOL!

I love his voice. Reminds me of Brian McKnight and a little bit too much of John Legend.

Watch Afgan singing Bukan Cinta Biasa to an idol-stuck girl who got kissy kissy and huggy huggy with Afgan. Time to get envious girls!

Note: Commentary was done by CK unwittingly. LOL! In Cantonese!

ENJOY

Afgan completed his slot with Terima Kasih Cinta, completely rearranged. It was refreshing to hear the dance version of this song. To watch the video, please scroll down.

Yovie & Nuno were next!

Yovie and Nuno is huge in Indonesia and Malaysia with their hit - Menjaga Hati.

I left after the second song from Yovie & Nuno. It was around 10:30pm. I had to head home because I had a treasure hunt assignment as the photographer on the next morning. With a heavy heart, I decided to forgo Maliq and D'Essentials show. :(

I waited for 30 mins for a cab at the roadside before I decided to call for a cab home.

CK stayed on and was treated with a phenomenal show from Maliq and D'Essentials.

CK texted,"They did their set non-stop and it's like multiple orgasms and the crowd sing along was so impressive!"

Wow! Multiple "O"? That's crazy, man! LOL!

Will they be performing at the Jakarta Jazz Festival next year?

Gotta start saving now...Heheh!

MORE

Watch my other videos of Illuminight. I do not embed everything here because it might slow down the pageload. See the crowd small group of people that turn up for the show and the spectacular guy hanging on high wires with pyrotechnics.

Illuminight - The Light Beat Of Love

Atilia on stage (snippets)

Afgan - Sadis (This is my favourite song!)

Afgan - Terima Kasih Cinta (Acoustic & Disco Version)

Pls visit this site for Yovie and Nuno videos...Lucky girl get to meet them in press conference.

Yiang @ Yovie & Nuno Showcase

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