Oleh / By: Iki.Ali
I guess y'all know how to read, right? :P |
Because of this,
Rockaway is no longer a free festival unlike the very first one back in
2009 (never knew about this until my sister and my junior told me about
it). This event was put together by organisers LIVESCAPE and One Buck
Short, a Malaysian band who also performed and launched their first
Malay album there.
Out
of the 19 bands, I only managed to catch 8 of them; I missed the first
two bands because I came in late, while the others... well... I'm just
not a fan. Anyways, here are some pics of proof that I've actually been
there.
My ticket. Weehoo! |
The quite messed up programme booklet, which contained the performance schedule as well as brief descriptions of all the featured performers. |
My own copy of Pop Shuvit's latest offering, Cherry Blossom Love Affair. I think I might do a review on the album later... or not. |
I bought this for my sister; an EP called In Search Of by Busco, one of the bands that performed that day, AND this is the LAST copy, AND I got that single R U Ready for free! Woohoo! |
For starters, let's talk about the worst parts.
When
I just arrived at the Bukit Jalil Stadium, it was starting to rain. I
was thinking of entering the premise first, but then I remembered
something; I HAD to wait for my ticket buyer, because at first I thought
that once you go inside, you can never go out; but boy was I wrong! As
long as I have the wrist pass, I can go in and out as I please! I found
out about that MUCH later on. So, because of my ignorance, as I said
earlier, I had to wait for my ticket buyer (I have two tickets with me;
the second one was supposedly meant for my sister, and then my
classmate, and then my blog mate; two of which could not come with me
while the latter just found out that she got two free tickets on Friday
morning) whom I contacted through Facebook on Friday night. And that
have made me missed out the first two bands that performed, namely Hujan
(awkward, ain't it?) and Tres Empre; AND made my Crocs wet, AND made me
bought a measly, yet almost practical poncho for RM10 (that's fucking
pricey for a cheap ass raincoat; I could get it like for RM2 at
7-Eleven, man!) for a quite heavy rain! And because of that heavy rain,
which happened exactly after Tres Empre's performance, the festival had
to take a break for half an hour in order to let the rain settle down;
and that explains why it ends at 12.30 am instead of the scheduled
12.00 am.
And
the kids there? Well, it's quite normal to see the so called "indies",
"cool" kids, the "hipsters" and the "punks" who thought that they were
to cool for that shit. But, I guess that can't be helped; since it's
ONLY in these kinds of festivals that they could get, umm... attention
of sorts. Honestly speaking dudes, no one actually gives a fuck;
because, let's just face it... WE DON'T WANNA LOOK AT YOU, WE WANNA BANG
OUR HEADS TO THE BEATS OF ROCK, MAN! The foods? Well, you can't bring
outside food, since they already have Food Factory set up around the
festival's compound; and only those were allowed, and they were damn
pricey. UGH.
The good parts? Well... THE PERFORMANCES (I'll cover that later, so bare with me)! AND... these!
Me and Jason FUCKING Lo! Well, he did give a finger, right? Oh yeah, sorry for missing out on your performance too, dude. |
Moots and DJ Uno of Pop Shuvit alongside Dandee and the vocalist of Filipino band Slapshock together with me and my copy of Cherry Blossom Love Affair! |
Enough of that
camwhoring, dude. Let's talk performance wise now. Apart from the
line-ups, this awesome performance thing were also involving the
theatrics made by the emcees of the show themselves; and they are Jinn,
Ryan, JJ, and Ean of Hitz.FM and Rina Omar of 8TV. They were quite
entertaining and funny when it comes to calming down the roaring concert
goers! Good job, guys!
Okay
now, let's REALLY get to the ACTUAL performances; by THE ACTS! Here
are pictures of the bands that I managed to catch, performing, together
with my take on their performances.
Dichi Michi
Nothing
much could be said about this band, since this was my first time
hearing about their existence as well as their sound. But I have to say,
they are not bad at all! Oh yeah, they were also premiering this one
song called Sempurna, their brand new single which was suppose to
feature Noh Salleh, the vocalist of the very first band that performed
on that day, but he had to leave early due to some personal matters. So
they had no choice but to speak out his lines in the song. Poor boys!
But they did quite well on their set, so, all is forgiven!
Busco
I heard quite a lot of deal on this band, especially on Hitz.FM (their hit song R U Ready
as well as promos which received multiple airplays) and mamak stalls
(you know... on fancy mamak stalls that have their own TV network and
shit?). They also performed earlier this year on Urbanscapes, but I had
to hit home early during their number. I thought this band was all show
and hyped out by the media that supports them, but boy was I wrong! They
are actually quite good and energetic on live stage! Sorry for ever
doubting on you guys!
Kyoto Protocol
One
of the most quirky local bands to ever hit the stage; both in
showmanship and music delivery! Oh, they also performed on Urbanscapes
2011 before, but I was totally unaware of their awesomeness. I think
it's true what they say about Kyoto Protocol; they are indeed unique!
The members were totally wacky on stage; dancing around like monkeys and
shit, and at one point, the lead vocals even performed while he was
lying down! Their guitar sound and music arrangements are also quite
unorthodox; it has that kind of Alice in Wonderland vibe to it if you ask me. Heck, they even sneakily covered David Guetta's Love is Gone
right after the lead vocalist asked the audiences "What are you
supposed to do right now?", an obvious reference to a line of the song.
Definitely a band to look out for! But too bad I didn't manage to buy
their album, since it was out of stock... and I was out of cash.
monoloQue
For
those whose a hardcore fan of Butterfingers, you should know who they
are. Two members of the said band are in this new band, lead by LoQue.
Music wise, their attempt of infusing classical Malay music elements
together with modern rock worked quiet well, as demonstrated by the
mastery of the multi-talented lead vocalist, as their sound does have
that relaxed feel of old Malay songs are known for. Musicianship wise,
they are one hell of a synced up band! I mean, if a member messes up,
you could barely hear the music got messed up too! At one point, LoQue's
top guitar string literally snapped all of a sudden. Even so, for a
brief moment, he still jammed to the rhythm even with a snapped guitar
string before a stage crew took away the guitar, and it still sounded
good! In fact, none of the band members were startled by that incident,
AND the music is still in sync! Nice, eh?
Love Me Butch
The
last time I saw this band was at YOUTH'09, a free youth event back in
2009, and then the lead vocals' side project band, Lab The Rat earlier
this year at Urbanscapes 2011. And on Saturday at Rockaway, they were
back; with vengeance! Their entire set that day consists of entirely new
songs that are to be possibly squeezed onto their newest album. I think
they sounded much heavier than before, in fact, they sounded almost
Metal-like; it was complete with heavy riffs, complicated solos, raging
drums, good old double paddle and the more aggressive jumping-arounds
and moshes they have triggered. Quite awesome, but they had to cut their
performance short in order to give room for the later acts. That didn't
bug me at all, in fact, I respect them for that. But something else
does bug me; as All-Time Low came out from their 'nest' on their way to
the Media booth, the crowd gradually moves away to check out on those
guys instead. Poor LMB! While you guys were busy kicking ass, the crowd
ignored you guys slowly. BOO!
Story Of The Year
No
disrespect for all the local bands out there, but THIS was the very
reason why I decided to show up at Rockaway 2011! Since the initial
American bands that were set to appear (Sum 41 and Dashboard
Confessional) could not make it, the organisers made it up by including
these guys as well as All-Time Low and The Used as replacements. I was
actually hoping to see Sum 41, but meh, I love this band too! I felt in
love with these guys for the first time since I heard of And The Hero Will Drown which was a featured track on Need For Speed Underground video game, and then Until The Day I Die
in which the video received considerable plays on a local music
channel. Their sound are quite energetic, with a mix of angst and
serious emotions going on in their songs. As I keep listening to their
music, I was imagining that they would do a killer live show, and boy
was my imagination right! Everyone was off their feet, jumping to the
sounds of their most popular songs and songs that only few know of (and
that few includes me!)! Their showmanship was also awesome; EVERYONE of
the audiences obeyed to whatever it is they told them to do! Most of us
also happened to know most of the songs they have played, which made
them quiet pleased with us and that in turn made them wanting to
interact with all of us! Also, in almost the same vein as monoloQue,
they are also a very tight and synchronised band! During their And The Hero Will Drown
number, there was this one point where they secretly traded two members
of the band with two members from All-Time Low on guitars and drums;
and the music was still in sync! Oh, they were also the trigger for
making everyone swear that day. Heh, Americans. Oh yeah; did you know
that these guys were the first ever international act that I saw in
action? All in all, these guys, to me, were one of the highlights of
Rockaway 2011.
All-Time Low
Although
not a fan of these guys, they caught my attention on that day when they
had unintentionally 'interfered' with Love Me Butch's set, and then
during one of their in-between performance breaks. I remembered their
name being mentioned by my sister awhile back I think, so I decided to
occasionally check them out. Sound wise, their music kinda makes you
wanna dance, since their music sounded kinda poppy and stuff.
Performance wise, other than the quite energetic movements and a quite
solid play, they were also quiet good at delivering American
stereotypical rockstar jokes to Malaysian audiences; you know... things
about alcohol, sex, and girls. Oh yeah, they were even going as far as
doing this! Watch!
Crazy, huh? So, my say on their performance... although quite catchy (especially the American jokes), they were nothing compared to Story Of The Year and those other local bands in terms of energy and music delivery. No offense, All Time Believers. I'm just putting it out there.
Pop Shuvit feat. Project E.A.R.
Pop Shuvit and Man Bai |
Pop Shuvit, the pioneers
of Rap Rock of our homeland, together with the music collective Project
E.A.R. (E.A.R. = East Asian Revolution) and Man Bai, a renown Malaysian
music icon were also the other highlights of Rockaway 2011. Their set
consists of entirely new songs off their Cherry Blossom Love Affair album, with the exception of the previously released remixed edition of Marabahaya and the inclusion of Project E.A.R.'s debut of a new single called No Sleep For The Wicked
which was premiered exclusively, in which they were also recording an
accompaniment footage of sorts to the song. They surely took their time
pretty well in preparing their set, but it was worth it. Definitely
worth it! Pretty energetic and crazy! Oh yeah, DJ Uno even pulled a
stunt that night; by literally crowd surfing on a boat! Check it out!
See? Not kidding! |
I guess this wraps up my personal take on the awesomeness of Rockaway 2011!
Hope to see more unexpected line up for next year's edition, guys! Fix a
few bells and whistles, and this festival is definitely going to be a
killer one! Oh yeah, can you guys convince LINKIN PARK to perform on
next year's Rockaway, pretty please?
Till then.
P/S:
Some of the pictures are not mine, and that also goes to the video of
Alex of All-Time Low; they are only here for illustration purposes.
2 ulasan:
wah, laporan penuh ni.
busco tu sebenarnya ada perform juga dekat Urbanscapes.
sangat akward slot translation all time low tu.
haha. kan?
oh, a'ah. Busco ada gak time Urbanscapes. aku malas nak tengok. :p
memang bongok pun si Alex All-Time Low tu. benda tu pun dia nak bagitau yang dia baru belajar. XDD
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