9th May 2015: Calories Cafe Opening Day.

This duplex shoplot is in Glomac Galeria Hartamas (which I’d describe as the nearest building in Desa Sri Hartamas to the big junction that connects it to Sri Hartamas.)

The counter.

More seats.

Dual frontage, to the center area.

Upstairs is Mimpikita, a boutique. Bits Of Random and A Soap Affair were also here, with Jaslyn Cakes downstairs.

I came in time for Lea Ismail.

She was not alone on stage.

Next up, Talitha Tan and her Maestro guitar with a rather unique second soundhole.

Hello, is it me you’re looking for? F11 at 135mm through a mirror lets me get this shot.

Everybody’s favorite Derpina gets some hair color going on.

1st May 2015: Pop That Cherry! Launch Party & Concert.

It was also Fabien’s birthday, but there shall be no pictures of him, since he went past his alcohol consumption threshold.

First band I managed to catch was the djentle Deumuseth.

8 strings of djent.

Vocals straight from hell.

Bullseye Pub & Restaurant shifted their stage to the other side, allowing for a bigger area!

The emcee.

Beatrice presents a dance!

To the sound of Marilyn Manson.

Pink Acid.

Awesome hair metal!

No life till leather!

Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi, the works.

A little harmonica for Aerosmith – Cryin’.

Ending the night was the surprise acoustic version of Dragon Red.

Adam has always a commanding stage presence with his unique look. Sure, he’s got peak beard, but he does it better.

Camero on bass. Brandon took over drums, but went back to guitar for acoustic duty, as Amil could not make it.

Slyde had to go, so Adam did the rap bits and the deejay scratches, too.

Here they are, doing an acoustic version of their single, Child’s Play.

Funky helium balloons.

That big birthday card/placard.

Random shots from Publika, where I bumped into familiar buskers!

Here’s Ariff AB on the 15th of April, 2015.

Then, on the 1st of May 2015…

Reza Salleh!

28th April 2015: Feedback Open Mic ft Brendan de Cruz & Castera @ The Bee Publika / April 2015 Edition. Here’s Reza Salleh, emcee, organizer, and first open micer of the night!

Next up: Tiah Ridhwani.

Backed by the megawatt-smiling Fazz on guitar.

Anatasha remembers me!

For that, I will remember you.

Middle Sons.

So I was taking pictures when I was interrupted by a challenger!

She was then defeated by this wanderer from Japan.

A wide-eyed wanderer, indeed.

Pictures above by Jia Wen, except the picture of Jia Wen, by me.

Yvonne flips her hair back.

Next band seemed to forget something. They Forgot Jasmine.

David Soh.

Edited: Mikhail Raiyan.

Amoura.

I was really drawn to the deep army green of this guitar!

Another draw – Illuminannnati.

First featured act…

Castera!

Repertoire in Japanese.

Featuring two familiar sisters; Yvonne Chong…

…and Sharon Chong. Faz is hiding in the back.

Sharon was wearing a shirt with this cool design – you’ll first notice the triangle (symbol of the hipster), then the eyes below it, then the sideways mouth, then the V-neck collar he is wearing.

Marie.

The Filters.

What is it with bands that can sit around and wait for their turn to get on stage but not think about tuning their guitars while waiting?

Brendan James de Cruz.

Awesome voice, awesome guitar.

George.

Lukarts.

14th April 2015: Feedback Open Mic @ The Bee Jaya One ft. Misgive & Isaac Ho / April 2015 Edition. Here’s Joanne & Julia, twins!

First featured act, Isaac Ho.

Deborah Gan.

Second featured act, Misgive.

Celyane/Yen. This punk rock band normally is electric punk rock…

…but this time they travelled down to Kuala Lumpur, they went acoustic. This doesn’t stop Reen from giving an electric stare!

Cort hooked them up with acoustic instruments.

I have a fretless acoustic bass that has pretty much the same shape.

This is a real punk rock band, not pop punk, and I’m spinning the CD I got from them on repeat.

New band member, Sabby.

Reza Salleh, emcee and organizer.

Wee Ning, I think…
(Edited: It’s Reening Lau, as I’d find out in 2016!)

…and Esther Ling.

Amrita Soon & Sam Soon, sisters. Amrita’s on the 12-string guitar.

Edited: Wun Tuang. (Thanks Rizal for mentioning his name!)

Kai.

It was another early night, so Reza ended it with some covers.

All pictures shot with the Sony Alpha 99 and Sony Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm F1.4 ZA SSM.

11th April 2015: Guiness Amplify Curates Froya’s Panic Bird Launch, at The Bee, Publika! Here’s the emcee.

First opening act, Rozella.

Her band.

Next: Jumero, featuring Jared…

…Michael…

…and Ryan.

+2db, with an alternate lineup, adding Ali Aiman and Eng Hooi. Eng Hooi has a thing for crashing the 2-member bands like Halfway Kings.

The songbird Froya!

Ivan on lead guitar.

Horn section.

She brought on Zalila, who was part of the early journey.

Melina, too!

Ann Na is all like pew pew.

If you’re wondering what’s with the noise – my Sony Alpha 7S was in repair and I had to make do with my Sony Alpha 99, which now feels dated at ISO6400.

Grace of Fazz and QG!

The Froya bunny. (Edited, thanks Melinya for the heads up!)

My tablemates won the rare USB drive edition of the album!

24th March 2015: Feedback Open Mic ft Gentle Bones & Ariff AB @ The Bee Publika / March 2015 Edition. Didn’t catch this performer’s name.

(Edited, thanks Cheryl!) Izza & Michelle. Everybody’s in purple, or rather what my infrared-modded Sony Alpha NEX-5 thinks is purple but is actually infrared. The flare is from the infrared pass filter, which blocks visible light from reaching the sensor but introduces this funky flare. My Sony Alpha 7S was malfunctioning and was left at home; my Sony Alpha 99 was not with me at the time. Thus I had to make do with this and the Mitakon/Zhong Yi Speedmaster 50mm F0.95 Dark Knight Pro edition.

So here’s one I can identify – Sid Murshid!

Cheryl on bass.

Fikri Azam.

Ariff AB, first featured act.

Reza.

Practicing.

Second featured act, Gentle Bones from Singapore.

This is without the infrared pass filter.

Hence, more than just purple.

Lukarts.

Debra Gan.

The Message.

Didn’t catch this band’s name, either.

Finally, emcee and organizer Reza Salleh.

22nd March 2015: OJ Law ‘Let’s Be Adult’ Album Launch Show at The Bee, Publika.

The place was packed!

So I only came in after the starting acts.

So here’s the awesome pop-hook writer, OJ Law.

So awesome, he got Liyana Fizi to sing a song with him, Fantastic Adventure. That story is documented in the digital download version of his album, Yesterday Is A Distant Dream. When I first bought it, I was amazed by the bonus digital content – the vocal-only outtakes, the demos, the early versions, the PDF that explains how each song came to be with lyrics… and OJ Law’s version of Only One, which appears in Liyana Fizi’s album, Between The Lines.

That, I thought, was the way to go with digital albums. It is a superb example that sticks in my head till today. The digital album no longer comes with all these bonus things, sadly, but what he plans to do with it, I shall leave to him to publicize.

Also, Liyana Fizi said I was mysterious. I’m… just putting this out there.

Back when we both had long hair, we were often mistaken for each other.

I finally met the red-headed version of Bihzhu!

19th March 2015: An Honest Mistake Records Presents: The Rock Show (March 2015), at Laundry Bar, The Curve!

Here’s the first band, AVG.

Awesome groove rock. Some riffs remind me of Marilyn Manson.

Simmy noted how interesting they were, musically, turning a drum beat around.

The frontwoman was full of energy.

Then came a thousand notes per second, thanks to Kelvyn Yeang.

He pimps his CDs with emcee Scott.

Another technically adept band was next – Black Lightbulb!

Simmy!

Simthesizer.

Ash. Yes, there’s a patch on Simmy’s laptop called Ashrock, another called Samsong, and Stars And Waves (which is her famed Celtic Wave song.) I also spotted Overture – Ethereal Mallets.

Hameer sings along.

Raja Farouque, king of the speaker stack.

Go ahead and jump!

Last band of the night.

The grungy Nervedeless!

That seems like a grungy guitar, too.

The mosh.

Ah, to have my hair long again for maximum rocking out.