31st March 2012: Earth Hour 2012, at Publika. Here’s The Metaphor!

The police wanted in on the hipster action with the bicycles.

The police were proudly part of the Eco Riders. Nice to see them being part of this, and it would be nice to invite them more to this side of town (when they’d more likely be invited for government-related functions.)

Qings & Kueens made a comeback, without a bassist.

I didn’t catch this band’s name (or its performance) but check out that fanned-fret bass!

Seconds To Collide, who bear some Saosin-ity.

Ryota Katayama on vocals.

I don’t know what was going on here.

Malaysia Ukulele Group.

Pfft, I had one since 4th September 2004, way before all you hipsters. I was a proto-hipster. Credits go to Dustyhawk for the picture-taking.

Darren Ashley, in full band mode!

He played his electro pop out of a shopping trolley. “Hey man check out this I just bought this down at the BIG Supermarket…”

Random audience shot. I am always a sucker for hair light.

Likewise. Whenever I see a professorly German-looking guy I expect him to have played in a UFO cover band in a past life. Granted, UFO isn’t exactly German, but you get the idea better than if I was to say early Uli-Roth-time Scorpions.

Random snipe of Megan Tan and Hansen Lee walking past.

An Honest Mistake, a high-energy band. I always miss their rock kangkang synchronized guitar breakdown.

Luna strikes See “Moon” Mun. They brought me to the next place…

Ecoba, for the Pray For Alda Evan Tan Fundraiser Gig! Here’s Cats In Love, classic rock outfit with the venerable N. Rama Lohan.

Jin Hackman and Coex.

Coex does some mean multi-layered beatboxing! 4 layers!

I like the audience they bring.

Kirstie & Cass3y, I think? They did some R&B duet, among other things.

Roland PK-5 Dynamic MIDI Pedal. Don’t know whose this was or whether I heard it in play.

Relent!

They did a more acoustic, stripped down version of themselves.

Themselves, normally being good ol’ anthemic rock, none of that emo nonsense.

The organizing committee.

Alternate pose.

Freeloaders Inc.

Another good throwback to 90’s rock.

Don’t know why people keep thinking I’ll put their faces in the newspaper or some magazine. But yeah.

Gotta dig the violin bass!

Red Ruby Avengers.

Rendra Zawawi, backed by his brother Hameer Zawawi (far right) and David (back).

Nick Davis brings a modern sound.

I don’t know if this was Zul.

The poster.

This follows my tribute to Alda, here:
What Do These Bands Have In Common?

23rd March 2012: Twin Towers @Live 2012 at Petronas Twin Towers.

Here’s Korean girl group Girls’ Generation/So Nyeo Shi Dae (SNSD).

I’m not going to bother labelling them, because I am not a fan of Korean music, and I can’t tell them apart.

Fans strewed out into the main road from the outdoor area with the fountain where the event was held, on the other side, away from KLCC Park.

James Baum, local hip hop artiste, was next.

His crew.

Reshmonu, a much more worldly musician.

Here’s Bo!

Jojo Struys, emcee of the night.

Nicole Scherzinger!

She brought her ensemble, not in any the Pussycat Dolls which she was a part of.

I managed to get in to the area before the photographers’ pit. I don’t remember how.

That, and the Sony Alpha 77 with the Carl Zeiss 135mm F1.8, got me real tight shots. Add that 24 megapixels allows for plenty of cropping.

It does occasionally make it hard to get group shots like these…

…but moving about gives you that leeway.

I’d consider myself lucky this time, as I’d otherwise not get in to the same area the next day.

DAT ASS.

24th March 2012: Day 2, with Faizal Tahir.

A remote-controlled blimp hovers above the crowd.

I don’t remember what this on-stage competition was about.

Orianthi!

I thought I heard Orianthi say that she left her slide at the dressing room but she can get by with a rabbit. Geez now I’m thinking of the suitable form factor of a guitar slide.

She came to fame as Michael Jackson’s guitarist for his upcoming tour, but he died so that didn’t happen.

Nevertheless, she is a shredder in her own right, down to the floor.

EVH 5150 in the back!

So here’s where the 24 megapixels were stretched to its limit, cropping tightly. Also one of the rare shots where her eyes are actually visible under all that mascara!

Another on-stage competition.

She won, I think.

Fireworks ensued.

DJ Nadine Ann Thomas! For when being Miss Malaysia Universe 2010 is just another item on a bucket list.

Kelis! I was looking forward to her, really. I enjoyed her fourth album, Kelis Was Here, but I don’t think she played anything from that album – instead it was a lot of trip hop/electro. I don’t remember if she even performed Milkshake or not!

Her awesome bendy glowstick microphone stand.

The night ended with DJ Nikki.

Feedback Open Mic, at The Bee, Publika, one 20th of March 2012. Here’s Raksasa.

Reza Salleh, organizer, is up on stage next.

Offroads.

These guys play blues rock and roll in the vein of Led Zeppelin and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

You gotta have at least two guitarists, one for the lead lines, and another for the rhythm.

Relent.

They did an awesome cover of Adele – Rolling In The Deep.

Markiza and Peter Hassan Brown, good ol’ folksters. They were joined by Wong Lip Kee on guitar.

Carpark does some hard-rocking rock kapak (80’s metal.)

Najwa joined last minute. Here’s the jazzy soulful singer with Faz on guitar. I’ve not heard her do acoustic, but she was awesome at it. She did a Erykah Badu cover as well.

Her brother joins her for a duet. Man can these siblings sing!

(Of course, this being impromptu, Farhan had to look up the lyrics.)

All shots with the Sony A900 with Sony 135mm F2.8/T4.5 Smooth Transition Focus. Yup, still workable in low light despite the T4.5, if you put your mind to it!

Here’s Reza Salleh at the Feedback Open Mic at The Bee, Publika, 6th March 2012.

Joe Loy has a thing for open chords.

James and the Mini Peaches. When I Googled their band name, I finally realized how they came to their name!

Free Loaders Inc., 90’s rock of the good kind.

Az Samad, fingerstyle and guitar tapping specialist.

N. Rama Lohan, guitar specialist. He reviews guitars for The Star!

He was playing with a bunch of music journalists (except Kevin Theseira on bass, I think). This was classic rock band Square Circles.

2side1BRAIN. Proper post-hardcore from Japan!

They made full use of the space.

Bassist with funky contact lenses.

That is one long cable.

One wonders how they monitor themselves.

Raksasa tends to end the show.

All shots with the Sony A77 with Opteka 85mm F1.4 and Carl Zeiss 24mm F2.0 ZA SSM.

21st February 2012: Feedback Open Mic at The Bee, Publika! Here’s Reza Salleh featuring a guest band from Japan. This is Akiyoshi Masashi on flourescent-stringed bass.

Badak, awesome proto-punk hard rock. Refreshing, in the wave of indie kids flooding the scene.

Barisan Mustafa. We were wondering what he was going to do, but I could guess this was a gimmick.

He was full on, proper PUNK! Vulgarities, ballsy anti-establishment attitude, it was all there!

Quite hilarious, plus it’s something I’d not seen at one of these open mics.

Free To Fall was, well, not punk.

PanPara, from Japan. These guys swam across the ocean and were marinated in the waves, giving them non-stop groove.

Julian and Marvin, I think, doing two Beatles covers – With A Little Help From My Friends and sweet ballad Something.

OJ Law, with just his laptop as backing track. He covered The Corrs – Dreams in his own delicate way.

Tama from Korea, with a coarse voice suited for rock.

Raksasa, intense acoustic with a backing track.

Bassment Syndicate featuring Japanese fusion today.

Mordo Blasters, a young rock-and-rollin’ band.

Darren Ashley was setting up, when his parents came up to express how much of fans they are to their son’s music. They also debated on stage, as to who he inherited the musical talent from. Fun uncle and aunty!

Then it was his set, this time a rock set…

…with the electropop coming in later.

We’re still waiting for an triple album by the way – first disc being electropop and delay loop experimentation, second disc being more rock, third disc being his older acoustic jazz ballads.

Velvet Peach Seven! The difference being Ike-chan, the guitarist, of course.

I’m sure we don’t recognize the drummer, Panten, who also played with Reza, PanPara, and Tama…

By then, The Bee had to close, and there were some acts that did not get to play. So, one of them was cajoled to play anyway outdoors, where a crowd listened intently…

Didn’t get her name, but she had a sweet song.

All shots with the Sony A77, Samyang 35mm F1.4 UMC and Opteka 85mm F1.4, both manually focused.

Moonshine presents Hey! Be Nice To Animals! A Fundraiser for PAWS, 19th February 2012, at No Black Tie. Here’s Reza Salleh introducing the Rashdan Harith.

Darren Ashley does a solo set with just his voice and two Kaoss Pads, one to loop his voice, the other to make effects with it. I left the color in this picture intentionally to highlight his red hair.

Narmi with Remy J on the right, accompanying him on flowery un-punk music.

Reza Salleh went to Japan and all he got was a bunch of crazy, insanely talented Japanese musicians with cartoonish ferver.

Zalila Lee is tickled.

Froya, upcoming catchy melodies.

Liyana Fizi, with the late Izaad Amir of the Godin Guitarists Alliance. Narmi and Remy J have played with him as well, but not all bringing the Godins at the same time – a pity!

He also played for Asmidar.

This band does some amazing, out-of-this-world world music. I think.

Pantoum Trio is two-thirds bows and strings.

The Impatient Sisters.

Default pose.

Pete Teo and his vocal vibrato. He was joined by Melina William for a bit.

Tama from Korea, with a gritty working-class voice.

Japanese bassist in tow.

This Japanese drummer was crazy!

Then came Velvet Peach Tones from Japan, difference being the guitarist.

John Thomas Trio.

Vocoder, major funkiness!

Bassment Syndicate also has a month’s worth of funk.

The stairway where people would sit when No Black Tie is fully occupied.

Tempered Mental, awesome progressive alternative rock band. Cool T-shirt!

Cool guitar, too!

All pictures with the Sony A77 and Opteka 85mm F1.4.

15th January 2012: The Bathroom Girl, at The Bee, Publika. It was also a singer-songwriter night, with Reza Salleh (left) and Rendra Zawawi.

Reza is the perennial organizer of gigs, a hardworking man with hardworking chords and melodies.

Cherry Lee is her real name, and she sings in the bathroom on her Youtube channel.

Rendra brings a gritty melancholia to the singer-songwriter scene.

In true singer-songwriter round fashion, they take turns to play.

As they are all on stage at the same time, they may sometimes be accompanied by the other, usually idle performers, in vocal or instrumental harmony.

Rendra brings quite a refreshing sound, I’d say!

The first set ended, and it so happened that Peter and Markiza Brown would play during the intermission!

Markiza Brown hops on stage to play songs of peace and to save the environment.

Peter Hassan Brown, one of the key figures in the singer-songwriter scene, often credited for having open mike and singer-songwriter sessions back in the day. Many a gig organizer would have gone for that, inspired, and went on to do their own.

He and his wife bring classic folk and authentic hippie power.

All shots except the first, with the Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 135mm F1.8 on the Sony A77. The first was with the Opteka 85mm F1.4, hence the less compressed perspective.

Strange, as just yesterday I was telling somebody how the 135mm on APS-C was too tight, but I seemed to have found comfortable framing with this. Of course, it helps that there was much room to maneuver at The Bee!

Rendra and his brother Hameer have a penchant for performing with beanies.

10th January 2012, Feedback Open Mic at The Bee, Publika. Here’s Reza Salleh, through the only lens I brought that night, the Sony Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 24mm F2.0 ZA SSM, on the Sony A77. Not tight enough, and this is already a crop. Still, I hope this helps represent the ambience and sense of scale!

Joe Loy soundchecking, I think.

Didn’t catch their names.

Ferns, the soft-spoken almost-rock band.

One thing cool about The Bee, Publika, is how it’s so suited to working, if you must.

Darren Ashley, insane electropop genius, on the stage, and Joni, his sister, on the camera, recording a video.

Joni shows me her pre-processing technique – color filters! (As opposed to post-processing, adding color effects after recording.)

Mordo Blasters, a young band with an old-school rock sound.

Sarah, I think.

Hameer Zawawi and his melancholic, haunting tunes.

Rendra Zawawi gets on stage, and brings his brother Hameer up again. This is also why I didn’t crop the other pictures much although I could, because I had a bit of misfocus in them!

He then brings his sister up.

A close look at Darren Ashley’s electropop machinery. These are 2 Korg Kaoss Pads – one for effects, the other for looping.

22nd November 2011 was when I was at Laundry Bar. Here’s Seconds To Collide.

I had with me the Sony A900 with a flash, and the Samyang 35mm F1.4 and Opteka 85mm F1.4 (in essence, a Samyang rebranded.)

Both these lenses are manual focus so pardon any misfocusing!

Ryota Katayama, vocalist of this emo band. His voice is well-suited to this genre!

Then came the young energy of An Honest Mistake!

Darren Teh always is a joy to photograph, with his metal locks.

Sheryl Goh on vocals.

Joanne Kay and Avril Chan watch on. Note the adjustable weight!

Pay close attention to Darren’s riffing – he’s got some killer rhythm! There’s a thing he does in between bars.

Guest vocalist/screamer.

The (then) new drummer.

Metal locks, again.

The next band is fully metal, despite the teddy bear hanging on Adam’s pocket.

Dragon Red!

Slow shutter speeds express motion well.

They invited Alda Tan (rest in peace) to play bass for them. Alda played bass for them for a while many years ago.

You can see a bit of his bass tone here.

Adam is one of my favorite screamer/crooner vocalists.

He even brings his own mike, a signature.

Camero (Kamarul) was on vocals and screams while Alda played.

It was soon discovered that he, too, could scream!

Amil, the guitarist, sported a Santa hat out of nowhere.

Red Ruby Avengers, with alternative rock.

A side effect of slow shutter with flash is that some items may appear to be partially transparent, like the drum cymbals.

Here’s a bit of Silverchair.

Outside, Eddy shows me his latest tattoo – two pairs of glasses.

Ending the night was Wanted Symphony.

They played symphonic metal.

Thus, a keyboardist is a necessity.

Sometimes you miss focus with a non-Live View camera. Still, I like this shot despite none of it being in focus.