Fam-Lay welcomes the crowd for what is to be…

N*E*R*D! Pharrell Williams, one half of superstar producer group The Neptunes (Chad Hugo could not make it.) This was down at the Sunburst Music Festival, 21st March 2009.

I have to admit, I was already very excited to see this band on the original Sunburst 2009 setlist. I’ve been digging their funk-rock-meets-hip-hop-meets-crunk tunes since Fly Or Die (and the voracious Lapdance.)

Shae Haley, one third of N*E*R*D (short for No One Ever Really Dies).

Shae finds Malaysia a bit hot!

Time For Some Action!

They played a good mix of songs from all three albums, starting with the crunky stuff (Anti-Matter was the first song.)

N*E*R*D called some dudes up on stage to boogie down with them. This was obviously to the crunkier stuff (Killjoy, Rockstar, new song Thrasher, Popcorn, new song Soldier, and Spaz if I remember correctly…)

Well hold up! yeah you.

Pharrell interrupted the show to scold a photographer who was pushing people (I’ve been elbowed by such inconsiderate photographers before.)

“Now I apologize for bringing attention to you, and, and maybe if I embarrass you I didn’t mean to do that but I’m just saying like, there’s one of you, and there’s like 30 people and you’re pushing them off like they can’t have a good time. These people paid to have a good time! You must not know what an N*E*R*D show is about. It’s about the people!”

Transcribed from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F4BeMP93bM.

And then they cut to Don’t Worry About It.

Everybody wants to flash Pharrell.

N*E*R*D called the girls up on stage too, for the sexier songs (Everybody Nose, She Wants To Move, Lapdance, Sooner Or Later, and a cover of Take Me Out if I remember correctly).

This is all before their new stage buddy Rhea, though.

Then, it was time for another 4-letter major international act – KoRn!

If you spot the Adidas you know they gotta play A.D.I.D.A.S. (which does not stand for Adi Dassler, the founder…)

Here’s Fieldy with his signature Ibanez K-5!

Yes, the left-and-right two-beat headbang is part of KoRn’s music. Meet Ray Luzier!

Munky laying some chunky rhythm.

And, of course, the man in a kilt, Jon Davis!

No H.R. Giger microphone stand, unfortunately, but enough growl to teleport you back to the 90’s when KoRn hit the airwaves. They played the classics, mostly – in fact, I was surprised I recognized so many of them!

I don’t remember what they played, but roughly – Blind, Shoots And Ladders, Clown, Coming Undone, Falling Away From Me, Got The Life, Helmet In The Bush, Freak On A Leash, A.D.I.D.A.S., Here To Stay, Right Now… I think.

“Aye, if I got my kilt on I might as well bring out me bagpipes!”

In between songs, he would go to the back to his oxygen pipe – quite a necessity for vocalists with demanding vocals.

And that’s all from the Sunburst Music Festival 2009!

More here:
Korn, N.E.R.D Cornered?
Some Burst Of Pictures, Part 4!
Some Burst Of Pictures, Part 3!
Some Burst Of Pictures, Part 2!
Some Burst Of Pictures!

One 24th of April 2009, I was in Desa Sri Hartamas when I bumped into Ziel performing at Lepaq Cafe!

(And so that answers the mystery in my previous blog entry about this wonderful place – yes, Lepaq Cafe survived!)

Ziel is what I would describe to be some kind of modern angry metal.

Darn purple lights!

Random dude on stage – that is the theme of Lepaq. Get up and play if you want to!

I see this dude all the time, but I have no idea who he is, either.

However, if you’re still looking for Lepaq down a street in Desa Sri Hartamas, it’s not there anymore – it has moved to Kelana Mall. I still haven’t gotten round to visiting it! That, and the MCPA, are two gig venues I have never been to.

Hit their Myspace to see when their latest gigs are!

16th April 2009 was Obscuradio down at Laundry Bar. Pictures have undergone random level tweaks for that typical wannabe-cross-processed-film look. I haven’t done this in a while!

Gregory Ramanado, of The Ramanados!

He is not a Ramanado.

He is a Ramanado. They play songs in the key of hard rock and funk.

Apparently, he brought his black tie to Laundry.

Steve the shredder.

That usual cross-processed-from-digital-look has a bit of green in the shadows. Ironically, I like it that way too!

My Moroccan friend Sarah! This was the last gig we went to. We met by me blocking her view at gigs! (You kinda have to get in front with a fisheye.)

After the show Greg is surrounded by fans of attractive persuasion!

Right after is Darren Ashley Thomas of Two Hand Band, who is a musical wizard! This crazily talented dude even rapped and sung in Chinese for a short bit.

He’d either be playing by himself and accompanied by a backing track on his Mac…

…or with a human keyboardist.

Samuel Oh of Bus Company joins in with a most cool guitar.

Obligatory ambient-light ISO6400 shot.

Greg is still talking to fans. Dang, dawg!

Bo of Seven, a very funky, jazzy, laid back band.

Rohnie (who also played with Darren for a bit.) This night was full of band slutdom.

Darren then comes on to do his beatboxing!

Emir (of Throne Away) comes on to sing and play harmonica! This was a very satisfying jam session to watch.

Another fisheye shot!

Sam inspects the fish.

I bumped into an old acquaintance, who interestingly had a sketchbook and pen. Her friends were all doodling in, and they passed it to me. “Just draw whatever randomly comes to your hands.”

And so, this dude came about.

On the 2nd April 2009 I was down in Laundry Bar for Moonshine: A Homemade Music Show! Here’s Eleanor! (Regretfully, I missed Matematik due to The Curve doing electrical maintenance, forcing the gig to start much earlier than expected.)

Plus points for the very energetic frontman…

…who sings screamo.

I find a good way to bring dynamics into the scene is to have the right white balance that helps distinguish subjects.

I used this method to extract tones from the previously, apparently washed-out pink on his hand.

Screamo vocalists are the most fun to shoot – they go into all sorts of shapes and positions. I am not sure how you scream in a fetal position (Chicosci did so years ago in Laundry Bar.)

And then, it was hard-rockin’ Pitbull Inc.! They certainly seem to have had a change in flavor, from a variety including doing a funky Michael Jackson cover, to straight out hard rock.

Not to complain, they do it really well!

Solo! Burn up that paint!

Bang them skins!

Chicks dig it!

(Shot at 135mm F1.8 1/5s ISO6400!)

Whose flighty legs are these?

None other than Zack Yusof, of Deserters!

These guys have been playing Brit-eeesh pop/indie for yonks. Zack has always had that accent.

Interesting how the decals change from the fretboard to the guitar body.

That’s all folks, says Reza the organizer who wears cool shirts. It was indeed odd that Laundry closed so early (11pm to be exact) that I even took a bus home!

Here’s some more from Sunburst KL 2009, 21st March 2009! Guess which band this is…

He’s just sessioning.

And a string section, who could it be?

Famous producer Greg Henderson. Which hard-rocking Malaysian band could this be?

She got on stage, representing her other half, a guitarist that could not be there…

The bassist however is the familiar Kadak!

And the vocalist Emmett.

Who else, but Malaysian rock legends Butterfingers!

If they started in school, I would gander that they’ve been doing this for half their lives.

Later, there was Twilight Action Girl. Is she Twilight Action Girl?

I heard that Twilight Action Girl was made of more than one person. Is it this group of girls?

“No man we’re a bunch of dudes!” This is DJ Bunga a.k.a. Lim Kok Kean.

This is hairstylist DJ Xu a.k.a. Su.

This is DJ ChaseyLain a.k.a. Kelvin Oon.

This is DJ Ribut 10:59 a.k.a. Daryl Goh.

Together, they play the randomest mix of indie, dance, soul and electro. I used to go frequently when they played at The Loft, Zouk KL (before the renovations.) It is always refreshing to have Twilight Action Girl play in a open space. I have to admit I am a bit claustrophobic with a packed dance floor full of indie kids due to a past incident…

After this, 2 international headliner acts!

More here:
Some Burst Of Pictures, Part 3!
Some Burst Of Pictures, Part 2!
Some Burst Of Pictures!

Here’s some more from Sunburst KL 2009, 21st March 2009! 21st Night.

Juwita Suwito, local songstress.

Projek Pistol. I like their flavor of metal!

Indie favorite Hujan.

Dead Mushroom returns! I remember their classic Read My Mind.

Meet Uncle Hussain, a more recent band, with a most powerful vocalist.

Estrella with everyone’s favorite Liyana Fizi! (Edit: Ooo it’s her birthday today!)

Someday when I bump into her again I shall remember to ask what happened to the original rendition of Take It Slow.

From Singapore came Sixx!

They had a supercute jumpy vocalist and funky rock anthems!

Add a rapper for good measure.

Gerhana Ska Cinta‘s gotta have horns to play ska!

Nao, hard-hitting Chinese-scene rockers.

The Tugu Drum Circle spans the whole picture!

Anybody can join the Tugu Drum Circle – all you need is a percussive instrument. Shot with the Peleng 8mm F3.5 circular fisheye with 2x teleconverter on the A900, to form a diagonal fisheye.

I particularly like the coke-bottle-top shaker.

Cosmic Kitchen is out of this world.

Mmm yes fretless bass.

Some shots used the Carl Zeiss 135mm F1.8 with 2x teleconverter. I used F6.3 for this shot, to compensate for the quality loss caused by the teleconverter.

Trendkill. The picture is self-explanatory, what more if you are a Pantera (RIP Dimebag) fan!

Okay, so Dimebag didn’t use ESP Limiteds…

Estranged rocks the set again!

Nidji comes down from Indonesia again!

Behind every good MC is a good DJ.

And this good MC is none other than Joe Flizzow!

Agrikulture, with jumpy disco rock.

He takes the threat of rain under a covered stage, very seriously.

Shirley Klarisse Yonavive Edwards (or S.K.Y.E. in short.) (Thanks Waifon for the update!)

There will be more! This set is just the cleaner stuff for the season.

More here:
Some Burst Of Pictures, Part 2!
Some Burst Of Pictures!

1st April 2009 – what better way to spend April Fool’s Day than at No Black Tie with comedian Andrew Netto?

But first, a stairway shot.

A Justin Wong shot.

A Greg Ramanado from above shot. He was in the mood for some Jamiroquai – Love Foolosophy (which explains the beanie, which appears in their Abbey Road live video.)

A bokeh-ful drummer shot.

For once, I like this angle of the piano.

Gotta have bass to cover Jamiroquai!

Back to the crowd.

And on to the show – arguably Malaysia’s youngest stand-up comedian!

One of his famous dance acts.

Fast-forward to 8th July 2009. Mr. Netto looks starkingly like a Thriller-esque Michael Jackson here!

Shot at 135mm F1.8 1/5s ISO6400.

And of course, opening act The Ramanados must cover Michael Jackson as a tribute…

…with excellent covers of Billie Jean and The Way You Make Me Feel.

There was also a Def Leppard – Walk Away cover. All within the myriad styles that the Ramanados play.

Though, I must say I didn’t appreciate that 3 of the 4 lights in No Black Tie had suddenly gotten a blue gel overlaid.