23rd December 2014: Feedback Open Mic ft Narmi & Ray Cheong @ The Bee Publika / December 2014 Edition.

Yup, The Bee has gotten a sweet mural!

Here’s The Evening Play.

Feedback at The Bee, Publika allows for the full band format.

They even have a drum set.

So I saw these guys at a guitar store earlier, where this conversation happened between one band member and a sales assistant:
Sales Assistant: Ko dengar ini. *strums guitar* Kreng. *presses distortion pedal* Sekarang ko dengar ini. KREEENNNGGG!!!
Band Member: Ooo, giler sedap! Berapa pedal ni?
Sales Assistant: RM350 sahaja!
Band Member: Alamak, kurang bajet lah bulan ini. Kurang sikit boleh?
Sales Assistant: Paling kurang pun, RM300 lah.
Band Member: Alamak, masih tak sampai. Trade-in boleh?
Sales Assistant: Boleh, mau trade-in apa?
Band Member: Hmmm skejap saya tengok ada apa. Ooo, ada ini. Tuner pedal. Boleh trade-in tuner?

Well, that conversation didn’t happen. I made it up, when hearing the band play out of tune! Geez guys it wasn’t bad enough that you guys were tuning up on stage (one of the members had a battery-operated tuner, which could be shared) and after that whole wait, the band was off-tune!

Nevermind the bollocks, here’s the Sex Pistol, Danielle, and a friend.

The Abangs, I think?

Kim Lim, stylish fingerstylist.

First featured act, Narmi.

Jeremy (note the well-tuned guitar, and a guitar tuner hiding behind the headstock, for best aesthetics.)

The bassist also with a tuner! (Eh wait, this is the first time I’m seeing Narmi with a bassist!)

Meanwhile, my latte looked like a biscotti. Yummy!

Monica was playing with my camera. This could be the PlayMemories Mobile remote app.

This is her TED Talk profile picture.

This, I do not know.

Ray Cheong, second featured act.

A new lineup! Grace-ious.

Reuben, in irony, as Ashwin would sometimes drum for Ray, and Ashwin replaced Reuben in Cats In Love. So it’s a reverse switch.

Another oddity – Ray on electric sitting down.

An unrelated Ruben.

Nat & Mel.

Spooky Wet Dreams.

This vocalist has a lot of punk presence!

I am entertained.

Jack Fuzzbeats.

Nazrin.

Kevin.

Premium Sea. I think they were rocking out well, but I don’t remember what genre of rock because I forgot to record a video to help me remember.

Fikri Azam.

Blund.

Took two open mikes for me to get their name right! (By then, I had heard them spell it enough.)

4th December.

On one hand, the utilitarian Yamaha folk guitar…

…and a similiar one, just flipped and played upside-down.

Yvonne Chong.

I don’t remember if her bandmates were the elves or merry whatever.

You get the idea though, because it was two days to Christmas!

A parting shot.

21st December 2014: Nabilah and Adil get married!

The throne, king and queen for a day!

The dining table where they may oversee the crowd.

The wedding band, with Dazsha Lockgan! (I’ll probably regret tagging her this way, as that name would not be as searchable as Dasha Logan.)

Some familiar Fazes!

This guy has always been all about the bass.

Ashwin, from far, said that there was one token Indian drummer there. It wasn’t until I looked at the picture when editing that I realized it was Steve Nanda!

Adil is very much a band man, with years of sexy saxophone. Here he’s posing for currency to be made with his face on it!

The TV announcer face. (If only I nailed focus on this one!)

Various speakers.

One in landscape orientation.

The uncle who could joget.

19th December 2014: HUES Art Exhibition at Avenue K Rooftop.

But first, on the way up, metrosexual Santa and his metrosexual pink-nosed reindeer!

Upstairs, even more of a climb.

Well, at least it didn’t say you cannot be smoking grass…

Spectacular view of the Petronas Twin Towers. Well, at least one of them anyway.

Fake grass.

Fake wooden frame.

I tried Kendama for the first time. Took quite some time to get the ball in the cup!

Jeremy Choy fiddled with the Mitakon/ZhongYi Speedmaster 50mm F0.95 Dark Knight Pro edition while I played with his Kendama. The subject of this photo claims she is from a school where Rubik’s Cubes were played casually and if you didn’t, you weren’t hip. Strange, but I’d have liked to be part of that school then!

Across the road, what was once a famous bowling alley whose name escapes me, was then a parking lot, that held Rock The World 4!

A strange beam rising from the side of Wisma Central.

Jon Liddell.

Graffiti artwork.

Emcees.

Close to the top!

Talitha Tan and her ever-changing band of merry men!

Went with a less merry exposure to accentuate the shadows.

Sonny boy.

Smiley girl.

Bremen Wong, Malaysia’s only milliner (hat-maker).

Dae Kim on the turntable.

This was the same day I didn’t tell anybody that it was my birthday… except Talitha, who was the first to know directly, as captured on this video.

13th December 2014: Rock The World 14, at Bukit Jalil Stadium Car Park A. Here’s Danger Disko at the Indie Stage!

Restraint, at the Main Stage.

Big, the Main Stage emcee!

AZURE4JANNE, at the Noisy Stage.

Super cool guitar!

The Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 135mm F1.8 ZA is needed to reach the drummer.

Liyana Fizi!

The Main Stage has plenty of smoke.

Tilu is back!

I have plenty of very cool shots of Zaim Zaidee. Here’s something funny for a change!

Artefacts.

Hardcore, like many other bands in this year’s lineup.

Coolest hair I’d see that night (well, I arrived late…)

Salam Musik.

Kevin used to have dreadlocks.

Big ska band!

Part of the horn section.

Back at the Indie Stage, I forgot the name of this emcee.

Nastia.

They also form the band of Liyana Fizi…

…but with this vocalist instead.

Cassandra.

Wearing another local band’s T-shirts! Artefacts played just before them on the same stage – the Noisy Stage.

Massacre Conspiracy.

That melodic metalcore pose.

Rithan busking backstage!

Love Me Butch.

A surprise guest guitarist, Rithan of Deja Voodoo Spells!

The lights from small hills far away.

Backstage, waiting to perform.

Daarchlea, the awesome extreme metal band that never fails to impress me with their on-stage persona.

Although the other members aren’t masked, they look metal.

They had an awesome Opeth-like intro, too!

Overexposing the picture let me see his face, somewhat.

Oh Chentaku.

They were the last band for the night.

Jimmy!

Jack!

Funky face paint!

They all had different skeleton face paint.

They brought on these stands to help maintain the rockin’ pose (and occasionally stand on them for added effect.)

6th December 2014: Urbanscapes 2014, at Awana Horse Ranch, Genting Highlands! Here’s the second (and last) part.

It is a place to bump into old friends who have blossomed into spoken-word-readers!

Acquaintances busy at work I didn’t get to say hi!

Rock stars not too famous to take a picture with!

Yeah, I tried it.

Don’t look at me!

The standard straight-on hipster pose.

Mural Cubes.

This video should have some good bokeh, at such a distance.

Finally! Some onesies! Where is the caterpillar onesie I was hoping for?

Spin and see if you’re lucky.

Spin inside.

The Market Of Experiences.

Tongue In Chic! Joyce’s hair isn’t the yummy-looking pink floss anymore.

This should be interesting.

This was what I originally thought the horse ranch was. I remember always seeing this as the bus would pass by on the way up to Genting Highlands.

Biji Biji.

Like a walk-in science center!

Anytime is selfie time.

Be kind, rewind.

Cycle power!

Liyana Fizi spotted with a cool banana umbrella!

Didi meanwhile has a banana holder, with a banana inside! A banana inside a banana? That’s bananas!

Regretfully, this picture is out of focus.

It started to rain, and these poor chaps were stuck inside.

Those with raincoats and hoodies braved it.

I didn’t bring an umbrella since last year’s Urbanscapes didn’t allow it in; instead I brought a hoodie that was somewhat waterproof. It also shielded against the Genting breeze, that was sadly non-existent that night.

Inside one of the many tents where hipsters sook refuge.

Jia Wen’s smile is unmistakeable.

Bumped into Jolin, who introduced me to so many important people back in the day.

The camwhoring continues.

Return of the space cowgirl!

I missed every act at the Upfront stage…

…but at the Urbanscapes stage…

…I did not miss Kimbra.

I can see why everyone is in love with her.

She’s just like in the videos, crazy and kooky dance moves on stage.

Instruments changed, but her dress stayed.

I bumped into Kingsley earlier, who gave me a ride down Genting that night. We’d jammed, sort of, in the now demolished Pekeliling flats.

DJ Leng Yein spotted just before we left!

6th December 2014: Urbanscapes 2014, at Awana Horse Ranch, Genting Highlands! I took so many pictures that I had to split this blog post into two parts.

But first, a look at The Democratic Mayor’s Republic Of North Bangsar, a gigantic walk-in parody full of puns and comics, all for picture-taking and laughing. Oh, and Zunar.

A road burial site.

Oh so punny!

See if you can figure out which section of Bangsar this is supposed to rhyme with.

This, too!

They’re on a roll here.

An iconic staple of Bangsar, of course…

Another place I know in Bangsar.

Inside, posters with Jon Mayor adorn the place.

They even have their own doctor, and their own hospital.

A gym, too!

The inside.

More great portraits of Jon Mayor, Supreme Leader.

His biography, spotted on a lighted cube.

The other side.

Yup, his pet car Pony Eusoff.

More glorious representations of the Supreme Leader.

A mural.

A cinema, showing posters of movies he was featured in!

Sadly, I did not get to watch any of them.

On the plus side, they did show his artwork.

Some wild animals captured, on display.

Jon Mayor, with Tenacious D.

Jon Mayor takes a selfie, like all good politicians out there in touch with their citizens.

Through a peekhole.

Perhaps it was time I went to see the Mayor!

There he was, upstairs, approachable as always. I kissed his hand for good measure, as a sign of respect and submission.

There was music! Lawrence Graham had a DJ set.

There were YouTube superstars!

There was poetry and spoken word!

Freedom of speech!

Sheena, not the punk rocker.

The crowd was colorful.

+2db +Jon Mayor (who’d later have a DJ set, which I missed.)

I did not, however, miss his speech. This was the beginning of Comedy Hour – Kuah Jenhan & Rakan Rakan.

He truly believes in multi-racial representation, with a token Indian comedian…

…and a token Malay one, who is also female! Sharmaine would also point out the postcode of North Bangsar is a cheeky 80085.

And, of course, an educated doctor.

4th December 2014: Moonshine: Spotlight ft Tilu, Dash, Anna Chong & Reza Salleh / December 2014 Edition at Laundry Bar, The Curve. Here’s hardworking organizer and emcee Reza Salleh!

Anna Chong.

Her music is ever haunting and mesmerizing.

Accompaniment.

She gets all tribal.

In the crowd, and Christmas bokeh.

Reza Salleh next.

Long-time bassist Melina.

Adriane on drums this time.

Next up…

Tilu!

His afro, hidden this time.

Regular saxman.

They have a jazzy pop sound.

Been a while since I’d seen this band around!

Wider shots with the Mitakon/ZhongYi Speedmaster 50mm F0.95 Dark Knight Pro edition.

So there’s someone else who likes bringing backpacks on stage!

Last act of the night…

…and also for Moonshine…

…was the band of Darren Ashley…

…called Dash.

Ryan tends to have cool T-shirts.

Sometimes Laundry has cool background lighting.

Darren the electropop cat.

John the evil brother-in-law.

Opposing like Capture The Flag colors!

Can’t decide which of the two pictures I prefer.

Drum not-so-solo!

The end.

Reza announced that it was the last Moonshine, after a great run of 9 years, as Laundry found it running at a loss. Sad, and coincidentally, Az Samad’s open mic at The Venue ran 9 times; Amrita Soon’s Treehouse open mic also ran 9 times.

We didn’t want to leave just yet, with the scene coming out in full force.

The sign at the entrance.

And now, for a bonus section!

Pictures taken by random people; I don’t know who took what, but I know I didn’t take them. I like this shot very much!

Maybe he did.

Lean on me.

Darren in the crowd.

Son Of A Policeman’s bassist.

Ivan.

Leatherwoman.

Vaaalerie.

All hail the king of the night that allowed these pictures in the dark to be taken with such clarity, my Sony Alpha 7S.

Yvonne lookin’ all suspicious and shit.

25th November 2014: Feedback Open Mic ft Reza Salleh & Fazz @ The Bee Publika / December 2014 Edition. Didn’t catch this guy’s name.

Ajantaro.

Jack Fastbeats?

Ziel.

Saturday Afternoon on a Tuesday evening.

Didn’t catch this band’s name.

Don’t know who took this shot of Jone, Fazz’s drummer.

Defusion. Awesome instrumental groove metal!

Reza Salleh, first featured act.

Regular bassist Melina…

…and a surprise Adriane on drums! We’d not seen him in this format for the longest time.

Shane Tan and Kelly Siew, in the crowd.

Caught Red-Handed.

Raja Farouque of Fazz with Kelly Siew. He also plays guitar for her.

Now, Fazz!

Second featured act…

…and always smiley.

I wouldn’t know why keyboardists always take this side of the stage.

Shane took this picture with the Sony Playmemories app on his phone. You can’t see it in the picture as it’s hidden.

Donna Marie.

Talitha Tan.

Love the Capture-The-Flag color scheme!

Fikri Azam.

Eloise Lau. I’d been waiting for her to come to this and blow the crowd away, and blow the crowd away she did. I saw Fariz of Saturday Afternoon with the look of falling in love, and I wanted to tell his bandmate Melissa, who was sitting behind him, that Fariz had that look, when I realized she, too, was falling in love.

Sasha.

16th November 2014: BFM Life: Come Out and Play, at The Bee, Publika.

On the way there, I bumped into Ian Tai for the Merdekarya busker thing they have in the concourse area of Publika!

A rather cool giant capacitive touchscreen.

I’d label the deejays, but I can’t find a list of deejays to help identify them.

She, I know lah. Shelah!

Sharaad Kuttan (left) and Fuad Rahmat (right).

Angeline Teh pointing at things! And people!

These are all crops from my Sony Alpha 7S and Mitakon/ZhongYi Speedmaster 50mm F0.95 Dark Knight Pro edition, because I’m lazy like that.

Bihzhu!

Aggrobeats!

Selfie!

11th November 2014: Feedback Open Mic @ The Bee Jaya One ft. Calico & Sulyn / November 2014 Edition. Here’s Reza Salleh, emcee and organizer. First time I’d see him with an electric guitar!

Josiah.

Ariff AB.

Jia Wen is pretty good at this Mowember thing.

I just have my unibrow.

Ian Steven.

Calico, first featured act. Faz singing her tune, yay!

Sulyn Ooi, second featured act.

I’d see Ian for the first time since his accident.

Straw.

So pretty!

Wai Leong & Friends.

Wai Leong with his cool headless guitar; it had a floating bridge that could be locked!

Red Panda.

Rachel, with someone who looks just like Red Panda playing guitar for her.

Tiah In The Faz Lane.