DOPPLEGANGER ACOUSTIC STAGE hosted by RAY CHEONG @ FEYST12, at The Circle, Publika, 15th December 2012. This is Jay Ibrahim.

FEYST was an art fest with stalls, with walls for graffiti.

Word up.

Quite cool, these!

Remy J.

The hilarious Brian Gomez, with a basket of epic, reworded songs – one such example being We Didn’t Start The Fire.

Rafique Rashid is another master of the comically reworded song.

He also got Ray Cheong to jam along!

I am guessing that these were his song titles. You can guess what they’re about!
– 6 Days Till The End Of The World
– Demons In My System
– Schizophrenia
– Nervous System (a wilder guess!)
– Don’t Call Me U….

Jasmine Low, hardworking organizer of FEYST.

Ray Cheong with his nimble fingers taps his acoustic guitar, making a beautiful polyphony. He covered Michael Jackson – Man In The Mirror and did his Yellow Day song, ever a hit for those who feel strongly for electoral reform.

Markiza of Peter & Markiza.

Peter Hassan Brown.

He is never seen without his harmonica when on stage.

Ending the night: Fazz. Here’s a rare shot of the drummer!

Grace the amazing multi-instrumentalist. I can’t wait to see her play bass and cello, too!

Raja Farouque, originally a drummer, then a bassist, also has an alter-ego as Steve Vai in a Steve Vai-esque band. He does not do that here, though.

Kevin Vong, principal songwriter and vocalist.

Hot chick photographer spotted in the crowd. I love the tussled hair look.

Open Mic @ The Venue #3 – Hosted by Az Samad, 10th December 2012. Here’s emcee and organizer Az Samad!

I didn’t catch the name of this band, but Sapphire Ng is the shredder on the left.

Cool saxophonist.

Sam of Sam and Yewy.

Peter of Peter and Markiza Brown.

Markiza, the energetic keyboardist/environment-saver! They did a song that was a social commentary about the music scene.

The back of David Ling, making 3 keyboards for…

…Froya! Michelle herself plays a keyboard.

Ariff AB.

Remy J.

Aliff Azizi and Ilham.

The theatrical Fazz!

Raja Farouque on an electric double bass! Very different tone, this.

Rafique Rashid sang about murder, madness, mayhem and marriage. I see how it is all related. As a featured act he sang more than two songs. I can only guess that their titles were:
– Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned
– Happy Hour Again
– Schizophrenia
– Bieber
– Don’t Call Me U****

Sulyn Ooi, next…

…with drummer Eng Hooi.

Joanne and Shankar.

Aice and Devon, who did a smooth cover of Michael Jackson – The Way You Make Me Feel.

Sanpagan of Sanpagan and Van.

Van sang a Chinese song. Way cool!

Fern, Adam and Min. From left to right it’s Adam, Fern and Min though.

Urbanscapes 2012, 24th November 2012, at Padang Astaka, Petaling Jaya, was a congregation of the arts, culture and arty entrepreneurship. Here’s Ching Ching and Seng Kiat!

Oh wait, what’s that in the background, on the left?

Our beloved buddy.

I don’t remember whose shades I borrowed to blend in with modern-day hipsters in this admittedly hipster festival. I must be one, too, since I’ve not missed a single one.

Beanbags for sale. Here’s one put to good use.

This was also known as a mud fest, for good reason.

Hobbies of times gone by.

Mariana just needs a star around one eye to complement the bowler’s hat.

KOLUMPO. I’m not sure what was going on here, but I did catch KOLUMPO in 2013, an excellent, underrated movie with 3 solid stories by 3 directors. I’d never have imagined they would portray the first story on Malaysian cinema!

There were also tents with air-conditioning, and people who came prepared with boots.

Outdoors.

Quite a cool installation, that showed two different designs from two sides. Behind it were 2 more designs, but not as clearly distinct as this one.

You can also see the earlier installation on the left. As is tradition, there would always be these giant letters to pose with.

Sometimes, you have to ask what these installations mean…

A familiar face shoots familiar people.

Cipoi/Saiful, founder of Crooz!

Brian Kwan with a funky hairdo.

Not sure who this deejay is.

Panels of self-expression.

An old school bus! Very cool stall indeed!

A new wave of new wave, with Enterprise.

Then, on the main stage, a flourescent Darren Ashley with his unseparatable twin Kaoss pads.

His keyboardist/bassist plays bass on keyboard synth. They were joined by The Impatient Sisters for their collaboration, Mana Diriku!

All shots with the Sony Alpha 99, Sony Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 24mm F2.0 ZA SSM and Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 135mm F1.8 ZA.

Spotted Diana Lian, Darren’s manager, way in the back! Also, Isaac Ravi’s alter-ego.

Urbanscapes this time was a two-day fest, and featured Sigur Ros to close the next night.

This isn’t an eBow…

Then came fireworks.

On the 27th of December 2013, I went to check out Mr. Ooi Eow Jin at Colonial Cafe, The Majestic Hotel, having read about him in an excellent article.

There is a shuttle bus to The Majestic Hotel every half hour from KL Sentral, near the Kenny Rogers exit. To get there, follow the tunnel from the Maxis Centre.

I do not know if he subscribes to the fashion of hip hop, from his uneven socks.

Mr. Ooi Eow Jin, under a parabolic dish that would probably bounce the sound back towards him.

Remember to reserve a table. I came on a Friday afternoon, and it was fully booked, so I was seated at the bar. I could only have the afternoon tea set if I reserved, since they only make it per reservation.

I really like the arches and tiles. There isn’t faux vintage to be spotted, and The Majestic Hotel keeps its typography very consistent across signage. I would recommend taking a tour of the new wing and old wing. This is The Colonial Cafe, and it appears to dominate the space of the old wing.

Vanilla Roibosh tea.

Mr. Ooi Eow Jin.

He segued between songs effortlessly, only stopping during breaks.

I bumped into my schoolteacher Puan Sukania, her sister Shantini, and Saw Teong Hin, and moved from a sedentary position at the bar to a active position at this table, actively ensuring that the scones, tarts, cakes and jam did not go to waste at their table. We had a delightful chat over scones and tea, until we realized that Mr. Ooi had left.

Fortunately, he returned, having forgotten something, and we managed to catch him and catch up. Great tales, many of which were not in the article.

While I had not heard of Mr. Ooi before this, with the only connection being that I know ICOM people who know him, the sisters were daughters of a RTM Orchestra singer who sang with Mr. Ooi.

The new wing of The Majestic Hotel looks very modern, with a large, modern lobby. I’d suggest you look at the old wing, too, to see how differently they did it back then!

Tempered Mental launched their second album, Pax Automata, at The Bee, Publika, on the 22nd of November, 2012. Here’s Melina, frontwoman, bassist and principal songwriter rocking out.

Jimmy on drums is one skilled drummer. I remember a drum workshop many years ago at Bentley Music, Bintang Walk, where he described how to play drums softer to achieve a more balanced sound.

Jack is an awesome shredder. I don’t remember if he switched to the sunburst Fender Stratocaster on the guitar stand on the left, as none of my pictures of the night show it in use.

Jerral Khor pops out of the woodwork, to take some pictures.

I really, really miss my long headbanging-friendly hair.

Despite all the rocking out, Melina does complex bass runs and sings with ease.

Jimmy packs really tight rhythm.

Jack and his mythical guitar of unknown, unspoken origin. Or at least those of us who have spoken of it without asking him, reckon.

The band brought in a lot of stage equipment, making for a colorful show with smoke machines. Since I couldn’t get an even exposure, Adobe Camera RAW saved the highlights and shadows. (This was before DxO Optics Pro Elite supported the Sony Alpha 99. Sure I could reprocess them now, but I quite like how these turned out!)

Melina pauses to address the crowd.

Jimmy and the Tempered Mental logo in the background. It better remain unchanged, since he’s already tattooed it to his neck! (Also, very cool ear stud – note how it focuses light to behind his ear!)

The album is packed full of indulgent, hot solos.

The crowd. They also pulled out the benches on the sides – quite a rare occurence.

For some reason, this picture, due to its lighting, reminds me of gig photography in 2007.

Jimmy thanks the crowd.

Gotta dig the partial Frankenstrat tape look, with the different volume knob.

All shots with the Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 135mm F1.8 ZA and Sony Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 24mm F2.0 ZA SSM.

Partial moshpit.

I’ve seen this bass in use for a very long time!

Raffique Hashim of Village Roof Studios and one of his kids with protection for the ears. You might even spot his own earplugs, as well as his classic brother, Tarquin.

Intense. The music, too. It does not disappoint, but Tempered Mental never disappoints, certainly one of the most consistent bands in Malaysia.

After the show.

The crowd stayed on for quite a while. The buzz was still there, plus it ended before it was The Bee’s closing time, that all the people we had not seen in a long time were suddenly around! And so, we had a fair bit of catching up to do.

Meanwhile, reporters swarmed them.

Fans also sook autographs from all three members, who were scattered all around The Bee after, making it akin to a treasure hunt.

Markiza Brown (left), ever energetic, with a Tempered Mental T-shirt, and Zalila Lee on the right.

Then came the second act of the night – a surprise! Here’s Sarah Joy Seb with a tak boleh blah face.

It was Reza Salleh’s birthday!

Gotta love Zalila peeking out beside Sharon Chong. Too funny!

Cake gets death.

More reading:
Tempered Men Tell

Halfway Kings – 3 Years of Mutual Tolerance, down at the Arenaa Diner, Arenaa Mountbatten Hotel, Jalan Tun Perak. The emcee introduces the opening act…

…+2dB!

It does bother my OCPD self somewhat that it’s 2 and not 3 decibels…

Jo Ann hints to Jeannie.

Their electronica, for lack of my exposure to electronica, brings Depeche Mode to mind, and I like Depeche Mode.

After they played, Darren Ashley went up to them to say how awesome they were. Which is funny because they knew of each other!

Then came the main act, Halfway Kings. Here’s Adeline with a flower-light-pixie in her hair.

Joachim on his trusty acoustic Taylor, the sound of which defined the original version of the band that I knew.

Eng Hooi, on drums.

Joachim then switched to an electric Schecter, a most beautiful one. I have a beautiful Schecter, too!

Adeline has a cool voice-effects pedal hooked up in front of her.

Like so, my friends.

I looked at the entrance and spotted Davina Goh! Her mom was there, and she spotted me spotting them. Thus I formed a theory that Davina’s comedic expressions may have been inherited from her.

Moonshine: A Homemade Music Show’s 7th Anniversary, November 15th 2012, at Laundry Bar, The Curve. Here’s Zee Avi in the audience!

Dzamira Dzafri has got gritty tunes.

The harmonizing sisters known as The Impatient Sisters were next.

At the time of me posting this, their farewell gig for Irena Taib would’ve started, but I am here at home clearing my backlog and staying at home due to financial and logistical constraints.

They also had a drummer…

…and strings and percussion.

Next up was Julian Chan & Richie Tan.

Julian is no stranger to the scene.

Reza Salleh, organizer, emcee and feel-good singer-songwriter sports a new hairdo.

Zalila Lee on a djembe.

I can’t remember the name of the rabbit cartoon character this reminds me of.

Narmi, whose One Buck Short punk drummer days are soon to be shadowed by his acoustic singer-songwriter work.

Fanbase.

Jeremy backs him up.

Chizu, a duo comprising of Ryan Lee Bhaskaran on cajon and Wei-Ming Wong on guitar, prone to catchy, cartoony reinterpretations of popular tunes.

This would be the first Moonshine I’d shoot with the 24-megapixel Sony Alpha 99. This was a crop from the Opteka 85mm F1.4. Some other shots were with the Sony Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 24mm F2.0 ZA SSM and Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 135mm F1.8 ZA.

Also, at the time of processing the RAW pictures, DxO Optics Pro Elite did not support the A99 so I used Adobe Camera RAW instead. Thus the different look, with different color balance, not to be confused with white balance (I hope you can tell).

They were then joined by jazz bird Cheryl Tan and a bassist.

Next up… big drums.

It was the immensely catchy, upbeat Amir Jahari. His songs stick like kuih.

7th November 2012: I went down to La Bodega, Bangsar, to find ex-colleague and all-year-long metalhead Karencore!

Joined by harpist Zhin Wong.

The night was young and we aspired to be young, too.

Rik Omar on drums. (Thanks to Zhin, who helped me figure out most of the names!)

Tricia Priscilla D’Cruz! Saladin meanwhile was on guitar.

Please pardon the reduction in detail due to noise reduction due to the necessary use of ISO25600 on the Sony Alpha 99 since I only brought a Sigma 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG, hardly the best lens for low light. Also, this is a crop, which excarbates this.

Tricia can sing, and the band is top-notch!

They played covers. Linet Goh on keyboards.

After the intermission, Zhin and the band were introduced, and he was invited up on stage! Here he is doing a showdown while covering Alicia Keys – Fallin’.

Video of that performance, thanks to Zhin (and Karen the videographer!)

Zhin Wong, professional harp-player.

Funky bassist Don Alfonso.

Daniel Guerzo Soliano joins on keyboards.

They then break into Jimi Hendrix – Little Wing!

Karen and Tricia.