In High Spirits - Concerts Promoter

[ 16-09-2009 ]

A 30-minute blackout did not dampen the spirits at the T-Music Festival at Bukit Jalil National Stadium last Saturday.

by OH ING YEEN

The highlight of the music marathon concert T-Music Festival at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on Saturday was not exactly the impressive line-up of promising artistes from Asia, but the 30-minutes blackout during the middle of the concert, which the organisers said was a "fuse problem".

At around 10.20pm, when Thai singer Chinawut-Stephane Indracusin, popularly known as Chin, began his performance, there was a "pop" and the lights went out.The audience, and maybe even Chin himself, thought that it was a special effect to create suspense, only to realise that there was a power failure.

A faint ringing of the fire alarm could be heard and the emcees came on stage to calm the audience.

The outage may be a blessing in disguise as it provided a much more intimate interaction between some of the artistes and the audiences.

Justin Lo, Khalil Fong, Z-Chen, Kay Tse, Sam Lee and Eric Lim came on stage to put the audience at ease and even sang a cappella style using the bullhorn, much to the delight of the crowd.

Answering the chants of his fans, Taiwanese singer David Tao came on stage to greet them. The singer David Tao came on stage to greet them. The singer was in the midst of singing Ai Hen Jian Dan ( Love Is Simple ) using the bullhorn when the power was restored.

The 16,000-crowd continued enjoying the performances of 20 promising singers from Asian region, namely from countries such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Singapore and of course Malaysia.

Local singer Andrew Tan kick-started the show at 7pm, but it was hip hop act Manhand and rock band Soler that got the party started.

Manhand showed off their rapping skills and the local five-member group performed Wan Yao Sai Kai ( Travel Around The World ), Showhand and Latido, which were heavily-plugged on the local radio stations.

The Macau-born twins Soler, with their bassist and drummer in tow, gave a solid performance and cranked up the heat with Lead and Wind Season.

Singapore Project Superstar winner Kelvin Tan Wei Lian, the sole Singapore representative, gave a moving performance in his rendition of I Love You as he strummed his guitar.

Our neighbours from Thailand, James Ruengsak and Chin, kept things heated up. James invited the audience to dance along as he performed Koo Gud, a popular Thai hit ( its Cantonese version was made popular by Hong Kong's Grasshoppers).

Chin took off his jacket to reveal a white singlet underneath when he performed the up-tempo Too Fast Too Serious, eliciting screams from the audience.

Taiwan rock band Power Station entertained with their powerful vocals and electrifying performance, dishing out signature tunes such as Di Yi Di Lei ( The First Teardrop ), Bei Pan Qing Ge ( Betrayal Love Song ) and Cai Hong ( Rainbow ).

Fellow Taiwanese crooner Sam Lee had the crowd singing along to the lyrics of Cha Jian Er Guo ( Just Passing By ) and went all funky with so fun.

Hong Kong Singer-songwriter Khalil Fang impressed with Ai Ai Ai ( Love Love Love ), singalong songs Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You and Love Song.

Singer-songwriter David Tao, the second last singer to perform, made sure that the audiences' energy has not waned as he revved up the atmosphere with signature tunes Zao Zi Ji ( Soul Searching ) and Ai Hen Jian Dan ( Love is Simple ) and songs from his latest album.

Others performers included Kenny Kwan from Hong Kong, Jade Liu and Ocean from China, Eric Lim, Kay and Rickman from Malaysia.

Hong Kong songbird Joey Yung had the honour of closing the show and her appearance put a smile on everyone's face... despite the power blackout and some minor technical glitches.