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Hey Ho! We Rocked The Lagoon!Posted August 19th, 2009 At 11:38 am By MTV ASIA
Kasabian Flight Case
TEXT: LENNAT MAK
I’m totally tempted to name this entry “I was backstage at MTV World Stage and all I got was this lousy photo.”
And well, here’s the story, morning glory. I flew in on Tuesday afternoon to KL and broke my phone the very next day. Like, there was way too much star power for my measly little phone to handle that it simply imploded. How brilliant and lame, all at the same time. Probably need to get more tech savvy tips from Rochelle the next time I meet her. We all could do with a mobile phone sponsorship, really!
But I digress.
Back to MTV World Stage, what an amazing gig huh? It felt like a music festival more than anything else. The sea of people! Those little arms up in the air! The sing-alongs! The moshing! Here’s a non-photographic recap:
August 11 – Tuesday
Flew in at around 3pm and arrived at Sunway Lagoon at around 5pm. My hotel room was facing the venue. Fantastic! Went by Surf Beach and the crew was still setting the stage up. Went to the middle of the stage and silently screamed “I’m a golden goddess!” with my arms outstretched. I hope no one saw me.August 12 – Wednesday
Had a good night sleep. Went by the production office to check things out and everyone’s really busy making sure the event would be a massive bang. Some last minute changes to the setlists, which meant the creative director and show director gotta work out the LED sequences and camera angles. The sheer amount of work that went behind MTV World Stage was unbelievable. It made me appreciate the show, or any major events, so much more for that matter.August 13 – Thursday
First day of rehearsals! Boys Like Girls were first to drop by for soundcheck. I love John’s SJC drums! Sparkle is a must for any drum kit. I would love to get a set of SJC myself. Martin didn’t seem to be in a jolly mood and I read from his tweets that it was due to lack of caffeine. But I thought he still did a great job, giving his best during soundcheck.Raygun was up next and I was just ogling at Adj’s VOX AC30 amps. Too much of a band gear head. But it’s true, you know. A British band like Raygun would need amps like those. I didn’t miss Ben’s striking red Fender Jaguar bass too. I don’t remember him using that in his Rooster days. But anyways, Raygun was awesome. I love their blend of indie funk/disco, Spinal Tap or not. Pity they weren’t doing “Lord Forgive Me” at all!
Estranged came by to do their soundcheck shortly. Drummer Andy is a beast on the kit. Friendliest dude too! I could see and hear why Estranged is so widely acclaimed in Malaysia. Those guys definitely have what it takes to go international. Which was exactly the point to get them on the bill on MTV World Stage, I guess.
Night fell and the final band for soundcheck of the day was none other than my personal favorite, Kasabian! Met the girls from Sony BMG backstage and heard that Serge and Tom were still in Australia and would only be flying in on show day itself. Drummer Ian was the only one there doing the rehearsals with the road crew. The show director needed a stand-in to test out the camera angles and I got tasked to do the job of being a stand-in for Serge, Tom and Chris. “Lennat, now pretend to sing into the mic” said the director over the intercom. I was like, “What? Serge is too tall! I’m too short to be able to reach to the mic!” But I gave it my all to channel the best Tom-ism and Serge-ism I could. It wasn’t easy being a golden goddess at all. There’s a reason why I play drums. My place is at the back, staring at my bandmates’ butts. Not front of the stage being all showy and flamboyant.
After the last soundcheck of the day, the show producer and almost everyone else on the crew stood by and did the pyro test. Fireworks! I clapped my hands in glee to be able to catch what the pyros look like before show day. Talk about the perks!
August 14 – Friday
One more day to go before show day! The All-American Rejects did their soundcheck in the evening and oh my, what a showman Tyson was. Director was checking with the band about the order of the songs and Tyson was just jumping all over the place, explaining all the important parts. For those who weren’t there, they did “Mona Lisa” for the soundcheck!
Rehearsals
Around 10ish in the night, Pixie Lott came by for her turn. Heard that she just touched down at 8pm at KLIA too. Which meant she came immediately after! Who said being a star is all dandy? I’m pretty sure their schedules are packed like crazy sardines. After so much testosterone for the past few days, it was nice to see a pretty lady on stage doing her thang. Her eyes were so pretty! Uh-oh uh-oh!
August 15, Saturday aka SHOW DAY
Time flies when you are having fun. Hoobastank did their soundcheck late morning and Dan’s definitely my new guitar god. His guitar lines are so…pristine and rocking at the same time! Was discussing the band with Fiona, one of girls from the Digital Media team who is a super duper Hoobastank fan (“Lennat, I’m beginning to doubt our friendship when we don’t agree on Hoobastank!”), about how I wasn’t a fan of Hoobstank and I was proven wrong. Gah. How could I not be a fan when I was humming their songs in my head all day after soundcheck? My heart cannot and would not lie.Then it was break time. At 3:30pm thereabouts, someone shouted into the intercom, saying, “The doors are open! The people are in!” Which meant, show was about to start! And it did! Like a rollercoaster!
You know that Almost Famous view whereby William Miller watches the band at the side of the stage with Penny Lane? Yup, not so fun when you could be front of house, watching the show with all the fantastic lighting and LED screens that complimented the performances like wasabi on sashimi. But it’s another feeling altogether seeing the sea of people rocking out without a care in the world. Malaysia, you touched me!
Since Kerrie and Wi Nie already covered the gig with live blogging, I shall just give you the setlist and my personal highlights of each performance! Here goes!
Estranged – “The Slave In Us,” “Ketika Ini,” “Yang Pernah,” “In No Time”
Definitely one of the most diverse acts who could sound fast and furious (kinda like a mash-up between Korn and Linkin Park) and super catchy with “Ketika Ini.” Did you see Andy’s red contacts? It’s eerie but sexy at the same time too. (Okay! Enough about Andy. But I don’t mind some drum lessons really! Are you reading this, Andy? Hello?)Boys Like Girls – “Love Drunk,” “Hero/Heroine,” “Thunder,” “The Great Escape”
Every time the “Love Drunk” chorus comes up, I just feel like belting into “Somebody Told Me” by the Killers. I suspect it’s the disco beat. But whoa! Those Boston boys know how to put up a show. I heard shouts over the intercom that the barricades were down during their set. Mayhem! Martin scaled the scaffolding too. So rock ‘n’ roll, yo!Raygun – “Just Because,” “Waiting In Line,” “Can’t Say No,” “See You Later”
My personal favorite, aside from Kasabian! They make me want to dance, dance! I could see the boys are having fun playing to the Malaysian crowd for the first time too. Sweat could look very sexy on some boys, if I may add.Pixie Lott – “Turn It Up,” “Boys And Girls,” “Mama Do”
For some reason, I always mix up Pixie’s “Boys And Girls” with the band name Boys Like Girls. I must be getting old. I was wondering how short would Pixie’s shorts go but Pixie’s a classy lady and chose a more conservative dress for the occasion in respect of the country’s culture. Kudos!Hoobastank – “My Turn,” “The Letter,” “Crawling In The Dark,” “The Reason”
Massive sing-along for “The Reason.” I guess it’s one of those classics that would not go away. Doug has upped his live vocal prowess too!*Update for TeliLeti: Yes, they brought the the spirit of the marshmallow man with the Ghostbusters‘ theme. Who ya gonna call? HOOBASTANK! Haha!
The All-American Rejects – “Dirty Little Secret,” “I Wanna,” “Swing Swing,” “When The Wind Blows,” “Real World,” “It Ends Tonight,” “Gives You Hell”
Whoa, whoa, whoa! I really wished I saw their performance from the front. Saw the photos from “It Ends Tonight” and the visuals blew me away! It is an American thing to climb the scaffolding? Seems to me everyone loves doing it.
When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight...
Kasabian – “Vlad The Impaler,” “Underdog,” “Empire,” “Where Did All The Love Go,” “Shoot The Runner,” “Fire,” “Club Foot,” “L.S.F”
Fireworks! Whee! Kasabian was simply majestic. I dig Tom’s new do too. I LOVE ALL THE SONGS THEY DID. Totally made up for my lost time at Summer Sonic. All hail for Kasabian! I definitely got my groove and shake on.
Look at the scale of MTV World Stage!
And there you go. It was all over before we know it. I could do with another five hours straight of live music. But I was dead beat!!!
August 16, Sunday aka THE GREAT COME DOWN
I woke up feeling empty. No more MTV World Stage. No more thunderous cheers. It’s over. Met up with Kerrie and the gang for some R&R before flying home to Singapore. But I needed more. Here’s to more MTV World Stage! Do it again, and again, and again!!!AFTERTHOUGHT
For the lucky ones who made up the 15, 000 strong crowd, share your experiences in the comments below! I want to hear from you! Who was the rockiest act? Who brought the house down? Who turned the amp up to 11 and blew you away? Let MTV Asia know how much you enjoyed yourselves and perhaps we will have another MTV World Stage coming right up! Go, go, go!For those who weren’t there, you can catch MTV World Stage on MTV Asia. Find out the showtimes here!
This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 at 11:38 am and is filed under Music & Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
34 Responses to “Hey Ho! We Rocked The Lagoon!”
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woah i love hoobastank. the reason totally made my day. i really wish it rained harder tho..
I think “The Reason” is totally a super classic! Fan, or not, the music comes on and you JUST HAVE TO SING A LONG! Haha!
I know what you mean by “more rain.” I was hoping so myself as it does seem more fun with water splashing in the lagoon! But then, we will get a lot of sick people the next day, so maybe not a good idea after all.
15 August 2009 was indeed THE BEST day of my life! MTVWS rocked the hell out of me!
highlights of dat day to me was:
)
DD
-estranged, i’m proud u showed how malaysians cn rock
-i was one of the girls who got stuck when d barricades fell during boys like girls
-i got hold of Ray’s hand of Raygun when he came down of d stage
-pixie lott was really like an angel floating on stage
-hoobastank was classic with their Ghostbusters and the Reason
-the God of Music answered my musical prayers to watch the ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS live front row centre.. my childhood dream came true and no words can describe how euphoric i was dat night seeing nick and tyson jumping all over doing their thing.the best part was, i got nick wheeler’s very own pick with d aar logo and a picture of hello kitty wit boobies!
-Kasabian kasabian kasabian! need i say more?? they are living musical legends n i was so immersed in their performance dat nyte!
“August 16, Sunday aka THE GREAT COME DOWN
I woke up feeling empty. No more MTV World Stage. It’s over.”<– responding to this, i totally get wat u mean! i waslost my voice n literally was in pain d next 2 days from all d jumping n moshing n d head bangings.despite dat, it was all worth it..
Thank you MTV for making my life sweeter! thank u thank u thank u!
Wow! Sounds like you really enjoyed yourself! And all the goodies you got from the gig! Photos of the picks please!!!
PS: I understand about the bodyaches. Actually the lot of us went for body massages the next day. Haha!
OMG , I was there that day and it was da BOMB. AAr was obviously the hottest and the rockiest band to perform that night. and when they did i wanna , i can hear everyone scream their heart out. and hoobastank was so dope. the reason would be the song that most people sing along too. and when they did Ghostbuster cover , it was epic !
World Stage rock yaww. We love MTV !
Oh no! Reading how much you love the gig makes me wanna go back to August 15. Definitely a day to remember! Can’t wait to catch the telecast on air really!!!
I’m one of 15,000 crowd! Woot..woot!! The reason why I went to the World Stage just to see 3 of my favourite band share the same stage which is Hoobastank, The All American Rejects and Boys Like Girls. I totally love BLG’s Lovedrunk and I scream my lungs out when they sang that song. Hoobastank are always be my most favourite band, I never went to their show before, but I bought all of their records and watched their performances on You Tube. You are right that Doug Robb’s vocal are improved. Everyone are eager to sing along to “The Reason” but before that he asked everyone to guess what song did he about to sing..it’s Ghostbuster and everyone knew the lyrics and sing along! AAR boys totally rocked the night. Singing 7 songs is totally WOW!! I love Tyson’s singing style, he’s so dramatic..he is one ‘drama queen’..LOL!
Haha! You are spot on about Tyson being a “drama queen”!!! He is really “out there” even during rehearsals when there wasn’t any audience! Before AAR’s actual set, I saw him prancing around backstage, psyching himself up for the performance.
GLITTER MAKES EVERYTHING PRETTY! WHOO!
Hmm, let me explain my journey. xD
1pm
Arrived at Sunway Pyramid for some light shopping.
3pm
Headed outside to find gazillion of fans lining up.
Decided that frying my skin under the hot Sun didn’t look very appealing.
Left to come back later when the gates were opened.
Everyone rushed in like caged animals waiting to escape. x)
4.30pm
Went back to the gates and entered Sunway Lagoon.
Was reminded of the days when I used to go there for a swim.
Ahhh…
Minutes later…
Found a spot, though a rather unconvenient one.
Went to the furthest spot from the stage as it had the best view for recording and rocking out without getting someone’s sweaty armpits shoved in my face. xD
Some time later…
I thought Estranged was awesome. I’m not one for local acts but I must admit, they did a very good job!
Next came Boys Like Girls. Even though the area wasn’t full yet, they really rocked out hard and the shrieking fans definitely completed the mood.
Raygun was totally great also. Despite the fact that I was standing among several bored looking concert goers, I jumped and screamed the lyrics out loud like some mad woman, especially to ‘Just Because’. I was slightly disappointed they didn’t sign ‘Rocketblast’.
Pixie Lott was great. Even though I didn’t know the other two songs, I ‘sang’ along. x)
Hoobastank! How could you not write about their cover of the Ghosbusters theme song? 8o
The crowd went crazy with each song they rocked out.
All American Rejects! Perhaps the most awaited band for this event! The shrieks were defintely louder and excitement was high. x) My wish was fulfilled! They san songs from both their new and old album! Hallelujah!
After AAR’s performance, part of the crowd left. In my opinion, it’s really inconsiderate and rude of them. ;(
True Kasabian fans definitely stuck around though! I’m not much of a fan but their music is great!
I dislike the ‘toilet breaks’ though. I mean, seriously!
Talk about killing the excitement instead of building it up.
All in all, all the artists perform very well in concerts and I certainly look forward to their concerts if they were to perform here again, especially AAR. Isn’t Digi holding a free AAR concert this 10th Oct? AHHHHHH!!!!!
Hahahaha! I updated the post just for you! They did the Ghostbusters thing during soundcheck too and the lot of us went “Ooooooh!”
The “toilet breaks” were for set changes and prayer breaks. But I do agree that they broke the momentum. No choice though!
And I concurr about people leaving before Kasabian came on. Like, WTH!!! One of the biggest acts of the night and you are leaving? Their lost, really!
And good for you that AAR are coming back in Oct! I’m jealous! Hope they do a full-blown concert here in Singapore too!
Lol, thank you for the credits there.
Well, I did some internet search and turns out some of them left early because they were hungry. -rolls eye-
I’d rather starve till I fall to the floor begging for food and water before I leave a concert before it ends!!!
Weee~
I
My goodness. Well, they must be REALLY STARVING then! I mean, what’s another half an hour more? To miss Kasabian is like…going to Egypt and didn’t ride a camel or something! LOL!
I was totally blown away by The All-American Rejects and the new heroes, Raygun! So much fun dancing to their songs!!
I really love Raygun too! I really want to hear their song “Lord Forgive Me” but alas!
i loveeeeee mtv world stage. al tho i hate mtvasia for not giving me any passes! dammit. thanks to a friend who was GOOD enough to give me a pass, i was there to witness the concert! SPLENDID!! PERFECTLY DONE. hopefully, there will be more concert soon organized by mtvasia, and less giving free passes to those useless people in the mosh pit. why do u call it mosh pit if everyone was standing like a stick, not moving or jumping at all?? boohoo.
the red zone rocks okayhh!
btw, the All-American Rejects were awesome!!!
xx
I feel you, Evon. We could do with more animated crowd at the crowd really. But I guess some of them were there since the afternoon and were probably tired out with no food and water, seeing that they didn’t want to leave their golden spot. Seriously, being a mosh pit is a sport! Haha!
Here’s to the next World Stage and I’ll send super duper positive thoughts your way so you could score your own passes!
hmm… lets see…
after lunch, i went to collect my tickets at around 2.45pm..
when i arrived at the Lagoon, was shocked to see so many people are already waiting for the gates to open..
so instead of waiting there baking myself, i decided to go back to my Hostel 1st..
so i went later at about 5.30pm…
made my way in, got a rather OK spot…
and the concert began..
Estranged was good, although i dont know much bout Msian bands..
but if they included Pop Shuvit, it would be even nicer…
when Boys Like Girls came on, they really turn the mood up with Love Drunk.. totally loved that song.. (i actually heard them rehearsing when i was in class on Thursday)
Raygun was up next.. although i dont really know the lyrics to their songs.. i found it great too… maybe because i am standing with those people who actually enjoys concerts, so we just jump to the beat…
then the only female singer of the night.. Pixie Lott~~~~
Mama Do was a fun song… (Uh-Oh..Uh-Oh..)
then 1 of my favs for the night, HOOBASTANK!!! i loved it the most when they were singing Crawling In The Dark.. that song can really bring the place down… it was awesome.. then the Ghost Buster part was fun… after that u can hear the crowd shouting for “the reason”.. true enough… they pleased the shrieking crowd with The Reason.. and this song is already like a classic, so i can say bout 80% of the people there can sing-a-long…
finally, the long awaited All American Rejects came out…
the crowd went wild… every1 was jumping like crazy to the songs while singing along… when they were performing It Ends Tonight, i felt a little sad because MTV.WS is ending soon… but then, Gives You Hell turned the heat back on…
when kasabian came on, i must say, i didn’t know their songs.. but after listening to it.. i think they did really well..
what i’m not so pleased is the toilet breaks.. it makes the concert seem boring at times… and sometimes, there are some inconsiderate people pushing their way through and squeezing right beside u… (hello~~there is totally 0 place left.. u can hardly move your hand or breath)
as an overall conclusion, the concert was freakin’ awesome & it will be in my memory for a long time..
P.S~ it would be even better if you can include acts like Linkin Park, Simple Plan, Akon, Lady GaGa, eminem… because the more the merrier.. ^_^v
Oh yes! I love “Mama Do” especially when the visuals behind went with the song at the chorus part! Uh-oh uh-oh!
I guess all the pushing and shoving are part of the concert experience eh? I went to Reading Festival in the UK a few years back and I nearly died and lost my shoe in the mud. Escaped out the pit with bruises all over myself! I felt like an assualt victim!
After that, I swear to myself I would never go near the mosh pit again. It’s utmost priority to enjoy the gig but safety is important too!
Agree with the more acts the merrier. I personally hope World Stage will turn into something like a 3-day music festival! Imagine the fun!
HI LENNAT. heehee. lets meet up just so we can TAKE PHOTOS TOGETHER. and have you seen us on teevee yet?!
no man! i don’t have cable at home! we should bug angela! hahaha!
i live quite near your school. if you ever decide to go hang at JP, let me know!
I just saw our MTV filming and it was not too shabby! Woot!
Loving the comments here! (:
I just met up with Angela for some html lesson and I saw the other MTV crew too! Gosh, they’re so nice. (:
rock ‘n’ roll! i can’t wait to see the mtv on the streets segment! dazzle ‘em! dazzle ‘em!!!
“Probably need to get more tech savvy tips from Rochelle the next time I meet her. We all could do with a mobile phone sponsorship, really!”
HAHAHAHAH — is that like a broad hint to the MTV staff?!?! >:D
It was great seeing you guys! I can’t wait to fly in again and hang out with everyone!
Hope to see you soon, Rochelle! Kerrie just msged me and said she saw us on MTV!
OMG IT WAS THE MOST AMAZING EXPERIENCE. EVER. Really. I went late, and we were kind of far back in the Red Zone, but we went insane!!! Seriously. I heard even the mosh pit weren’t as nuts as we were, and yet you guys only threw out t shirts the those in the mosh?!?! THROW FARTHER NEXT TIME!!!! I so deserved to be in the mosh, would’ve shown them a lesson in headbanging baby! Come on people, where’s the adrenaline?! It was awesome. The yelling and screaming and sweating and crowd surfing all added to the experience, and it was PURE GOLD to be able to see the All American Rejects. Okay, so I couldn’t actually SEE them, I was too short, but I could hear them and that itself was incredible. I can’t wait for the telecast!!!! AAH!! Still reliving the experience in my head. MAKE IT HAPPEN AGAIN!! AND AGAIN!
hmm, next time maybe we can suggest getting the shot-put champions to throw the goodies. target? AS FAR AS POSSIBLE!
haha!
It was my first concert (yea yea I know) and it totally kicked ass.
I was excited for a whole month before the concert. I’m telling ya, happiness practically radiated from my every hair and all my friends went “SOPHIA, CAN YOU PLEASE SHUT UP ABOUT MTV FOR 1 SEC?” although they got the tickets too. Hah.
That very day, I went there early and needless to say, I had a blast. It blew me away. *grabs frantically for the tiny potted plant on the desk nearby*
So yeah. My fav was Boys Like Girls and AAR. They were amazing. Plus I hear about something that the BLG are coming again soon? Well, I sure hope so.
We should definitely have more events like that in the NEAR future. In Malaysia too. Anyway, I am so envious of all of you. I want to be a official MTV Blogger too.
Signed: sophiatai
hey sophia!
what a great gig to pop your concert cherry! remember tune in to mtv asia on aug 28 for the telecast of the concert! it will relight your fire!
Been there. Had a blast too. Red zone is much better than other zone. I saw people at Gold/Platinum/VIP don’t enjoy much of the show. Although I notice one singer really enjoy the show from the VIP area.
Estranged is total blast. They should sing their Malay hit song “Itu Kamu”. Actually among all other international act. I only know Hoobastank. But others is fine too. Got people left after AAR perf. Why Pixie Lott wear long skirt. I know she follow Malaysia rule but at least wear pants or something. Poor her. Never heard Kasabian until MTV Asia announce it. So just check out their MV before went to the concert. OMG. The singer cut the hair. Smart.
But the thing that bug me and my friends is the DJ break intermission. So long is like 30 minutes or something.
i love tom’s smart look too. though, some girls said he looked too clean cut for rock ‘n’ roll. little do they know really!
I was a mosh pitter and MTVWS was the best concert experience that I ever had! It was over the top mind blowing! Honestly, I enjoyed all the performances, it’s hard to say which I enjoyed more but I’m a really huge fan of BLG, Hoobastank, AAR and Kasabian. After seeing Raygun live, I’ve totally fallen head over heels for them- they were awesome, period!
The thing that’s been killing me till this day though was that, during a break, after BLG’s performance, I had to leave my good spot(second row, center stage) due to excessive dizziness. 
It was probably I was dehydrated and the air in the pit was really dry. I’ll never forgive myself for that.
I had a smashing time, to wrap it up. Sure, I got pushed really hard to the point that I almost tripped(there was no mercy in the pit! every man for himself.) and people’s hair were stuck all over my face and my poor Adidas got stomped a million times- it was all worth it.
Ah well, all good things must come to an end. It’s been a blast and I’m crossing my fingers for a Paramore concert here in Malaysia! *ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease!
hell yeah for paramore!!! i really want to catch them live myself.
need to