Asia Music Festival Night 1

I reached the venue at 4 p.m., the place was already rocking with the rhythmic sounds of music. The first band had started its performance. 

Eastwood Valley Golf and Country Club

I collected my wrist tag and proceeded into the musical corridor. 

Blue wrist tag for Night 1

Stalls were already set up, and were right by the entrance. On the left were handicraft stalls, followed by the tattoo artistes, and then the photography exhibition. On the left were the bar and the food stalls. 

Stalls on the right

Food Stalls on the left

A tattoo artist at work ... 

Big Bike Charity Show

The bikes would arrive at about 7.00 p.m. later. We were told that there were about 151 bikes which arrive in a convoy. How exciting. 

As of 4.00 p.m., there weren't many people as yet. It was still early, and I took my time familiarising myself with the set up. Actually, I quite liked the venue. It was really spacious, and I liked the fact that there was water and grass in verdant shades of green .... what a beautiful site which exuded a relaxing atmosphere. 

The large stage was set up at one end of the musical corridor, and members of Starlets were strutting their stuff on stage. The booming music liven up the atmosphere and gave me a sense of excitement. Starlets is a local Miri band. 

The Starlets

This six-member band entertained the crowd with renditions of popular songs old and new; I found myself singing along with them at times. Two songs I remembered them sing were Joan Jett's I Hate Myself For Loving You and Adele's Set Fire To The Rain. They will perform again on Night 2 at 6.30 p.m. Be sure to catch them then.  

Each band performed for about an hour. After the Startlets, came another Sarawakian band from Bintulu. This group is called Hevance - pronounced as /hee-vens/. Hevance came to the stage playing a traditional Iban tune before rocking the venue with its powerful beat. I loved it. This band sang in Iban and English

Hevance, featuring a rapper from Seventh Tribe

Next was Bob Yusof. Bob was from Limbang, Sarawak's very own son. On stage sometimes spoke in local dialect, thus making the audience relate to him and his roots. Bob started his career on Akademi Fantasia, and he has never looked back since! And before we realise it, Bob has already been in the local music industry for 9 years! 

Unlike the previous two perfomances, Bob was alone on stage. He looked lonely on stage, but his voice was sure NOT  small. In fact, his rich and powerful voice filled the entire venue. 

Bob Yusof

Bob is indeed a versatile singer, capable of a range of repertoire. He sang his popular songs like Cinta Terhalang and also a new song entitled, Yang Bertakhta, a romantic ballad. Then he had the crowd dancing with Sway and Can't Take My Eyes Off You. And he ended his performance with a Zapin. 

Soesah Tidoer

The fourth performance of the night came from Indonesia, a band called Soesah Tidoer or Insomnia in English. What an interesting name. This group is made up of 8 musicians, all men and all of different backgrounds. Amongst them, one was a sculptor and another an interior designer. They played blend dangdut, keroncong and rock, creating their own unique style in music. 

For me, I liked the variety of instruments they used, like the saxophone, flute, tambourine, ukulele and cello. For this group, a compulsory song to sing at every gig was Soesah Tidoer. It was like their theme song. Then, they have another song called Baju Manusia or Human Clothes. I thought the lyrics were quite meaningful - no matter what colour we are, we are all a human race. 

Right about this time, we heard the loud vroom of engines, signalling the arrival of the big bikes.

 One row of big bikes ... in all shapes, sizes and colours

Another row of big bikes to wow the crowd

At about 7.30 p.m., the crowd started to pour in. More people, more fun! It felt more festive. The fourth performance was my favourite of the night. From India, came Tritha and her 3-member band. They landed in Miri, dropped their bags, did a sound check and performed immediately. 

Tritha

Well, first up, I loved her costume. She was wearing a patterned red sari, with black tank top and black pants. I thought it was ethnic, yet so stylish. I also loved the chunky belt she wore. Now, Tritha had a sultry and soulful voice which was just enchanting. Sitting cross-legged on the floor and listening to her, it felt close to meditating. I felt my spirits lift up as I enjoyed the hypnotic quality of her voice. 

Now, it is true that music transcends all barriers. She sang in Hindi ... and though I did not understand a single word, I was moved by her music. It felt spiritual. Tritha also interacted very well with the crowd. We loved her and sang along with her when she asked. In the end, we asked for an encore .... but alas it was not to be as she had to give way to the next band. 

With the Bembol Rockers from the Philippienes, the atmosphere then turned to rock and roll. The crowd then got up to twirl to the music. 

The dancing crowd, and Bembol Rockers on stage

They sang their original numbers like Christine, Boogie Mo and also popular songs like Blue Suede Shoes. This band was quite entertaining! 

Finally, came the highly-anticipated girl band from Korea, V-Star. 

V-Star and Kamal Musallam

Firstly, all of the four were pretty. They had fine features, were fair and skinny. What made them special was the use of traditional Korean musical instruments to create modern music. The instruments used were the zithers or gayageum, the double-headed drum or janggu, and the flute or daegeum. This group played tunes like Let It Be, Obladi Oblada, Turkish March, and popular Korean pop songs like Nobody and Gee. A more traditional number was Arirang and the finale? Well ... of course it has got to be Gangnam Style. It was a Korean song which had taken over the world. Everyone sang it. The crowd could sing it. 

Listening to live music was different from listening to CDs. I could feel the booming rhythm in my heart, see the stage light up in colours, and enjoy the showmanship of the performers, coupled with the happy and dancing crowd ... I must say that I had a great time at the inaugural Asia Music Festival. Looking forward to Night 2. See you there! Event starts in an hour ....