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DEAR DIARY,
So there I was - 3am on Sunday morning - standing outside Euphoria, a club under the Ministry Of Sound banner at Sunway Lagoon in Subang, Malaysia, with some of my companions as the patrons slowly trickled out onto the street. Then someone chirps: "Let's go somewhere else! Do all the clubs in KL close at 3am?"
"Yeah," echoed another. "Let's find another place that's open."
We had just spent almost six hours on our feet at MTV World Stage: Live In Malaysia, where we saw seven acts - Kasabian, All-American Rejects, Hoobastank, Pixie Lott, Raygun, Boys Like Girls and Malaysia's own Estranged - kick out the jams. Then we spent another three more on our feet at the club where, for some reason, the DJ had a predilection for Michael Jackson remixes.
Add to that the running around we'd done earlier in the day going from press conference to interview to interview -that's almost 12 hours on our feet.
We would hear all the stories the next day: How some people were so totally wasted they had no idea how they got back to their rooms; or how some people didn't even bother with their rooms and passed out in the loo; or how some members of some bands got too touchy-feely. The usual, in other words.
But while my much younger companions were talking about those things like they were badges of honour, I just smiled to myself. I've heard them all before - I was probably the one in the loo, back in the day. Then it struck me: Am I getting too old for this?
ASIA'S OWN WOODSTOCK?
Even as we were regaled by the night's revelry, half a world away, people my parent's age were gathering somewhere in a field in upstate New York to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Woodstock.
I've always felt an affinity for that festival, not only because some of my favourite bands performed there, but also because it happened in the same month that I was born. (Tenuous link, I know, but it's my story.)
But here's the funny thing: As much as I would have loved to go to New York to witness that occasion, I was even more thrilled to be part of a new tradition.
FYI: MTV World Stage is a new initiative launched in February this year. What's significant about the event in Malaysia is that this was the first World Stage event that was wholly organised by MTV. (The music channel had previously piggybacked on an existing concert.)
"And for the first time, under our new 4.0 initiative, this will be available globally," explained MTV VJ Utt.
For example, previously, we would only be able to watch something like, say the MTV Europe Music Awards if MTV Asia acquired the rights to broadcast it here, and vice versa.
Now, every single MTV-produced show will automatically be available across all the 44 MTV channels worldwide to a potential audience of over 600 million.
I'm not sure if all those people at Woodstock back in 1969 knew they were going to be part of a legend. But even as I watched the 15,000 or so fans cram into the Surf Beach at Sunway Lagoon (they had drained out the entire area to make space for the fans, the concert stage and accompanying rigs), I wondered if anybody was, like me, wondering whether were witnessing our very own "Woodstock", albeit on a smaller scale.
YOUNG AND YOUNGER
I wasn't too encouraged at first though. While waiting for my companions before the show, I was approached by this young girl who eyed the media pass hanging around my neck.
Girl: "So you're going for the World Stage show? That's so cool! I luuuurvve Tyson from All-American Rejects! He's, like, soooo hot!"
Me: "I'm actually here to get reactions from fans about the show. What do you like about him? Wait, hang on, and let me write this down in my diary."
Girl: "Your what?"
Me: "Diary. It's like a blog ... but in a book. You know, the thing with pages and writing in it."
Girl: "You still... write?"
When I mentioned Woodstock to some fans, they looked at me like I was talking in some strange language. And in no uncertain terms made to feel like I should stop complaining like those uncles at the kopitiam and just shut up and enjoy the show.
Enjoy the show I did though.
For my money, Kasabian really are one of the best live acts around and their songs from the new album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum rocked live. They were closely followed by the up-and-coming Raygun, who still managed to get the thousands on their feet even though it was clear nobody really knew who they were.
Even Hoobastank, for years derided by my friends and I for having a lame song like The Reason - it was the biggest hit I know, another sign that musical tastes were shifting - turned in a rip-roaring set that included, off all things, a cover of Ghostbusters. (And to show my age, I was the only one loudly chanting the chorus - the rest just politely cheered whatever lyrics they thought singer Doug Robb was singing.)
Speaking of singers, Tyson of All-American Rejects was probably blitzed out of his skull, as he climbed up a lighting rig during their set to the cheers of the crowd. I just went: "Bono already did that years ago". And promptly got an elbow in the ribs for that comment.
Ironically, the lovely and sweet 18-year-old Pixie Lott, dressed in a strange combination of a cardigan and shimmery gown, probably looked older than the rest of the performers, despite being the youngest there. But that's music for you: There's always a surprise waiting in the wings.
This, of course, brings us back to Euphoria, 3am, Sunday morning.
After three hours of non-stop pumping music, and aided in no small part by the free flow of drinks, I was ready to call it a night. But obviously my companions weren't.
"Don't tell me everything is closed," they said again.
The ones that are open, you need secret knocks and passwords before you're allowed to enter, I said. That is, if you know where to find them in the first place.
I don't know if they bought that or not, but in the end, they settled for buying drinks and chips from the nearby 7-Eleven and continued the party at the hotel.
As for me, I went to my room, and before you could say: "Are you smarter than a fifth grader?", I was tucked into bed. Snug as a bug in a rug.
Catch the special two-hour edition of MTV World Stage: Live In Malaysia on Aug 28, 8pm on MTV (StarHub TV Ch 20)
- TODAY/yb
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