Venue: KL Live, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Date: 8th August 2015
Promoter: Future Sound Asia
Review by: Sofea A.
Special Thanks: Dane, and the Geometry and Future Sound Asia teams
On the evening of August 8th, Malaysians were in for a treat as Good Vibes Presents their first ever satellite show at KL Live with performances by local home-grown band Dash, electrifying DJ acts by Indiego & Co., Australian alternative dance trio, RUFUS and American favourite four-piece family band, Echosmith. Though most of the major Kuala Lumpur roads were closed in conjunction with thte KL City Grand Prix, it did not stop fans from permeating into Jalan Sultan Ismail as early as 6pm.
As time passes and the line got longer, excitement was all I could feel buzzing in the air. By 8pm, attendees were allowed to enter the iconic concert venue which was decked out with photo booths and lighted bar tables. Without any delay, local star Darren Ashley and his band Dash kicked the night off with their hit single, “If I Don’t Stay”, warming up the crowd for the other acts to come. They spoiled the crowd with two new tunes and in total, they performed five songs. Darren Ashley was both an amazing artist as well as a charismatic performer. With his fiery red hair, he and his band charmed the audience effortlessly. Dash ended the set with a spectacular drums routine involving all five members of the band. The level of astonishment was so high, you would have to see it to believe it.
Shortly after, Indiego & Co. blasted off their set, setting the vibe that is relatable to a club and the crowd loved it. People were moving to the beat as they mixed pop hits such as Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” and Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk”. After their performance, lights dimmed and out came the members of the ARIA award winning band, RUFUS – Jon George on the keyboard and James Hunt on the drums. Together they played the sweet tunes of the intro to “Modest Life”, teasing the fans. In a heartbeat, Tyrone Lindqvist made his appearance and the crowd went wild. Next came one of their singles, “Sundream” which made it onto the Australian Singles Chart and the crowd started swaying and singing along to the beautiful song.
The band then introduced themselves and mentioned that their debut album, Atlas would turn two years old the next day. Atlas debuted at number 1 on the Australian Albums Chart in 2013. Then the band played their single, “Tonight” followed by “Talk to Me”. After the spectacular performance by the Australian indie-dance troupe, the keyboardist, Jon George started introducing themselves to the crowd and they seemed to love it here in Malaysia. Then the band mesmerized the crowd with their hit lead single, “Take Me” which peaked the Australian Indie charts at number 2 and ended their set with a drum solo by the drummer, James Hunt and followed by “Desert Night”. It was an eye opening set as it felt like a reminiscent of a 90’s electronica performance.
KL Live was never soundless with music. After the incredible set by RUFUS, Indiego & Co. played yet another amazing set whilst the crew members of Echosmith set up the stage. This second set was, to my amazement, better than the first. More people were engrossed to their mixes and the buzz in the air was inconceivable. After a farewell from the members of Indiego & Co., not long after, with the roaring of a cheering crowd, the brothers, Noah and Graham Sierota with Josh Murty covering for Jamie whom has taken time off from touring as he is expecting a baby, came out and kicked things off. Sydney Sierota sneakily went through the crowd to get on stage, with the help of a few security personnel, which had fans screaming in delight! As she climbed on stage, she screamed “1, 2, 3, 4!” and the introductory tunes to “Let’s Love” filled the venue. Next came “Talking Dreams”, which was followed by the anthemic “Come Together”.
Drums started to beat, signalling the next performance to be “Tell Her You Love Her”. The fans sang along to every word! Amazing energy for the band’s debut appearance in our country. At the end of the song, Sydney took the opportunity to take a picture of the crowd. After the beautiful performance, they kept things slow with the band’s current single, “Bright”. “Come With Me” was extra special when Sydney picked out one guy and one girl to come up on stage to dance with the band. It was both adorable and hilarious to watch as Jason and Zana get down alongside Sydney. Next came the mesmerizing “We’re Not Alone” and the last song of the night, which reached double platinum status in America and Australia and most recently reached platinum status in Malaysia, “Cool Kids”. It was the loudest the crowd could go that night as they sang every lyric in unison.
For the encore, Echosmith ended Good Vibes Presents first ever satellite show with “Up To You”. It was truly a remarkable night filled with music of different genres and fans of music coming together as one under the same roof.