MTV World Stage will appear in Malaysia for the first time this coming August at Sunway Lagoon! With Hoobastank, All American Rejects, Raygun, Kasabian, Boys Like Girls, Pixie Lott and Estranged set to take the stage, you definitely do not want to miss out on the opportunity to be there and rock out with them. Tickets for this event are not for sale but there are various avenues for you to win them from.

To find out more about MTV World Stage Live in Malaysia and how/where to get your passes, check out our news post or visit worldstage.mtvasia.com today!

I was mostly excited to watch N.E.R.D perform, but when Saturday came I decided to get my RM 143 worth. It started with Russian Winters under the hot humid and blazing sun, but all was forgotten when I heard Russian Winters played. I have never heard of them, when they were performing I didn’t know a single song. But they impressed me, that’s the beauty of discovering new music especially when you hear it live. They are good live, if and when they perform here or anywhere near I would definitely check them out again. We had the privilege to talk to the bassist of the band Rob while he was walking around the field. He is nice, humble and adorable. Rob if you are reading this… we would contact you and your band soon for an interview that you promised us ;D

After Russian Winters, we tried to catch what’s left of Estrella’s set. We only heard one of their songs but it was enough to say they’re good and they sound just like the on their record, I wished I had seen more of them. We then rushed back to the Sun Stage to catch Gerhana Ska Cinta, we danced and sang to Gerhana Ska Cinta it was so much fun. We then wondered aimlessly around the field for almost 2 hours waiting for Estranged.

Estranged performed at 7.30 pm the moment they took the stage everyone felt energy they were feeding us, people were singing along to the songs and there were even people moshing. Nidji was on my list of ‘must see’ band, I’ve heard a couple of their songs and I liked it. When I saw them live I was sold by their performance and stage presence, during “Sudah” fans got over excited and sang the chorus before Giring the lead singer did. He jokingly said he would pray for us to have two lovers the crowd cheered him on. Giring also invited us the fans to sing a long and dance with him during “Laskar Pelangi”.

I wanted to see Skye but all of us wanted to eat before N.E.R.D performs, we fished for food outside the venue. By the time we came back she was done with her set, we walked around the field again we stopped behind the sky stage and thats when we bumped with the bassist of Russian Winters. We talked with him for awhile and N.E.R.D started playing, I walked further in to get a better view of N.E.R.D. leaving them behind. For me N.E.R.D was the one who convinced me that Sunburst 2009 was worth it, they knew what we want and they fulfilled it. They know that the fans want to have a good time and they made sure we had fun. During “Don’t Worry About It” Pharell got mad with a photographer for pushing fans, he told the photographer to back off. He then told the fans that its okay to go in front and have fun. The crowd interaction was fantastic! I think that is why I loved watching N.E.R.D. they brought up fans to be onstage, let them dance on stage and with them.

Korn was the headliner, they were so loud I became partially deaf. I think the crowd was more into then the band was, I wished there was more crowd interaction between Jonathan Davies and the crowd. But one thing that I cannot deny is Korn is good live. They may not interact with the crowd as much as N.E.R.D did, but they know how to blow your mind with their performance. At one point, Jonathan Davies came out with his bagpipe and started playing it. They had an encore and performed three songs. Last on my ‘must see’ list were Twilight Action Girl, I liked them because they spin music that I like. They mix the songs so well and make it danceable, I was impressed with and definitely I would watch them again. They opened their set with OAG’s “60’s TV” I however did not get to see the full set but like I said, I would want to see them again.

All and all, Sunburst 2009 was not that bad. I enjoyed myself, which I thought I wouldn’t. I hoped Sunburst 2010 would have better line up and I hope Pineapple Concerts won’t have that pre-sale thingy before the line-up is confirmed.

WARNING:

This review may be biased because I have been a fan of Jason Mraz since I was 14! =D

I have succumbed to my inner fangirl and Jason Mraz was the one who charmed me by making me unconsciously sing and dance to his tunes while making myself look like a fool. Do not get me wrong, I enjoyed every second of it. Since SJ and Maya are not big fans of Jason Mraz as I am, I bought the The Pitt ticket whereas they bought the the Rock Zone tickets. I was smiling through out the WHOLE show, when I came back from the concert I couldn’t describe how good the concert was to my brother. I kept swearing on how good it was and I couldn’t find intelligent words to replace it because Jason Mraz gave me word salad.

I waited in line by myself and I made a new friend from Thailand name Wang (if I spell it wrong tell me please) and maybe pissed some people off, I would like to take this moment to say sorry to the boy who was in front of me. He was lining up and he let his friends cut the line. To be honest, I have no problem with cutting lines, but I had a problem with the fact that your friends didn’t even say please or sorry. If you had said please I would have let it go with all smiles and no hard feelings, but what your friends said after I told you off kinda ticked me off. But I am glad that you acted as the bigger person when I did not and I am sorry from the bottom of my heart. You can mostly blame my PMS, it had to happen today. ;D

Since it was free standing I got front row! I had no problem recording the show during PATD and MCR, but this concert the RELA people was being @#$%* I would have stopped recording at once if they asked me nicely because I knew its against the policy, but again like the girls in front of me… they didn’t say please.

Back to the concert, I believe that the concert was SOLD OUT. Jason Mraz started the concert with an up tempo tune Make It Mine. He had the whole stadium singing and dancing to it, I have never felt so energetic by just singing a long to a song with thousands of people in the stadium. Where every single one of us were in tune and Jason Mraz was the one coordinating it. Fans sang a long louder to tunes like The Remedy, You and I Both, If It Kills Me, Geek In The Pink, I’m yours and Lucky. During The Remedy Mraz decided to do a remix with Oasis’ Wonderwall.

Two songs that I was looking forward to was A Beautiful Mess and The Dynamo of Volition, but I couldn’t record it, during the The Dynamo of Volition Jason taught us dance moves for the chorus of the song. I was upset that I couldn’t capture the moment because it was so memorable I would gladly appreciate it if anyone of you have it and post it =D

Jason Mraz’s favourite word that night was thank you and he spoke it in various languages, he finally said in BM and it was adorable. He had an encore and when he came back he sung 3 songs and changed his shirt to I Love KL. At one point he brought his Polaroid camera out, he introduced his band members and took their pictures. After taking the pictures he gave them to the audience. I thought that was very creative of him, because his show didn’t have any props. All he needed was him, his music and he made it creative, fun and the fans participation was the icing on top of the cake. Mraz ended the show with Butterfly, afterward he took the time to say thank you to fans on stage.

I thought Marctensia did a fantastic job with the concert. I must admit, I haven’t had that much fun during a concert for a very long time. The concert was sold out and in my eyes everything went on without a bleep. Keep up the good job Marctensia! But I do think that you should have taught the RELA people some manners… In my opinion anyways…

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Secondly, we sincerely apologize for the lack of blog entries as we’re hard at work on revamping the site amongst other things but it should return to normal once we’ve settled down.

Whilst the blog was set up as a means for us to express our thoughts and opinions on music in general and everything else attached to it, every now and then site news that’s not posted on the main page but is still of importance will make its way here. Such is the case now, regarding the new old feature in the form of our street team.

When we first started the site, the three of us had wanted to coordinate street teams as part of our efforts with More Than Good Hooks. Unfortunately, due to various circumstances we weren’t quite able to pull it off and the entire section was pretty much left idle since its inception – until now, that is.

We have recently launched our first street team for Fall Out Boy to promote the band’s show at Singapore’s Indoor Stadium on February 10th. For this, we have teamed up with Asia’s leading concert promoter (and the the organizer itself), Midas Promotions to bring you the opportunity to be a involved in the promotional aspect of the show. And this is where you come in. If you are a fan of the band and enjoy spreading the word about their endeavours, concerts, etc then this is ideal for you.

This will not be a “one time” event, as MTGH would be collaborating with Midas on promoting most if not all of their future events via the use of street teams (another one is already in the works, so stay tuned for that). Currently the team is being run very manually, but in time to come we hope to upgrade with the use of softwares and scripts to make it easier.

In short, what we’re trying to say is that this feature is finally up and running and will continue to do so. We would especially love it if you would join us in being a part of it by either signing up for the teams we set up and / or telling a friend who might be interested.

Until then, we shall see you at an upcoming show!

Beirut
The Flying Club Cup

Have you ever listened to an album that made you feel like you are in a different time or a different place? Well I just experienced it. While listening to The Flying Club Cup by Beirut, I felt like I was in the 1920’s or the 1930’s. The Flying Club Cup has this 1920/1930’s French like dramatic feel throughout the album. In some songs I feel like there is this circus like music. All of the melodies and rhythms are in synch and tastefully done just like the 1920’s era music. Horns, trumpets, cymbals, ukulele, accordion, clarinet and many more musical instruments can be heard throughout the album.

The album opens with an instrumental song ‘A Call To Arms’ where you can hear this horn-like sound for 18 seconds. Then with a very catchy tune ‘Nantes’ which is one of my favourite because it is just so catchy and I can’t pin point on the fact why I find it so catchy. Songs like ‘Guyamas Sayonara’, ‘Cliquot’ and ‘Forks & Knives’ are my favourites. At times I find myself swaying from left to right because I’m in a trance with the music.

Zach Condon’s voice is very soothing and amazing, whenever I hear him sing I am at awe. It is very refreshing to listen to The Flying Club Cup because it is something unfamiliar and I have never heard before. For someone who is only in his early 20’s Zach Condon deserves a big pat on the back for producing an album that is creative, something new (for me anyways) and something that I believe that not many would dare to do.

1. “A Call to Arms” – 0:18
2. “Nantes” – 3:50
3. “A Sunday Smile” – 3:36
4. “Guyamas Sonora” – 3:31
5. “La Banlieue” – 1:58
6. “Cliquot” (Zach Condon, Owen Pallett) – 3:52
7. “The Penalty” – 2:22
8. “Forks and Knives (La Fête)” – 3:34
9. “In the Mausoleum” – 3:11
10. “Un Dernier Verre (Pour la Route)” (Zach Condon, Kendrick Strauch) – 2:51
11. “Cherbourg” – 3:33
12. “St. Apollonia” – 2:59

13. “The Flying Club Cup” – 3:05

Over the past week or two there have been new tour announcements by several bands that are expected to perform in SEA and its neighbouring countries (e.g. Australia/New Zealand) in 2009. Some of which you like, some which you don’t.

A bunch of [SEA] countries already have shows confirmed for them, whilst others are missing out entirely due to circumstances beyond our control. In turn, that has left some of you disappointed and we understand where you’re coming from.

What we’d like for you to do for the time being is get yourself involved and be heard. Take our poll and fill in this 10 question concerts survey (Malaysians only) if you have a couple of minutes to spare. This is a perfect opportunity for you to make your votes count and have your say. There is a comments feature in the poll, so be sure to make use of it.

Thanks to those who have already participated, you know who you are. We’re calling out on those who have yet to do so and for individuals who have to get their peers involved.

Spread the links, it is with this information that we are able to use in the attempt to bring about the change we hope for but we can’t do it without you.

Thanks!

MTGH crew

Today I got myself the Jonas Brothers‘ album. I believe it is the latest one, titled A Little Bit Longer.
I have to say, they are a good band. Many misjudge them as being a boyband, mostly because 99% of their fans are made up of underaged girls. But to me, I don’t classify music like that. As far as i’m concerned, music is music. Besides, the Jonas Brothers’ play and write their own music. They don’t even do a dance routine during their live shows. So nope! They are definitely not a ‘boyband’ in my book.
Anyway! I find myself thoroughly enjoying this album. I’m on my second listen now, and honestly, i’m digging the tunes! Sure there are those 1 or 2 typical Disney songs – Video Girl - but majority of the album is pretty darn good!
So really, give this band a chance. They might surprise you. Who cares if people make fun of you for “listening to the Jonas Brothers”. Music is universal. It shouldn’t be classified that way and no one should be made fun of the music they’re into. I honestly recommend them.

Also! I’m reaaaally into this band called Sing It Loud from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
They’re a bunch of young guys (all of them are around 19-21!) making really good music! They just released their first full length album called Come Around on the 24th of September. You should all check it out. They have some cameos in there! One being Justin Pierre from Motion City Soundtrack and another with Alex Gaskarth from All Time Low. One of my favourite songs by them is a song called Maybe I’m A Ghost which is not on this album. So seriously, check out all their songs if you can!

Here’s a link for you to listen to some of the songs: http://myspace.com/singitloud

ENJOY!

Exposing you’re my weakness,
I’ll take this day by day.

The fiasco surrounding the Avril Lavigne concert last month left an impression, notably. Whether you were a fan of the performer or otherwise, it appears that all future shows we may be treated to seems to be on the line even more so than it was in the past.

I guess it would be a long while yet before ‘we’ would even entertain the idea of having concerts/festivals in celebration or conjunction of our National Day ala SINGfest, let alone allow performers to stage a gig on the day itself like Panic At The Disco did in Jakarta on theirs (17th August).

Fans of Weezer & Paramore… hold on tight for a couple more months.

Also, according to our sources, a band from California and another from New York are supposedly touring these parts soon (the latter we’ve had the opportunity to contact and were told they intend to do so but there are no dates as of yet), if not by the end of this year then in early 2009. Both bands have 3 letter initials, the one from Cali has received airplay on both radio & tv (although less frequently now) but the latter hasn’t had much if any to date but that doesn’t mean you don’t know them. That much we can tell you for now until more information is being revealed to us at a later time.

Notice how we’ve been saying that we’ve been working on this and that but nothing ever really happens? Yeah. We apologize, but we really are slaving away trying to bring those ideas to life, it’s just taking more time than we had anticipated and we have other obligations to fulfill but they WILL make its way on to the site shortly.

Contest coming soon in a couple of weeks and there are other plans in the pipeline as well. Keep checking back for updates!

I felt Pretty,Odd during Panic At The Disco’s concert on the 5^th of August. Why you may ask? It was not the band that made me feel that way, it was the fan girls. To be honest, when Panic At The Disco released their new album I was not into it, I thought ‘Nine in The Afternoon’ were too pop-ish for me. But after the concert they impressed me so much that I became a bigger fan of them.

I went to the concert without hearing their latest album, but after the concert I can feel that the band have grown up from their first album. The lyrics of their new album convey messages that are mature but yet the lyrics are witty at the same time. The new album has this organic vibe where you just want to kick your shoes off and relax while listening to the album.

The concert was short but they played 18 songs! The stage was set up with a bohemian/hippie vibe, it was very laid back. All four of them dressed like a 70’s hippie band, at one point I was expecting them to scream out ‘make love not war’. Jon Walker was barefoot on stage, Spencer Smith was rocking his head band (he impressed me so much with his drumming skills), Ryan Ross was wearing his hat and Brendon was wearing his million dollar smile (he is good live! His voice is amazing!).

Even though the set was laid back the crowd was very intense! The crowd were jumping up and down, the only time they were not jumping was during Brendon’s acoustic performance. The crowd made me feel like as if I was an old woman! Some of the crowd were shouting inappropriate things at Brendon and Ryan. It was Pretty,Odd.

I enjoyed the concert, the band were very interactive. They would talk in between songs and you can tell that they are friendly. Panic At The Disco is band that performs good live. I suggest that you try to catch them live if they are in your town in the near future.