Three mega stars combined powers to deliver a message of togetherness
JOE LEE
Monday, March 1st, 2010 12:52:00
It may not have been an all-out rock ex travaganza, and yet only those who mis takenly imagined so would have been dis appointed – and mildly at that.
Who can complain, when the young, raw and edgy sounds of commercial rock of Aizat and Faizal Tahir collided with the sultry pop vocals of Datuk Siti Nurhaliza to create a musical soundscape that defies current local pop trends and the direction of its future.
For over two hours, the per formance threatened to blow Istana Budaya’s prim and proper cultural enclave apart with the sheer power of the combined vocals of all three in Konsert Satu Suara.
It was a confusing start, perhaps almost contrived, to begin with dr Sam’s patriotic Saya Anak Malaysia.
With Aizat and Faizal work ing hard from the get go, it was disappointing to see that the number was not the most appropriate for a more explo sive start.
It was shaky at best, and raised questions on whether the rest of the show would reign in the clichéd.
After all, a more edgy Ma laysia Satu by Audi Mok and Nurfatima which won the 1Malaysia Kita song compe tition would have been more suitable, especially given the guitar-pop and rock-edged sounds of the night.
There wasn’t much time to mull over what direction the show might take, the moment Aizat took over the stage for his solo performance.
It seemed ridiculously fast how quickly the show went by as Aizat wholeheartedly delivered each song with an emotional awareness that enhanced the body of his work.
Kau Aku, Fikirlah, a new tune in Susun Silang Kata and Lagu Kita were punctu ated by short banter which was kept to a minimal before he launched into a medley of tunes from The Beatles.
His simple reinterpretation of I Am the Walrus, Yesterday and I Want To Hold Your Hand was most welcome and his tribute to the late Sudirman Haji Arshad with Mat Disko was refreshing from the predictable slower numbers many auto matically fawn over.
Some may have commented on Aizat’s lack of communication, and while it is true the 21-year-old may seem a little reluctant to engage the audience with words, he made up for the lack of it with his musi cianship and heartfelt delivery of every song.
Pergi was perhaps one of the most an ticipated songs of the night. It was amaz ing to see how Aizat could make it fresh af ter performing it endless times. He made the song sound current to both new and trained ears.
And as the overwhelming rush of emo tions washed over the audience in what was almost the crescendo to his perfor mance of the night, Aizat proved his mettle as a real artiste – able to string together notes and a few words to create a master piece of aural delight.
He performed Raihan’s Thank You Al lah, in what must have caught many by surprise and closed his segment with Hanya Kau Yang Mampu – his first hit – lighting the stage on fire. It more than warmed up the stage for Faizal.
When Faizal took to stage, his panache and passion for all things rock suddenly made Istana Budaya seem the wrong choice of venue.
The stifled expression in the atmosphere of con trolled culture made it seem like a baffling juxtaposition of ideals in holding the con cert.
It began slowly enough in first gear with Sampai Syurga.
Faizal put pedal to the metal as he revved up al most immediately with Adrenalin, Mahakarya Cinta, Batu Dan Golek be fore he took a breather with Selamat Malam.
He unleashed the fury of the edge that earned him the title as one of the greatest rocking acts when he sang back to back Queen tunes – Who Wants To Live Forev er, We Are The Champions and Bohemian Rhapsody.
Faizal did make more ef fort engaging the audience with banter, though per haps a bigger stage such as Panggung Sari in Istana Bu daya is not the most suitable venue.
Still it was a noble effort to connect with his fans, who formed the majority at every show in the three nights of Konsert Satu Suara.
After all, given the house rules and his medical condition which has yet to im prove post-surgery, there were admittedly limitations.
In fact, Faizal apparently was in pain af ter performing Mahakarya Cinta but still soldiered on to deliver his best.
And with Cuba and Bencinta closing his set, it was worth it – for his fans, and even some new-found ones.
The third segment opened with both Aizat and Faizal on a medley of tunes which included the guitar-charged version of Percayalah (Siti), Ratuku (Awie), I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing (Aerosmith) and Always (Bon Jovi).
At this point, praise has to be heaped on the production team for the excellent technical delivery to help bring out the best in each and every performance.
The lighting was superb, and a top notch effort, despite the simplistic approach of the whole show.
In fact, despite the fact there were no gimmicks or attention-grabbing imple ments, the simplistic yet grand sound and lighting as well as the flow of the show made for a more than pleasant experi ence.
The only pain must have been the back ing dancers employed and their incoher ently loud wardrobe which was the only eyesore of the night.
Speaking of wardrobe, Aizat and Faizal did well enough to represent themselves for who they are through their threads, but Siti was disappointingly out of place. Still, there was no hampering the sheer musical genius of the night.
Siti joined on-stage when they began belting Wings’ Sejati.
The quality of the pop diva’s vocals has never been in question, though at times, the rock-esque attempts came across a little contrived.
The medley in Sekuntum Mawar Mer ah (Alleycats), Relaku Pujuk (Spider), Ibu Kota Cinta (Def-Gab-C) and Kau Kekasi hku (Siti) however put across a point.
You don’t need tight leather pants and a guitar to rock out.
Siti proved her staying power in the industry all these years with a con vincing performance – despite the frilly long outfit she had on.
The trio was backed by the 20-piece National Symphony Or chestra led by Sze Wan.
Overall, the show – produced by Siti Nurhaliza Productions and led by Jennifer Thompson is definitely one of the best local live concerts the country has seen in a long time.
Even the VVIPs at the event includ ing Melaka’s Yang Di-Pertua Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob as well as former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Moham ad and wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali would attest to that.
Siti took to stage one more time with Biarlah Rahsia, and was later joined by Aizat and Faizal who sang I Go and Gemu ruh respectively. Their performances were proof that while it was no easy task to put three distinct voices in music together, they did perform in one voice.
And it was this one voice that convinc ingly sang a promise of a better future for Malaysian music.
source: malay mail online















