After concerts by Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd tribute acts, it was a time for another tribute concert organized by Gigbox. But this time, it was for a far more recent band — Coldplay.
If you are wondering “why Coldplay?,” well then, you probably aren’t aware of the slew of hits the British Band have produced since 2000. Coldplay (and Linkin Park) are undoubtedly two of the biggest bands to come out of the 2000s, and both are still going strong. Sales in excess of 50 million worldwide and hit singles from four studio albums — that is enough material for a tribute band to play in Coldplay’s honour.
I wasn’t expecting as many people as there were for the Breathe – The Floyd Sound concert, simply because Coldplay’s fanbase isn’t as big as a legendary band as Pink Floyd. Plus, April 2nd was the Cricket World Cup finals which India won, so most of the city was still reeling in the joy (and hangover) of last night’s match.
But being a massive Coldplay fan, there was no way I was going to miss this show.
The opening act was American solo artist Thom Chackon.
His music was mostly acoustic fare with a country vibe
Here’s a video of some songs he performed:
Thom Chackon performed a good 6 to 7 songs
Once Thom Chackon left, it wasn’t a long wait before Coldplayer hit the stage.
I didn’t record “Violet Hill” in full because I needed to conserve space on my camera memory card.
The band were dressed similar to how Coldplay dressed for the Viva La Vida tour
One of Coldpay’s greatest songs – “Clocks”
More songs from A Rush of Blood to the Head (“In My Place” & “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face”)
Lead vocalist, who does a really good Chris Martin
“Trouble” and “Strawberry Swing”
(“Strawberry Swing” was performed two tracks later actually)
Gareth Whiteside on guitars; bassist Craig JohnsonJacob King
Moving on to my favourite Coldplay album, X & Y (2005)…
Coldplay’s epic “Fix You” (followed by “Talk”)
And then, the song everybody knew (most of) the words to…
My card got full halfway through the song and had to swap the second one in, thus the break in recording. No worries… as you’ll see down below 🙂
The band then left the stage after “Yellow,” which didn’t imply the show was over. There was no way a Coldplay tribute act was going to end a show in 2011 without playing “Viva La Vida“.
Come back on stage they did. Now, it was time for a break in pace and some acoustic fare.
Besides “Don’t Panic,” they also sang “Green Eyes” and one other song which I wasn’t too familiar with.
“The Hardest Part/Postcards from Far Away” and that song which is now a Coldplay anthem…
For the final song of the night, since the reception this song got the first time was so good, Coldplayer ended their gig with an encore performance of Coldplay’s first hit single:
With that, Coldplayer bowed to the audience and finally left the stage — this time for real.
Gigbox’s third concert was yet another stellar show. Sure, the UB City amphitheatre wasn’t as packed as it was for Breathe – The Floyd Sound, but you really can’t compare the fanbase Pink Floyd has in the city to Coldplay. The crowd was a lot younger this time and as you heard from the videos, they were very receptive.
My brother (extreme right) and his friends surely enjoyed itThe folks at Gigbox who put on the show
So after tribute acts for Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Coldplay… who is next?
Ireland’s biggest musical export — U2, played tribute by U2UK. May 7th, see you there 🙂
Today was going to be our last full day in Kuala Lumpur, so we had to make the most of it. Some of us had shopping to do, and I wanted to see a bit more of KL.
But the first thing we did in the morning was get ready to go the Petronas Towers again. And when I say “we,” I mean Ramesh and I. Loi wanted to sleep in.
The reason why we were going back to the towers were to try and a get a ticket for the sky bridge/observation deck. Why “try”? Because that’s how the system is. You go there early enough, wait in line until the ticket counters open and whoever gets the tickets, gets to up at a pre-determined time. The earlier you are in the line, the sooner you get to go up. It’s free, but an inconvenient method. (EDIT: Turns out there is a much higher observation deck at the 86th floor for which you can pay RM40 and go. I didn’t know about it until much research after coming back from this trip)
When we did our research, we saw videos of the view from the 41st & 42nd floor and after having been to the top of Burj Khalifa, the view from the Petronas Towers wasn’t astounding or anything. Which is why I was more keen on going up Menara KL (KL Tower), something I was going to do later in the day anyway.
Still, since we didn’t have a whole lot planned for the morning, myself and Ramesh thought: “What the hell, last day in KL. Might as well try and get a ticket”.
So we set out, took the monorail and got down at Bukit Nanas station.
The Malaysia Tourism Centre
We walked towards the KLCC Suria and when we finally made it to the ticketing counter…
… it was 8:55am when I took this
Sold out. Oh well.
Not that we were sorely disappointed or anything, but if you are one who is very keen to visit the Sky Bridge, be in line by at least 7:30-8:00am.
Me and Ramesh then just decided to check out the mall.
Suria mall mostly caters to high end brands and luxury designer wear, most of which are on the lower floors. We checked out a few electronics stores, Ramesh checked out the Harley Davidson store, and then we decided to find out where the Aquaria was.
Oh Ryan Seacrest, there is no escaping you is there?
It wasn’t open yet
Ramesh was keen on checking out the Aquaria, the largest aquarium in Kuala Lumpur. I, on the other hand, wanted to see more of the city, so we parted ways. I inquired on how to get to Merdeka Square while Ramesh went in to Aquaria.
Here are a few photos from inside the Aquaria, all of which are from Ramesh’s camera.
Entry is RM35 (Rs. 510/$11/€8) for adults
Wonder what they feed piranhas hereWell, that’s a bit harsh on the eel isn’t it?This ‘turtle+croc+weird’ looking creature is called the MatamataThis one is called a CoatimundiPretty cool
CheekyThe Aquaria has the obligatory underwater tunnel
Pinecone fish
The above are only a few of the photos Ramesh took. He took much more. There are sharks, lion fish, water rats and all sorts of other waterborne creatures. From his account, Ramesh said the experience was “okay” — so I don’t know how it compares to a similar offering I experienced in Dubai Mall.
When Ramesh stepped out, he saw a gathering of superbikes and stalls by Yamaha on the occasion of next week’s Malaysian MotoGP.
That concludes what Ramesh saw.
Now back to me 🙂
When I left the Petronas Towers, I took the monorail to Hang Tuah station. From there I transferred to the RapidKL line, for which you need to buy another ticket/pass as the monorail card won’t work on this rail service. From Hang Tuah, I headed towards Masjid Jamek station.
Once you come out of the station…… you are on Jalan Melayu
Luring customers with tickets to new Rajinikant film. Works wherever Tamilians exist 🙂Nothing special in here. The usual street market stocking the usual goods.
I came here to go to Merdeka Square, which is a significant landmark in Malaysia’s independence from Britain.
Merdeka Square literally means “Independence Square”There was a film shoot happeningNo clue if this was a South Indian/Malay-Tamil/Sri Lankan or Bangladeshi productionThis flag pole is nearly 312 ft high, one of the tallest in the worldMerdeka Square is surrounded by old colonial buildings
It was here on August 31st, 1957, that the British flag was lowered and the Malaysian flag hoisted for the first timeNot sure what these buildings werePlenty of tourist buses stop in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad building
Sultan Abdul Samad building in front, several bank HQs in the background
Merdeka Square is the venue for Malaysia’s annual National Day Parade
The one on the right seems like the lead actress in this shoot; they were shooting with RED cameras (Yes, I’m a nerd, I notice these things)
It was time for me to move on.
Not that I knew where I was headed nextI just like to roam about and explore
After passing by an area full of businesses serving Bangladeshis and Pakistanis, I found myself in an alley which housed what looked like a Chinese temple.
So I went in
As I left the temple, I found out the name of the placeI walked a bit further out…… and I soon realized I was in China Town
There was a shopping complex right opposite the entrance to Petaling Street and so I decided to check it out. I unfortunately couldn’t take any photographs inside because the security guard asked me not to. But inside were stores selling essentially the same goods I saw yesterday night in Petaling Street, but at far lower prices.
So word of advice, just because you see bags on Petaling Street with it’s street market appearance, don’t assume the prices are low. There are plenty of other places, like this not-so-fancy shopping complex right outside Petaling Street selling the same stuff at lower prices.
In fact when I called up Loi to tell him about bag prices here, he told me he found similar prices in the shops on the higher floors of Times Square shopping mall.
I had lunch from a burger joint and continued my ‘walk around town’. I asked around for where “Little India” was and was directed to walk towards KL Tower.
I stepped in but quickly found nothing worthwhile
Yes, to the right is a ‘chapathi house’ named Restoran Santa
I came across this street which looked more like “Little Chennai”
There’s a slew of silk shops, and plenty of pure-veg restaurants on this street.
I found myself back at Masjid JemakMasjid Jema’ (mosque)I didn’t qualify for any of the above, so didn’t bother going in
It was time for me to head back to the room and catch up with Ramesh and Loi.
Some beauty show at Berjaya Times Square
Once I got back to Irsia, the three of us decided to go to Midvalley Megamall, one of Kuala Lumpur’s largest malls.
To get to Midvalley Megamall from Berjaya Times Square, take the monorail from Imbi to KL Sentral. Then, you need to transfer to the Komuter train line, and Midvalley has a stop by itself.
The mall is pretty huge
Midvalley houses a Carrefour, JUSCO, Toys ‘R’ Us, Harvey Norman and plenty of other brands. It isn’t ‘high street’ fare like KLCC Suria mall in Petronas Towers.
This store had a whole bunch of cool imports from Japan
After Loi’s shopping from Toys R Us, Ramesh’s purchases from Carrefour, we headed up to the top most floor.
They have an exclusive ManU store and an 18-screen multiplex up hereWent in here as well
Midvalley has a few nerdy joints up here, including video arcades and a store dedicated to board games. But we couldn’t hang out any longer, it was nearing 7pm. There was one last thing I wanted to do for our last day in Kuala Lumpur — head to the observation deck at KL Tower to get a view of Kuala Lumpur city at night.
To save time, we took a taxi… and got a driver with some pretty good taste in music 🙂
After an enjoyable ride, we reached Menara KL, which is perched atop a small hill called Bukit Nanas. Thus making it ‘taller’ than the Petronas Towers. Myself and Loi bought our tickets and made our way up, Ramesh stayed below to check out an F1 Zone.
Tickets cost RM38 (Rs. 550/$12/€8) for adults
I was more keen on visiting the observation deck of KL Tower than the Skybridge at Petronas Towers, simply because the viewing height at Menara KL is much higher.
And I was right…… the view was great!But there was one annoying problemThe bright lights from the shops up here!
The whole experience of the view at night from up here is marred by the lights reflecting off of the glass — which also made for tricky photography. And because I didn’t have a tripod, it was tough for me to get steady shots.
Why on earth would you want to sell jewelry up here? ‘High’ prices?
We went around the observation deckThey have a display showing you the other tall telecommunications towers around the worldMenara KL is the fourth largest telecom tower in the worldThe tallest is still the CN Tower in TorontoYou can see Berjaya Times Square from up here — also ‘cos it isn’t that far 🙂I took one final shot of the Petronas Towers before heading back downThere are two ‘sky high’ restaurants at KL Tower
This is the elevator lobbyTimings are 9:30am to 9:30pmYour ticket also includes entry to the Cultural Village, which was closed by 8pmSo we used our ticket to avail the one free ride around the (virtual) Sepang circuitIn the small cars though, you have to pay to sit in one these life-size replica carsRamesh paid to sit & play in the Ferrari carThere’s an F1 store here as well
You can opt to use your ticket for a complimentary ride as wellWe waited for the free ride down to the base of the hill
Once at the base, we walked towards Bukit Nanas monorail station.
One final lookWalked past the Hard Rock Cafe Kuala LumpurWhich saw a gathering of Harley Davidson owners that nightOne final look at the beautiful twin towersThis is the monorail network mapThe monorail trains aren’t very big
Once back in the room, we decided to enjoy our final dinner of this trip, and sit somewhere nice. There are a few cosy eateries behind Berjaya Times Square, where we were and so, we sat down at Wings musicafe.
They have a live stage where artists perform every nightHad Kilkenny Irish beer for the first time
It was a relaxing dinner to end our last day of sight-seeing in Kuala Lumpur. The musicians were mostly local artists, aspiring singers who performed mellow acoustic fare. Much needed for us tired souls.
Once back in the room, we packed up. And when I mean “we,” I mean myself and Ramesh…
… this guy was too lazy to do any packing — and he had the most luggage!
Tomorrow morning, all we had to do was check out and head to the airport in the afternoon for our after Air Asia flight back to Bangalore.
So, it’s not over yet… there’s one more post left! 🙂
With those two songs, Rainbow became the only other girl group I cared about as a fan after SNSD. So it was with much anticipation that I awaited the release of their new single “to Me”.
DSP Media introduced a flower-y concept for the girls for this album
But it’s not like DSP Media sticks to one concept for a photo teaser and another concept for the actual music video release. They caught my attention before the release of “A” with a futuristic and very fashionable look for the girls. But when the video came out, the girls had to dance as though they were about to take off their top.
-_-
Oh well.
Today, tracks from their second mini album, SO女, hit the web. I went straight to the single “to Me” and quickly hit play… but after a minute later, I had to stop the song. I was disappointed. The song wasn’t very good — and the “Oh-eh, Oh-eh-oh-eh…” chorus was annoying.
I then tried listening to the other songs. “So Cool” was just “meh”. The ‘Engrish’ is what got to me I guess. I then hoped for a saving grace from ‘SO女’.
And it came when I played the third new song on the mini-album:
“I Said You’re The One” (너뿐 이라고)
Now songs like this is what I was expecting! A nice upbeat ballad with a great chorus. Sweet vocals and no cringe-inducing English phrases. “I Said You’re The One” has a melody and song structure that is pure K-pop. I won’t be surprised if this song will end up being used on soundtracks.
That said, “I Said You’re The One” still wouldn’t have done too well if it had been released as first single to promote this mini-album. It’s a good song, no doubt. But after “A” and “Mach”s success, Rainbow needed to keep the success train rolling full steam ahead with a great track! “To Me” only slows the train down.
All-in-all, I am disappointed with Rainbow’s new material. I’m not giving up on the group though. I’m sure in a few months, they’ll release another mini-album, or who knows, going by online feedback, DSP Media may even release “I Said You’re The One” as a single with a sweet MV.
I haven’t written about K-pop since November last year and there’s good reason for that. There’s a bit of a lull in K-pop right now. Way too many girl groups and more boy bands are on the way. The only songs I liked in the last 3 months were Seungri – “What Can I Do,”MBLAQ – “Stay” and K.Will’s “My Heart Is Beating” — but I didn’t like them that much to write a post on them.
But hey, 2011 is still young and April couldn’t get more hotter. Jay Park’s finally releasing his debut single and SNSD returns with a Japanese single.
From Vida or Death and All His Friends, they played “Lost,” “Strawberry Swing” and this:
Coldplayer then performed the final song in their setlist…
