Tuesday April 7, 2009
The storming funk
The Grand Prix Party, headlined by Jamiroquai on Sunday, was a story of mud, music and mayhem ... with the masses wanting more.
DESPITE the heavy rain, the sludgy mud and the massive jam, the post F1 Grand Prix Party had to go on with Jamiroquai headlining the outdoor show.
The “slip-n-sliding” elements couldn’t stop diehard Jamiroquai fans from thronging the Sepang Helipad area to witness this mad hatter in action.
In fact, I believe there was absolutely nothing that could have stopped the mad crowd from being a part of this mind-blowing, mud-soaked event that kicked-off straight after last Sunday’s red-flagged F1 race ended.
Let’s recap, shall we?
At 5pm, the traffic snarl had already begun about 5km from the stage, situated on the hillside area across the Sepang circuit. Some concert fans were making their long trek to the concert venue just for Jamiroquai while the rest came from the spill-over crowd at the F1 race. It was a novel idea by the Sepang International Circuit to hold a big party after the race — buy any F1 ticket and watch the concert for free! The rain, on the other hand, had other ideas. It refused to stop even after some of the crowd brought candles and incense, just like the Pharaohs to drive away demons and gratify the presence of Gods.
“Bomoh, tak jadi hari ini (the local shaman’s rain spell didn’t work today),” was the local speak at the grounds with regards to the downpour.
But the over 20,000 party-goers didn’t mind the bad weather, choosing to stay back after the race to head over to the Grand Prix Party.
It would have been great if the organisers had anticipated the huge turnout for the party, making sure that the masses had enough food and beverage to get them ready for the party at 7.30pm. To make matters even worse, the Sepang management ran out of drinks and hot dogs but managed to replenish their stock a while after the first act went on stage.
What was disgusting the most about the whole incident was the fact that the vendors hiked up the prices of food and drinks when they saw there was a long queue. Get this – a can of beer went for RM20 and a hotdog, RM10 (from the previous price of RM5).
Oh, did I mention that the event was postponed to almost an hour because of the rain?
Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay flowing with the groove at the Grand Prix Party at the Sepang F1 Circuit helipad area on Sunday. Tired, wet and agitated, the crowd seemed restless and quite frankly, cheesed off that there was “too much panic in this town.”
A fight would’ve broken out between the vendors and the fans if it hadn’t been for Indonesian jazz outfit Maliq and D’Essentials.
As though they read our minds, at 8pm sharp, they strutted on to the stage and started to get the crowd going with their classics such as Free Your Mind and Deja Vu. The band, soon after, was joined by local artiste Atilia, laying down the smooth soul for the night.
I felt they put on quite a show but looking at all the foreigners’ faces almost made me laugh out loud. They had no idea who these artistes were and I could tell that they just wanted the main act to start. It did, about 30 minutes later.
Although it was still drizzling, that didn’t dampen the crowd’s spirit as some were already chanting “Jamiroquai!” to get the band to come on stage pronto. “We want Canned Heat!” and “How about some Cosmic Girl now?” demanded the angry mob.
Then, without warning, Bila Larut Malam was heard reverberating over the speakers – props to the Twilight Actiongirl (TAG) deejay crew – leaving the restless audience with nothing left to do but dance. TAG was spot on, entertaining the exhausted crowd between the artiste change-overs on stage.
The adrenaline continued when American a cappella group Naturally 7 took the stage with their “ill-est” boom boxing and “dopest” vocal chords. Never have I seen an a cappella group sing in such perfect harmony, mixing up a little bit of hip hop and R&B flavour. Watching them on YouTube and seeing them perform live are two totally different things. Naturally 7 really rocked the show.
But nothing could have prepared anyone for the explosive night ahead when Jamiroquai appeared and started playing onstage. Now the “real” party had finally gotten started. Frontman Jay Kay was psyched for the show, having stretched out his yoga moves backstage in anticipation of the long, humid night ahead.
Jay Kay, soon-to-be 40 later this year, was infectiously energetic and lovable. Dressed in his trademark fedora and tracksuit top, this chap was the life of the party. His crowd connection was outrageous yet subtle. But it’s that contrast that we love about Jay Kay; it’s what makes him endearing as a live entertainer.
He is indeed a freak of nature behind the outrageous hats and smooth vocals with overflowing showmanship to back him. To a large extent, Jay Kay only wore a disappointingly average-looking hat that night ... unlike the native American headgear worn by some of the more flamboyant fans in the crowd.
When Jay Kay promised he was going to put on a show that we would never forget, just like a real gentleman, he stayed true to his words.
The band wasted little time getting to the favourite tunes, and – by the crowd’s participation – it was obvious that the tracks took little time to sink in and hit a groove.
It has taken a long time for Jamiroquai (formed in 1992) to finally play in Malaysia and the crowd went bananas for the funk on parade.
The set-list was built to please with stone-cold classics like Cosmic Girl, Alright, Little L, Space Cowboy, and Love Foolosophy hitting the sweet spot with the all-singing, all-dancing and all-sweating fans.
“Dance!” screamed the crowd, after Jamiroquai dangled out the hanging lyrics of Canned Heat: “Nothing left for me to do but dance, all these bad times I’m going through just dance, got canned heat in my heels tonight baby!” And so went the rest of the night in similar fashion.
The interplay between Jay Kay and his audience was a sight to behold, and reached its peak with Deeper Underground as the show closer. The whole place erupted ... and you could say, it was too much panic in this town.
Jay Kay came and blew them away. Overall, the show exceeded the expectations. It didn’t feel like two hours had passed. Despite all the complications, it was one hell of a night. Now I know this boogie is for real.
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