Monday September 28, 2009
Phunky town
By IAN YEE
There was no need for the Black Eyed Peas to wonder where the love was on Friday night, as their fans came out in droves to support the top-charting hip hop outfit.
THE Black Eyed Peas line-up might look like a United Colors of Benetton-esque advertisement for unity, but their music could not divide opinion more.
For instance, they’ve had unprecedented success in the mainstream market as hip-hop crossover artistes, but most hip-hop purists would scoff at the idea that the Peas were hip-hop at all.
And of course, there are those incredibly silly, yet ridiculously fun songs of theirs that divide the party-goers and music buffs.
Peas porridge hot: apl.de.ap, Taboo, Fergie and will.i.am rolled into town last Friday and treated Malaysians to a high energy concert at the Sunway Lagoon Surf Beac Boom Boom Pow doesn’t exactly have the greatest musical cachet, yet people around the world haven’t been able to stop dancing to its infectious, futuristic vibe.
There is one thing however, that few people can argue with when it comes to the Peas – their ability to get a party started.
When will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie rolled into town last week for the Arthur’s Day celebration in Sunway Lagoon Surf Beach, they provided evidence that with the Black Eyed Peas, the energy truly never dies.
By 9pm, the packed crowd near the front of the stage were already calling out for the Peas between performances by local acts Reshmonu and Joe Flizzow, and Taiwanese hip-hopper MC Hot Dog.
When they finally took to the stage around 10pm, they did not disappoint, going straight into a powerful performance of their 2003 hit single Let’s Get It Started and dishing out other crowd favourites like Don’t Phunk With My Heart.
Fans also got to hear songs from the latest album The E.N.D. (which stands for the Energy Never Dies) like Imma Be and the mellow Meet Me Halfway.
They rapped, danced and worked the crowd effortlessly during the nearly two-hour set.
The crowd raised their hands, pumped their fists and sang along whenever they were told to – such was the infectious nature of the Peas’ energy.
But this is where opinion will be divided again. Though the Peas know how to rock a house down, Fergie’s vocals are still a bit rough around the edges.
The funny thing with her is that she manages to belt all the big notes pretty well, but seems to slosh her way through the rest of the song.
Her voice’s fearsome reputation sure took a beating here, as she sounded surprisingly nasal and was generally shaky. Even then, she adds a sexy, dynamic dimension to the Peas’ live performances that has over the years become essential to the Black Eyed Peas experience.
Her solo set, where she stripped it down (not literally; but more on that later) for a rendition of Big Girls Don’t Cry with a live band, was a treat for fans of her solo material.
In terms of the concert as a whole, however, it was probably the least exciting bit.
Will.i.am’s solo DJ-ing set on the other hand, was one of the highlights. He mixed tracks from Journey to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and gave a particularly crowd-pleasing number of Michael Jackson tunes.
While working the mixers, will.i.am sang and rapped along, joking with the crowd and encouraging them to dance and sing along.
Towards the end, they slowed things down with a heart-warming moment as a prelude to their breakthrough hit Where Is The Love.
The guys reminisced about their previous visits to Malaysia, and with some help from Taboo and the crowd, will.i.am was finally able to pronounce “Genting”, the venue of their previous Malaysian performance.
“You guys have a beautiful, beautiful country - great weather, great food... and Malaysian women are beautiful!” said will.i.am, to which Taboo added: “This definitely won’t be the last time we’re performing in Malaysia.”
Will.i.am then started a spontaneous ditty with the line “Malaysia’s beautiful”, which built up to the anthemic Where Is The Love, before ending the concert with one of the biggest hits of the night, I Gotta Feeling.
Not just monkey business
During a press conference earlier in the day, will.i.am had expressed his relief that the government guideline on Muslims attending the concert had been reversed, and the concert was open to everyone.
“I’m so thrilled. All the times that we’ve been to Malaysia, everyone was able to come to the show. When we go to Dubai, the Philippines, where it’s both Muslim and Christians, everyone comes.
“The Black Eyed Peas is everybody’s music, and it feels so good to be able to come here and everyone’s able to see us, and we’ll be able to see everyone. Most important for us is to perform to as many people who need to feel good about music and enjoy life,” said the producer extraordinaire.
As has become something of an inevitability with foreign female performers coming to Malaysia, there was a lot of talk about Fergie and whether her world-renowned lady lumps would be on display.
“I have had to change my costumes for tonight’s show,” she said during the press conference on Friday, when asked how much of her humps the audience would get to see.
“But the woman’s silhouette is still there. No matter if it’s clothed or not, whether you see skin or not, you still know the woman’s body. So there’s still gonna be that appreciation of the woman’s body, just that it’s covered.”
Taboo jokingly added: “And for the ladies, me and apl have been working out...”
In the end, Fergie came on stage in a dark grey T-shirt and black skinny jeans; and she was right about that silhouette.
Having attended their press conference, it’s easy to see where their songs get their sense of humour.
They were pretty funny the entire time.
When asked about how marriage had changed the group, Fergie said with a straight face: “When I joined the band, it was part of the contract that Josh (actor Josh Duhamel, whom Fergie is married to) would be part of the band. He’s a really good singer, good rock voice. The guys are constantly in training with him, teaching him how to dance – krump, clown dancing, jerk movement... Josh is getting into that. So you might see Josh in our band in the future.”
Speaking on the success of Boom Boom Pow and I Gotta Feeling, apl, who was born in the Philippines, said it’s still hard to believe they’ve managed a record-breaking 25 weeks on top of the Bilboard Hot 100.
“It’s really overwhelming sometimes. It’s like ‘25 weeks at the top? Wow! Number one? Wow!’ That’s the kinda stuff that makes us want to come back and perform and go on world tours and stuff,” said the Mohawk-ed apl, to which Fergie added: “I’m not sure if we could top that (record). We’re just really blessed. We’re really grateful for this success. Whatever our higher power is, it’s giving us blessings.”
With the Black Eyed Peas having such a good, good time, and – on the evidence of Friday’s concert – talented enough to spread that joy; it doesn’t seem to matter how divided opinions of them are.
For the Black Eyed Peas, it seems like it’s all about not taking themselves too seriously, or over-thinking stuff; but just to have a good time.
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