31st March 2012: Earth Hour 2012, at Publika. Here's The Metaphor!


The police wanted in on the hipster action with the bicycles.


The police were proudly part of the Eco Riders. Nice to see them being part of this, and it would be nice to invite them more to this side of town (when they'd more likely be invited for government-related functions.)


Qings & Kueens made a comeback, without a bassist.


I didn't catch this band's name (or its performance) but check out that fanned-fret bass!


Seconds To Collide, who bear some Saosin-ity.


Ryota Katayama on vocals.


I don't know what was going on here.


Malaysia Ukulele Group.


Pfft, I had one since 4th September 2004, way before all you hipsters. I was a proto-hipster. Credits go to Dustyhawk for the picture-taking.


Darren Ashley, in full band mode!


He played his electro pop out of a shopping trolley. "Hey man check out this I just bought this down at the BIG Supermarket..."


Random audience shot. I am always a sucker for hair light.


Likewise. Whenever I see a professorly German-looking guy I expect him to have played in a UFO cover band in a past life. Granted, UFO isn't exactly German, but you get the idea better than if I was to say early Uli-Roth-time Scorpions.


Random snipe of Megan Tan and Hansen Lee walking past.


An Honest Mistake, a high-energy band. I always miss their rock kangkang synchronized guitar breakdown.


Luna strikes See "Moon" Mun. They brought me to the next place...


Ecoba, for the Pray For Alda Evan Tan Fundraiser Gig! Here's Cats In Love, classic rock outfit with the venerable N. Rama Lohan.


Jin Hackman and Coex.


Coex does some mean multi-layered beatboxing! 4 layers!


I like the audience they bring.


Kirstie & Cass3y, I think? They did some R&B duet, among other things.


Roland PK-5 Dynamic MIDI Pedal. Don't know whose this was or whether I heard it in play.


Relent!


They did a more acoustic, stripped down version of themselves.


Themselves, normally being good ol' anthemic rock, none of that emo nonsense.


The organizing committee.


Alternate pose.


Freeloaders Inc.


Another good throwback to 90's rock.


Don't know why people keep thinking I'll put their faces in the newspaper or some magazine. But yeah.


Gotta dig the violin bass!


Red Ruby Avengers.


Rendra Zawawi, backed by his brother Hameer Zawawi (far right) and David (back).


Nick Davis brings a modern sound.


I don't know if this was Zul.


The poster.

This follows my tribute to Alda, here:
What Do These Bands Have In Common?

23rd March 2012: Twin Towers @Live 2012 at Petronas Twin Towers.


Here's Korean girl group Girls' Generation/So Nyeo Shi Dae (SNSD).


I'm not going to bother labelling them, because I am not a fan of Korean music, and I can't tell them apart.


Fans strewed out into the main road from the outdoor area with the fountain where the event was held, on the other side, away from KLCC Park.


James Baum, local hip hop artiste, was next.


His crew.


Reshmonu, a much more worldly musician.


Here's Bo!


Jojo Struys, emcee of the night.


Nicole Scherzinger!


She brought her ensemble, not in any the Pussycat Dolls which she was a part of.


I managed to get in to the area before the photographers' pit. I don't remember how.


That, and the Sony Alpha 77 with the Carl Zeiss 135mm F1.8, got me real tight shots. Add that 24 megapixels allows for plenty of cropping.


It does occasionally make it hard to get group shots like these...


...but moving about gives you that leeway.


I'd consider myself lucky this time, as I'd otherwise not get in to the same area the next day.


DAT ASS.


24th March 2012: Day 2, with Faizal Tahir.


A remote-controlled blimp hovers above the crowd.


I don't remember what this on-stage competition was about.


Orianthi!

I thought I heard Orianthi say that she left her slide at the dressing room but she can get by with a rabbit. Geez now I'm thinking of the suitable form factor of a guitar slide.


She came to fame as Michael Jackson's guitarist for his upcoming tour, but he died so that didn't happen.


Nevertheless, she is a shredder in her own right, down to the floor.


EVH 5150 in the back!


So here's where the 24 megapixels were stretched to its limit, cropping tightly. Also one of the rare shots where her eyes are actually visible under all that mascara!


Another on-stage competition.


She won, I think.


Fireworks ensued.


DJ Nadine Ann Thomas! For when being Miss Malaysia Universe 2010 is just another item on a bucket list.


Kelis! I was looking forward to her, really. I enjoyed her fourth album, Kelis Was Here, but I don't think she played anything from that album - instead it was a lot of trip hop/electro. I don't remember if she even performed Milkshake or not!


Her awesome bendy glowstick microphone stand.


The night ended with DJ Nikki.

15th March 2012 was the first ever Moonshine: A Homemade Music Show at The Bee, Publika!


This is opening act Ryota Katamaya.


He has this haunting melancholic voice, which is quite different from his rock voice when singing in Seconds To Collide, and yet very authentic and enjoyable.


Here's an anachronism - Reza Salleh the organizer during the setup. This shot and Ryota's second were shot with the Sony Alpha 900 with the Sony 135mm F2.8/T4.5 Smooth Transition Focus lens, for a wonderful rendition of out-of-focus areas.


I have to say, I enjoyed the lighting at The Bee - shot with the Carl Zeiss 135mm F1.8 at 1/30s ISO5000 on the Sony Alpha 77. Other than that ever-magenta-ish tinge coming from the stage LED lighting, the rest of the restaurant is in good ol' warm tungsten lighting.


Moonshine had a new format with an opening act, a featured act and a headliner act. Here's featured act, alternative rock band Mordo Blasters. A900 and the STF.


These guys are serious stuff. In comparison here's the A900 and 135mm F1.8 from this shot onwards.


I always like Ryan Lee Bhaskaran's T-shirts. He's always got a cool one on.


More cool T-shirts.


Darren Ashley was filling in for bass duties for Joe Loy. Samyang 35mm F1.4 on the A900.


A near year and a half later I see the wisdom in double-locking guitar straps. A77 with 135mm F1.8 for that extra tight close-up.


Headliner act Rendra Zawawi.


Alda Tan on bass. Rest in peace. This would be the last gig I would ever see him at!


Rendra brought his brother, Hameer, on stage. In the beautifully rendered bokeh from the STF lens is keyboardist...


Sharon Chong!


Brothers. At T4.5 1/15s ISO1600 there is just a bit of motion blur... but the best out-of-focus rendition you can ever have.


Group shot. All shots of Rendra and band with the STF except this one shot on the A77, with missing EXIF data because I used either my unchipped Opteka 85mm F1.4 or Samyang 35mm F1.4. I'm thinking it's more likely to be the 35mm because I wouldn't bring the 85mm, Carl Zeiss 135mm F1.8 and STF all at the same time, all being too close in focal length.


Alda, through the beautifully rendered bokeh.


Rendra has this haunting voice and a bunch of uncommon-sounding chord progressions.


Stephanie on drums.


David and Alda. You should ask him about his Alda story.

25th May 2013: Suara Rakyat 505 (Suara Rakyat Suara Keramat), at Padang Timur, next to Taman Jaya.


I took the Kelana Jaya LRT line (PUTRA line, for those of you who are old-school) to Taman Jaya, and disembarked there. I spotted a Rocket Man, a Malay chap. I'd later see Chinese PAS-serbys.


Caught lightning!


Sales of masks were brisk.


Oh, and vuvuzelas. Somebody didn't get the memo that these were banned for this gathering.


Food, glorious food! This was a market of sorts of all sorts of Malaysian street food. It felt a lot more like a bazaar as you entered.


I reached during Muslim prayer break so the field was not so filled - most were in Amcorp Mall, across the road, having dinner and prayers.


Source of power.


English, Malay and Chinese text.


These guys were just raking it in.


If you haven't figured it out, the theme for this gathering was black.


My eyes are blind, but I can see...


Collecting funds.


Big, colorful umbrellas!


Oh, how they make counting so hard! (Picture can be clicked for a full-resolution view.)


Even more for you counters and insomniacs. (Picture can be clicked for a full-resolution view.)


Near the stage. (Picture can be clicked for a full-resolution view.)


A wider shot. (Picture can be clicked for a full-resolution view.)


As much of the crowd as I can fit from as far away as I can get. (Picture can be clicked for a full-resolution view.)


Iced Milo! I had it.


A close-up of the Malaysian Spring installation.


Not sure who these guys are but I heard one of them is from Raja Lawak.


Arul of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), who gives a very socialist speech. You can't say there wasn't variety in the speeches!


Abby Abadi, famous for being a member of girl-group Elite, one-season co-host of Roda Impian and one of the lead characters in Gerak Khas - now a member of Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS).


All this, under the light of the nearby Tenaga Nasional building. The gathering is also known as Blackout 505, because of some incidents of power outages during the counting of votes. Tenaga Nasional, the electricity provider for Peninsular Malaysia, has denied that there were any blackouts. If this is true, then somebody may have tampered with the ELCB (Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker) by flipping the switch, in each school where the lights went out. There were also police reports regarding blackouts - here's one and two.


Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan, co-chairperson of BERSIH 2.0 gave a speech... but all attention was drawn to Anwar Ibrahim, Opposition Leader, as he walked to his seat on the stage.


Now that that was settled, she continued.


This was the closest I could get from where I was, behind the sound engineer's tent, without blocking people. All telephoto shots are with the Sony Alpha NEX-5 and Opteka/Samyang 85mm F1.4. The wide shots used the Sony E 16mm F2.8 pancake lens.


N. Surendran, PKR vice-president and founder of Lawyers for Liberty, on stage with Gan Pei Nei, state assemblywoman for Rawang.


Tian Chua, PKR vice-president and Haris Ibrahim (on the right) of Asalkan Bukan UMNO (ABU).


Ito of Blues Gang sings their hit single, Apo Nak Dikato. He came up earlier to sing another song penned for the current political climate.


These young dudes knew the song, too!


Nurul Izzah Anwar, Member of Parliament for Lembah Pantai.


Mat Sabu, deputy president of PAS. He always has the most entertaining speeches.


Everyone was asked to turn on their phones or lighters, as the spotlights went out. It was an amazing spectacle to see! I only wished I was way up on the hill, from where I was earlier, to take this same picture.


The night ended with Opposition Leader Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim's speech.

I will blog about my experience as a Polling Agent/Counting Agent during the 13th General Elections of Malaysia soon - I just need more time to cross-reference the laws.

More reading:
Election Cam-pain
Election Math
KL Wants One Too!
Konsert BERSIH 8T: Inside
Konsert BERSIH 8T: Outside
Democratic Promise
Bersih 3.0
Vote For Cleanliness!

Some interesting campaigning is going on in my neighborhood of Segambut, P117, where Jayanti Devi Balaguru of GERAKAN, under Barisan Nasional, will contend with Lim Lip Eng of DAP, under Pakatan Rakyat.


Here, in Segambut Dalam, we see Barisan Nasional chairman and incumbent Prime Minister, Najib Razak, on what appears to be a bottle!


Another view from the side, with Jayanti at the neck of the bottle.


View from the other side of the road, Jalan Segambut.

Interestingly, this road used to be full of BN and DAP banners. The DAP banners have since disappeared. One could suspect the BN party workers of removing the DAP banners, but that also means that DAP has less flags to take down after the elections.


Meanwhile, closer to home, is an interesting poster - it used to be just Najib Razak on a poster, with the caption, "LET'S VOTE !" with that horrible space before the exclamation mark. That is just bad, bad English. However, sometime this week, another poster was overlaid in front, this time featuring the incumbent Deputy Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin.


At the same junction, you see the same thing - Najib Razak's original poster, overlaid by another poster featuring his favorite right-hand man.

However, the address on my NRIC is in PJ, so I will be voting there instead. The other benefit of that is that I get to vote for a Parliament and State candidate. If I changed the address to this one in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, I'd only get to vote for a Parliament candidate.

All pictures can be clicked for a larger view.