10/27/2009 3:33:23 PM
The Intern: Akon Freedom Surf Beach Concert 2009
Author: rageintern
I have to admit, one of the things I looked forward to before I joined R.AGE is the concert tickets and the events that I could attend. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t like free concert tickets?
I am a concert freak and I have been to a number of concerts previously (Muse, Daughtry, Switchfoot, even Backstreet Boys!). Akon Freedom Surf Beach concert made its way to my list last Saturday.
Another point to be made here would be that, if you knew me in person, you will definitely know that Hip-Hop and R&B is not my thing. I don’t hate it nor dislike it, but I just don’t fancy it over other music genres. But since the editor of R.AGE, Ivy Soon asked on whether would I like to attend the concert, I took it up in a split second and decided to give Akon a try!
I was all excited to make my way to Sunway Lagoon as the evening drawed near. There’s something about concerts that makes me feel like I’m on top of the world, or something to that extent. It is approximately 7.05pm (the registration for media invites starts at 7pm) when I reached the entrance of Sunway Lagoon. My jaw dropped at the sight of the number of people who stood in line to enter the premises of the concert! However, the entrance for the media invite is at the Surf Beach. I was at the wrong entrance, and a quick call to Sharmila fixed my problem.
I finaly reached the Surf Beach entrance at around 7.30pm and after some quick registration, I got my media tag! My first time getting a media tag! And best of all, I get to sit down during the concert (a major plus for a fat kid like myself). The media seats were sandwiched in between the Beach Zone and the Rock Zone.
After a long process of waiting (true to our ‘Malaysian’ timing) the concert only started at 8.45pm with the opening acts, Nikki and Caprice. The crowd weren’t too happy at it and started their choruses of boos. Hani Madu and Nadia from Fly FM, who were the MCs for the night, had to persuade the crowd to give our local talents a chance. The crowd gave in eventually, but I wouldn’t blame the crowd for booing because those legs must have been tired from all the standing. It rained a little before Akon came on stage, but thank goodness it stopped a few minutes later, considering the entire crowd area is not covered.
The man of the hour finally came on stage at approximately 9.20pm, and the crowd went wild with excitement! I have to say that Akon’s stage antics and performances are one of a kind and would get you up on your feet and start to bob your head and tap your feet. The whole concert turned into a clubbing scene after awhile, all except the media box people. I guess work is work huh?
While it is understandable that some of the songs were obviously pre-recorded (read: Lip Sync), the live band did their best to add to the live music element to the concert. Akon’s set included popular and hit songs like Don’t Matter, Right Now, Beautiful, Smack That and I Wanna Love You. The crowd way up front got lucky when Akon literally crowd surfed on them a few times, requiring security assistance to get back up on stage. Talk about showing the crowd some love!
All in all, it was a quite an experience for me. For a self-professed rock genre lover to be at a hip-hop venue is quite a feat for me. I wouldn’t mind going for one again, sans the rain, the RM 9 two-piece KFC chickens and the massive car park jam after the show.
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