LOUD music, Guitar Hero, Wii, beatboxing and a whole lot of fun – that pretty much sums up the Indie Youth Fest (IYF) 2009 roadshow held at the 1 Utama Shopping Complex in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, recently.

It kickstarted the IYF 2009 roadshow which would then travel to Penang, Johor and Sarawak to give youngsters all over Malaysia a taste of the indie festival.

The IYF 2009 event itself will be held at 1 Utama from Oct 14 to 18, and fans can look forward to a whole lot of exciting activities lined up for them.

Eighteen-year-old Ahmad Syajaril Mohd Radzi, or Shazet, started beatboxing around two years ago. He won the Australian's Melbourne Beatbox Championship.

Over 30 local bands entertained the crowd during the recent roadshow, providing a never-ending source of good music.

“This is the second time my band is performing at Indie Youth Fest and it’s great to see the kind of support we get from our fans and friends,” said Roslan Zainuddin, the lead singer for Bayang.

Apart from Bayang, up-and-coming bands like An Honest Mistake, Lydia’s Diery and Phlox rocked out upbeat songs that got the crowd on their feet and party away.

“We really hope that more youngsters would come to IYF 2009 and show their support for the indie music scene,” said Roslan.

One of the highlights of the roadshow was definitely the Malaysian Beatbox competition, and the beatboxers totally blew the audience away.

From simple hip-hop beats to complicated five-beat routines, the beatboxers amazed the crowd with their ability to make music using just their mouths.

“I wanted to show everyone just how talented Malaysian beatboxers are,” says 16-year-old Megat Sallehuddin, who co-organised the beatboxing challenge.

An avid beatboxing fan, Megat consulted with the IYF 2009 organisers pitching his idea to incorporate the beatboxing competition in their itinerary.

Even though Kimberly Sng, 19, was the only female competitor, she showed everyone that girls too can beatbox.

“I posted a video on YouTube asking beatboxers to come and join the competition and some of Malaysia’s best beatboxers took up the challenge,” says the form four student.

The crowd definitely enjoyed the beat boxers’ performance and at the end of the day, four of the participants were chosen as the finalists who will compete at the IYF 2009 Grand Finale.

Apart from the rocking music and beatboxing, the crowd was also free to roam around The Star’s Studio V, playing on the gaming console and using the mini-studios.

“The IYF 2009 is quite interesting as there’s many things for us to do here. It’d be nicer to see more support from the youngsters though,” said Mohd Asyraf Fadzlee Ramli, 21.

Mohd Asyraf and his friend Firdaus Jusdean enjoyed playing the Guitar Hero game that was set up at the venue .

“There should be more events like this. It’s a platform for youngster to show off their talents and others can come and cheer them on,” he said.

For more information on Indie Youth Fest 2009, visit www.indieyouthfest.com.