AUG 24 — Last Wednesday night, I and a few thousand other Malaysians saw Metallica “live” at Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur. Metallica! In Kuala Lumpur! After 31 long years! And even today I’m still pinching myself, wondering if it was all just a dream. And there weren’t even any protests outside the stadium like what happened a few years back when the mighty Avril Lavigne played there. So what gives?
First of all, I’m sure I’m not the only one who noticed the sudden flurry of big-name foreign bands coming in to Malaysia as part of their tours this year. Although we’ve had plenty of big concerts before, they’re mostly of the “safe” variety; pop acts like boy bands or K-pop and Canto pop acts or rock bands like Linkin Park!
If we’re talking smaller and more underground shows, then yes we’ve seen the likes of Napalm Death (twice if I’m not mistaken!), Destruction and even Kreator in action here, but big concerts featuring the evil that is rock music is still something not too common over here.
There’s just something about rock music that makes people feel threatened, especially here in Malaysia, even when there’s nothing particularly evil about that particular band in the first place. It’s a stigma that’s hard to shake.
Back when I was a 13-year-old kid listening to Metallica and singing along to songs like Seek And Destroy and Creeping Death, there were actually people who called me a Satan worshipper (and not so jokingly at first too!).
And I simply find it baffling that R&B and hip-hop songs that explicitly talk about sex and murder can be blatantly played on local radio stations without anyone batting an eyelid, but once a rock band is said to be playing a show here, you will see people go up in arms about how it’s going to destroy the morals of the Malaysian youth.
Although there are still scores of holier-than-thou people out there venting their moral outrage on Facebook and Twitter, it’s refreshing to see rock music getting the “official” seal of approval in a big way this year.
Last week alone we got to see Smashing Pumpkins, Ash, Modest Mouse, Japandroids, Linkin Park and the mighty juggernaut that is Metallica rocking the stage in Malaysia.
The first four bands on that list were the headliners of Good Vibes Festival 2013 which made a lot of us ‘90s kids very happy indeed to finally get to see a legend like Billy Corgan onstage belting out favourites like Tonight, Tonight, Today and Cherub Rock.
Ash fans like me were treated to awesome “live” renditions of favourites like A Life Less Ordinary, Goldfinger, Girl From Mars, Kung Fu and so much more.
And even the indie rockers got their fix thanks to the improbable sight of Modest Mouse doing their thing “live” onstage here in Malaysia, and all of this partly thanks to government support from the Tourism Ministry as the festival has been made one of the many Malaysia Major Events, intended to lure tourists to come to Malaysia for concerts.
It’s the same thing with the Metallica concert as well, and having attended both events I can clearly see a healthy amount of foreigners in the audience at both concerts.
It’s an idea that should have been implemented a long time ago. Our fear of rock music has blinded us to its power as an audience puller and hence a source of revenue.
Rock bands especially have this powerful relationship with their listeners in the communal catharsis one gets when witnessing and singing along to a “live” performance.
The sheer volume and power offered by a rock concert and the joy of coming together with complete strangers to enjoy our favourite songs together is something so special that people are willing to shell out money and travel for it.
Just look at how many Malaysians are willing to make the trip to Singapore to attend festivals like Laneway, or to see the countless rock acts who’ve made a stop there, from Morrissey to The Stone Roses to Suede and more.
Or the many Malaysians who made the trip to Jakarta earlier this year just to see Weezer. Of course, the vast majority of the audience will obviously be locals, as there will never be that many people making trips to other countries just to see “live” shows, but just to have that one extra reason — the reason being that once here the tourists might even be able to catch some cool “live” shows by international acts — is already better than not to have it.
To illustrate, most people will not be going to London just to see “live” shows, but a music fan like me will know that simply by being there I’m assured of the opportunity to at least catch a few cool shows in addition to all the other tourist-y stuff that I want to do, and that’s already an extra reason for going.
A musical destination is never a bad thing to be, and I hope to feel more of that goose-bumps (and self-pinching) I felt when the stage lit up and Metallica kicked off their show with Hit The Lights.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
