 |
TV Smith's Dua Sen. The politically incorrect irregular columnist combines
his idiosyncratic observations and tangential commentary into a blog...
|
WINDS
OF CHANGE
by TV Smith
13/09/04
TV Smith takes you through
modern Malaysian history...
In
the seventies, popular local bands like The Falcons and The Alleycats performed
cover versions of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep at some of KL's most
psychedelic places: the Tomorrow Disco (now Concorde KL) and The Glass Bubble
(now PJ Hilton). More agile Malaysians did the Funky
Chicken at The Cave (now KLCC) and The Time Tunnel (now the AIA Building).
The top selling multi-racial recreational drug then was strictly herbal and
every roadside burger joint in town supplied the joints (then known as barang).
An American with a dog named Boo and a German rock group discovered that most
of their fans were from a faraway, unheard of land where people purportedly lived
in trees. Their albums appeared in that country under a mysterious Fanfare label.
Sometime in the eighties, a popular local singer tested positive and autocratic
RTM banned all long-haired male musicians. Alleycats and Francessca Peters made
waves in the Malay pop music market despite the dangdut onslaught. Discos
started phasing out the intermediate slow dance sessions and retired all appropriately
dressed bouncers. The late eighties saw the advent of 'bungalow clubs' like Faces,
11 L.A. and Betelnut. They rose above 'basement discos' such as Where Else (Hotel
Malaya), Baze (Wisma Central), Tin Mine (KL Hilton) and the Federal Club (Federal
Hotel)."Still Loving You" reaffirmed the Scorpions' position as Malaysia's
favourite sappy rock group. Enter
the nineties. The Malay rockers stuck to their tresses, grass and denim amidst
unsubstantiated allegations of Satan worshipping. Chinese partygoers embraced
Estacy and techno music en-masse, while Indian revelers were chased out of Bangsar
by white invaders. A mellowing Lobo visited Malaysia, recorded a P Ramlee classic
and confirmed his only fans are from Malaysia. Jalan P Ramlee evolved into the
nation's most debauched entertainment strip; an ironic tribute to the late Tan
Sri. The Scorpions finally performed in Malaysia. Fast
forward to the new decade of the new millennium: the zeroties. The Indians re-captured
Jalan Telawi 2, The Alleycats are performing with reading glasses and Jamal Abdillah
tested positive again. An aging Lobo re-visited Malaysia and confirmed his last
remaining fans are from Malaysia. Geriatric rockers Deep Purple & Scorpions
returned in 2001 and the latter are back again, tonight... Post-concert
comments:
• Having been to Malaysia so many times, the Scorpions
may have adopted some of our dreadful habits. Their 2-hour show began
at 10 pm. Santana still holds the record at 11:30 pm. Our airline misplaced his
guitar, it seemed.
• Hardy domestic rockers Search, was the best opening
act since the mismatches at the earlier Linkin Park and Hoobastank shows.
• The older groupies were still waving trusty Zippo lighters in the
air. In contrast, the outstretched arms of the younger audiences at
the Hoobastank concert were clutching new-fangled mobile phones with video recording
feature.
•
See bloggers Jeff Ooi's account
and pics and Gina's experience.
©
2004 TV SMITH
Link to this article: http://www.tvsmith.net.my/duasen/130904_scorpions.html
See also: SOMEWHERE WE BELONG
| KLANG VALLEY, TRULY MALAYSIA
| THE GUY FROM SIMPANG LIMA
Link
to TV Smith's Dua Sen: http://www.tvsmith.net.my/duasen/
| 
