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There were fashionable freaks. And there were the usual sea of young faces who stopped by to support the Freakshow. Of course, there were also no shortage of celebrity fans, including Reshmonu, Adam C, Ean, Azura..

They were all there to rally for Pop Shuvit, at the Freakshow Concert, on 17th November 2007.

Where you there?

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Despite the various event bulletins that said the show will start at 4pm, the doors only opened minutes before 8pm, with DJs/goofs JJ and Rudy kickin’ things up with their hilarious MC-ing and games.

The hundreds of fans who turned up early (ya well, the first 100 would win a CD + Shirt) sat around in the stuffy heat, mingling and taking pictures of each other. I, meanwhile, was burning with so much anticipation and frustration I wanted to dig my eyes out. Could you bear 4 long hours?

BUT ALAS

When the stage was finally lit, the event carried out rather well, with some of the best and coolest bands in Malaysia - except I thought it wasn’t particularly cool that the long and extended list of line-up wasn’t announced prior to the event.

Stylustiks opened the show with their manic turntablism (albeit for a very wrong crowd - no one was dancing! - but they impressed me nonetheless).

Among the other more memorable acts that contributed to a good build-up were..

..Phlowtron - I’d say they passed the “Freak” test - perfect singing, and they’ve got a very exciting single with Boom Shake (although I’ve always thought the song title is too passé).
..Bittersweet - yes totally “Freak” - when they finally appeared, I could’ve fallen off my chair (but what was I doing sitting on a chair, huh).
..Hujan - “Freak” and (and “Freaky” but for a damn good reason). Ohhh what an incredible vibe and energy; even a hard, steady rock would’ve melted right there amongst a floor packed with stomping and screaming fans. (And when they ended, they left but a cloud of dust. Partly because it was passed 10pm and kids under the legal age of 18 were asked to leave RUUMS. Pity, coz that means missing out on Pop Shuvit.)
..One Buck Short - absoooolute “Freak” because I love it when a band bothers to dress up good for a show. I’m not a fan, but the hype about them is absolutely warranted; they’re that good - excellent showmanship, perfect pitch and all. Ah, don’t you hate it, too?

There were other performances as well, albeit on the more reverse side of things: Ahli Fiqir, Joe Flizzow, and.. I really can’t remember who else because they didn’t leave much of an impression..sorry.

All of which made the night incredibly long and almost intolerable, despite a number of swell performances.

JD Shuvit passed by a few times and the only thing I could muster after a while is “When are you guys actually playing?” “There are a lot more bands. We’re the last.. so maybe around 10+.”

-_-

Well we had to wait. I was after all there to catch their show.

I could only try to continue breathing.

Slightly after 11pm, the band members sauntered on stage.. but the excitement had dwindled a little. The floor wasn’t as packed.

YET

They put on an explosive show. They treated the remaining crowd to a booty-shakin’ and jump-around madness. What else could everyone do, when they opened with Freakshow (which shredded my mind when I first heard it on radio): “Let’s dance, get on the floor, no need to hold back; sexy thong, mini skirt, stilettos, and shakin’ all that..”

How can you stand or sit still?

This is what local pride is all about. Their nationwide tour just ended in Malacca. And they’re touring Manila, Philippines, end of this month. That’s not to mention they’ve already done the Japan circuit (of course).

If you can’t follow Pop Shuvit all the way to Manila, you can catch them again on December 9th because because because!! They are the opening act for My Chemical Romance at Stadium Merdeka!

(I can’t resist saying this: I still strongly think they should’ve been the opening act during Linkin Park’s concert in 2003. Really.)

To wrap up the long-winded report, get this:

You won’t believe how many iPod Nano’s were given away that night. Lucky winners took home one iPod Nano every, what, half hour?? Right up until 11pm. Hotlink is a mighty generous sponsor, don’t you think? They were also clever enough to rope in plenty of acts to plump up the show (and have enough intermission in between; you’d forget half the acts the next day, but you’d certainly remember that it was brought to you by Hotlink. too many games to win Hotlink goodie bags – but there’s a Freakshow T-shirt in there plus a CD with music and ringtones, packaged by Hotlink, so.. how nice.)

. . .
Check out one of the songs they performed in RUUMS:

And this is Hujan’s:

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