12 Malaysia - The Mindless Show @ Rumah Api, Kuala Lumpur

The Mindless Show @ Rumah Api, Kuala Lumpur

The parents were visiting, and as a result my partner and I had the rare opportunity of going on a night out together, so we booked a 'healthy living' concept hotel near the venue. Upon arrival at the check in desk, we were upsold a bolt-on massage & treatment for a reduced price, at the attached health spa. There is a phrase I never thought I would ever say "upsold a massage at the hotel check in". The hotel was so pure in it's beliefs that even the complimentary apples upon arrival were 'cleansed with oceal mineral salt - removing 99.9& of pesticides'. Further to this, alcohol was forbidden so we had to discreetly dispose of our cans, and no smoking was allowed within 5 meters of the building. Also part of the complex, was a healthy living cafe, where we ate our tea. I had a 'Sauna Mee', which was essentially raw veg and noodles dropped into a clay pot full of sizzling water. The welness treatement involved dipping our feet in a pool of water whilst fish ate our dead skin - quite the sensation. We then had a long massage in a room designated for couples, and the masseurs were clearly well trained and professional - we felt great afterwards, and that was one of the best massages I have ever had. 

We then counter-balanced the physical and nutritional wellness, with some mental and soulful welness by attending a punk-rock show. We tried to go for a pre-drink at some of the local bars, but they were predominantly full of drunk Chinese men, murdering K-Pop classics on the karaoke, surrounded by women who were looking for additional ways to supplement their income - so we had a sneaky can back in the hotel room. 

We got to the gig, and decided to have a change and drink cider (they have Somersby here). We met up with Sharizal (who was featured in the Accidente article), and had a quick chat before his band THE MINDLESS SHOW opened proceedings. This was their first show for a year, as their singer had been completing his PhD, and they have been playing together for many years now. We enjoyed their set of 90s style melodic punk (surprise surprise) and they had similar song structures to older LAGWAGON songs. After their set, we hit the bar in the venue and met with a Finnish guy who was also living and working in Malaysia. We all got on great and spent the rest of the night in the bar. It was great to talk about Finland again, and discuss Finnish punk rock - he was about 24 and from Lappeenranta and also knew some of the obscure bands I once booked shows for in the UK, such as KAUNIIT POLIISIT. There were a couple of hardcore bands playing whilst we were in the bar, but it wasn't really our cup of tea, it was just nice to feel and experience the 'bar' culture again, banter, drinking, and loud music.

Thanks once again to Rumah Api for putting on the show, and thanks to the parents for looking after the kids. Get out and support your local punk venue, and get out and spend some money on looking after yourself.