I can confirm, yes there was indeed 'real shit' in Georgetown. There's been a few gigs here in Malaysia since the move to the endemic phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, which began a few months ago, but this was the first one that had the showcase/marquee feel and expectation. The reasons for that are; it was an all dayer, 300 people had travelled from different states across Malaysia to attend the show, it featured a range of many current & active bands from all over Malaysia, with varying styles, and it was headlined by a band who technically are from another country (Tuas, aka Singapore), but are in fact ethnically Malay, so in effect it was a form of a spiritual homecoming. For many people in the audience that night, it was also their first show since the start of the pandemic, so for them, this was a spiritual reawakening of their hardcore and punk souls.
Like all good punk shows, the start time was delayed, but it all kicked off just nicely with NO CLUE (from Malacca) playing some hardcore punk. Up next were the Orang Tua (Old Men) brigade of ON YOUR MARK (from Kedah), who played an infectious blend of youth crew / old school hardcore. They helped get the crowd start their warm up dances by treating us to covers of Youth of Today and Black Flag - they certainly read the mood of the room correctly, and it got people moving which is what the show needed. Up next were SLAVE (from Pahang) who played a kind of mid-tempo Japanese crust/hardcore with guitar delay effect, and the pit size started to increase. Then it was the turn of the formidable SPLIT TONGUE (from Shah Alam of all places - there couldn't be a sharper contrast between people from that area, and people from the band). These guys have been playing shows here there and everywhere, and this was shown by how tight and in time they were as a band. The singer is quite a charismatic character, and the crowd were lapping up the whole performance with the joy of someone tucking into their first taste of Penang Nasi Kandar. Speaking of 'contrasts', next up were CHANGES (from Kuantan) who presented my first audio visual experience of seeing a woman in a tudung (headscarf) singing in a punk band - snotty & angry vocals mixed in with the fast raging sound of the band, made for a pleasant & unforgettable sight (I immediately bought the CD & T-shirt after their performance).
Then it was time for the interlude and a performance from HIPHOP DECONTROL X YAROBIN (from Kuala Lumpur), which is a bunch of punks who love hip-hop. There was a DJ & scratch master (who clearly knew his stuff & was able to mix/scratch), and he was joined by various singers throughout the set. The lyrics must have been quite confrontational & critical of the deep state because some of the singers were wearing masks to hide their identity. This was an excellent break from the wall of noise, and an essential component for booking an all dayer when most of the bands playing are of similar subgenres. By this stage of the night I was a few drinks in, and absolutely loving life. I had opportunities to catch up with some Malaysian punks I had previously met on my travels, and made some new friends from Hungary, Belgium, and Singapore.
It was a hard slap back to the mosh with BLACK WOUNDS (From Perak) who played straight up modern mosh hardcore, SAFETY ZONE (From Shah Alam, Selangor) who played raging modern hardcore punk, and then followed by some fantastic straight-edge youth crew hardcore by CHECK YOUR HEAD (From Batu Pahat, Johor). In the interests of disclosure I was a bit tired and tipsy by this point, so my memory was a little hazy from this section of the show, but I did observe the pit kicking off throughout all these three sets.
The penultimate set was by BODY RAG (From Kuala Lumpur), a death metal influenced hardcore three piece, that wouldn't have felt out of place at a grind or metal show, and they proved to be popular with the crowd and a perfect transition to watching SIAL (From Singapore) tear the roof off in the finale. I caught up with the guitarist prior to their set and asked how long they would play for, and he said 15 minutes. I told him that some people haven't been to a show for 2 years so he should reconsider his proposal, he agreed and said that they will play for 17 minutes instead 😂. A lot of people had clearly come to see them, and the stage was packed with people, leaving little room for the band to mangle the fuck out their noisy hardcore punk crust, to a pit baying for utter brain destruction. It was a pure joy to witness. What I like about SIAL is that they manage to make their version of punk sound noisy, chaotic, angry ,and melodic, all at once, and at different times. See for your self in the video at the end of the post. It was a perfect way to end the night, in what was an amazing showcase of what the Malaysian punk scene has to offer, and a great occasion for everyone to reconnect following a global pandemic.
