Amir Yussof Live at the La Bodega Lounge!

Phew. It’s been a while since the last update. Gatal jari I, you ... Thing is, my eyes have gone blurry for a bit and this is the clearest it’s been so far .. which is not exactly saying things are crystal clear just yet ....

So! How has my week been? Great! It’s been great, but there was one day which stood out in particular: Wednesday the 14th of July. Why? AMIR YUSSOF LIVE AT THE LA BODEGA LOUNGE in Bangsar!! Aiyeeeee!!!

It was totally amazing, despite the cramped venue. The initial plan was for us (me and two friends) to have a nice dinner at the La Bodega Restaurant, then head up to the Lounge for drinks early so we could get seats (seeing as how seating was limited) in time for the scheduled 10pm show. However, those plans were scrapped when I was stood up by said friends. Either I mistakenly assumed their agreeing to the plan was assent, or they hadn't made it clear that they were not committed, but whatever it was, I expected them to join me for a leisurely night out, and instead they both bailed out at the last minute. Okay, one bailed out, and the other wanted to go to the gym first and arrive at the Lounge at 10:30pm-ish. Ya, kua. Performance still on, wat? Also, maybe we can go mamak at Bangsar for a bit of dinner after gym first before the show ... Err. Okay. This coming from a person who knows how much I love Amir Yussof and how much I was looking forward to the performance. Right. To say I was a little bit miffed would have been a gross understatement.

Whatever. I ended up going with my sister, and we had a rockin' good time!

Like I said, by the time we got there at about 9:15pm, the place was already crowded. Alamak! I thought we would have been amongst the early birds!

[snip!]
It turned out, though, that we were amongst the earlier ones. You wouldn't believe how packed it got later on (around 11pm onwards)! Those in the back were packed like sardines in a teeny weeny can. Friend came by after her gym session and I didn’t even get to see her coz she left after the first set and I couldn't get to her on account of the massive crowd. Little Sister and I got a bit lucky at the second set. We managed to charm a group into letting us have a little side stool to perch our derrieres on. Be thankful for small blessings!
[unsnip!]

Amir strolled to the little corner which served as the 'stage', wearing an open-throated white shirt and faded, faded, ultra-soft blue jeans, with his curling hair gathered up in a small pony-tail. I almost fainted deadaway. This man is so beautiful! He's got one of the loveliest facial structures I've ever seen! His eyes crinkles almost playfully when he smiles, and he smiles to make hearts melt. And his laugh! *swoon! THUD!!*

He kicked off the night with "Little Bird", ended with "Break Away" (I think), with "Third People", "Fool In Love", "Sweet Surrender" and "The Thin Line" interspersed between covers he did of other songs (NO "Hotel California", please!!).

I was somewhat disappointed on two counts:
1. He performed more covers than originals. I was there to listen to HIS compositions! I love his songs!
2. He didn’t perform "Wasted Time", which is my favourite of all his songs. Bummer.

However, those were the only things that made my enjoyment of the night slightly less-than-perfect. Well, I could also have done without the young mat-salleh woman (who, btw, had a terribly inadequate 'support system') who insisted on dancing right in front of Amir Yussof, Rock God (remember! it was a small place!), thereby blocking the entire view for most of us, and instead replaced the excellent view of The Man and his band with the ghastly sight of her floppy mat-salleh tits melambung every-which-way. *shudders* But yeah. She left after people finally had enough and started hissing at her, and apart from that, I had no complaints. *winkz*

I tell you, that man has a way with music! His velvet-and-gravel voice is to .. die .. for!! *swoon* I would have melted into a gooey, hot puddle at his feet if not for the desire to jump him (I mean, speak with him) afterwards! Maaaak! Lawa nye mamat niiiiii!!! Hai, bilalah dia nak datang minang aku???

He performed his first two (or three) songs solo, then was joined by his 'friends': Jamie Wilson (lead guitar), Casey (of the Seribu-Impian-song fame) (bass), and John Ashley Thomas (drums). Yes, they all rocked.

[snip! Mini rant ahead]
I've always found it a bit crappy how usually the crowd only gives the lead guitarists their due when they 'goreng's their instrument, but bassists and drummers are rarely fully appreciated. It's not fair! *grumbles about the sad musical under-education and the gross lack of observation of general audiences*
[unsnip! Mini rant over!]

Ahem. Where was I? Oh, yes. They all rocked, but the star of the show, only second to The Man, of course, was the drummer, John. Wah lau wei!! That kid rocked! And ‘kid’, I kid you not. Only 19 years old and he kicked serious ass with them drums! He totally blew me away!! Even before the first drum solo!!! I was totally smitten! He hooked me like a starving ikan keli after a juicy, glutted worm. Such technique! Such skill! Such talent! He was a natural with the drums!

Of course, he had 10 years of experience tucked under his belt. But such fluidity with his instrument! No amount of practise could ever amount to that. The boy is a genius!

I was so impressed with him that I forgot I was supposed to be a dignified 24-year-old and accosted him at the end of the first set, where I told him (okay, gushed) how impressed I was with his drumming. We chatted a bit, and then he had to attend to The Man who was calling him over. Well, that was that, though. He had said that it would be nice to chat some more after the show, but we had to leave early coz Little Sister was tired and had to wake up early for work the next day. Pooh. Well, at least she was nice enough to let me enjoy the end of the second set before heading for home.

Amir's performance ended at the end of the second set, but he had a friend play after him, a sort of 'guest' performer, whom the band accompanied. We didn't stay for that last bit, much as I wanted to. Well, you've got to compromise sometimes, and besides, it was already past 1am. So I didn't get to chat some more with John. Dang. I really wanted his number so we could hang out sometime.

TO JAM!! TO JAM!!!!!! Huh! What are you thinking, hah?!! He's nineteen, for crying out loud!! I already have enough problems dating a 22-year-old!

:o)

Yes, drove home on cloud nine. Mum had a bit of a fit when we waltzed in at close to 2am. I responded by dreamily asking her to go minang him for me in the morning. She quietly looked at me, probably wondering what kind of drugs they were handing out at the Lounge. It was stronger than any drug, baby. It was LURVE. Hooo yeah! She must have known that, though, coz she looked more amused than annoyed. She said okay, but as I'm reminded of this now, I realise that she hasn't gotten back to me at all regarding this. Hmmmmm ... Must follow-up ......


p.s: There will be another Amir Yussof performance at the La Bodega in KL (Tengkat Tung Shin) this Saturday, 24th of July, 10pm onwards. Again, no fee will be levied, seating will be limited. This time, however, he’ll be performing solo. Whoopee! Anyone interested in hooking up for this, let me know!