Akim & The Majistret stuck to its usual rock arrangements in its maiden concert at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas, writes Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli
IT had been a hectic few weeks for singer Akim Ahmad. He was busy preparing for both the arrival of his firstborn and his band Akim & The Majistret’s maiden performance at the prestigious Dewan Filharmonik Petronas. Thankfully, his singer wife Stacy Anam safely delivered a healthy baby girl, Eshaal, just four days before the concert, so his anxiety lessened by half.
“It’s not every day you get a chance to perform at DFP. Not everyone is privileged. So, naturally I still had the jitters during the performance,” Akim said when met after the show.
He said the audience was supportive as well, spurring the band to give its all onstage.
“There were actually lots of blunders during our performance,” guitarist Zimi revealed with an embarrassed laugh, “but we had to go on so we made it look as if they were, in fact, planned.”
Some of these slip-ups were pretty obvious — Akim’s vocals were terribly unstable during the first couple of songs, the sole of Zimi’s shoe came off, Akim sang the wrong lyrics for one of the numbers and his microphone was mistakenly turned off as he was about to perform a song.
“Still, we just maintained a straight face, hoping that the errors weren’t too noticeable,” Zimi said with a laugh.
Regardless, it was an enjoyable show, thanks to the great music as well as the natural banter between the band members.
During the first segment where the boys performed Patriot and Terlalu Mudah, they appeared somewhat stiff and nervous. So their brief interaction with the crowd seemed a little robotic. Although the band played the music well, the sound was too loud, overpowering Akim’s vocals. Even the piano sounds were drowned out.
Thankfully, Akim and the others warmed up pretty quickly as they joked with one another, bringing much laughter to the audience in between songs.
“We are glad to see the seats in the hall filled tonight. We have worked very hard for this, so thank you for coming and supporting us,” said Akim.
The second segment was called “Get to know the band”, since the musicians had come from various groups before joining Akim to make up Akim & The Majistret.
Zimi and bassist Fairuz were from the band Sofazr, guitarist Gjie was from Sixth Sense, guitarist Freddy was from Hyper Act, keyboardist Afiez was from New Boyz and Kristal, while drummer Rajwan was from Persis.
For this segment, the band performed songs that were made popular by their former groups, in the order of their release.
Akim sang the ballad Bengang, his single released before the formation of the band. Sofazr’s number Janjiku followed and up next were Sixth Sense’s Khatimah Cinta and Hyper Act’s Hanya Aku.
Since these are well-known hits, it didn’t take long for fans to sing along with Akim. By this time, Akim’s vocals sounded incredible. He had gained control of them and perfectly hit all the notes, with a flourish.
What made the performance more amazing was the fact that Akim added his own touch to the songs. Originally ballads, he made them sound rock-edgy with his raspy vocals.
Then came the crowd favourite Mewangi, the tune that shot the band to stardom.
During the intermission, the audience was regaled by a performance by KASA String Quartet, who played a beautiful orchestral version of Mewangi and Akim & The Majistret’s other hit, Potret.
Previously decked in white suits, Akim and his band members returned onstage donning T-shirts and jeans. They performed the rock heavy and loud Lygophobia, a soundtrack the band had produced for the upcoming film Bisik Pada Langit.
Up next were rock ballad Anugerah and interestingly, a cover of Hong Kong band Beyond’s Cantonese hit, Hoi Fut Tin Hung.
“This Cantonese song has played a huge role in my life and my music career,” said Akim. “As a band, we refer to Beyond’s music a lot.”
A Cantonese-speaking audience member told me afterwards that although the band played Beyond’s tune just like the original, Akim’s pronunciation could have been better. Oh well, the performance was still entertaining. “A” for effort!
The next segment was a medley they called “Flashback”, where the band performed songs that have left an impact on their lives during the early days of their music career.
Akim’s is the traditional Malay classic Bunga Melur. It was his father’s favourite song and the one that spurred Akim to become a singer. Even with his rock vocals, he could pull it off!
The musicians also sang and they were not too shabby! Zimi and Afiez sang New Boyz’s Sejarah Mungkin Berulang, Gjie and Freddy performed Black Rose’s Penantian, while Fairuz and Wan did Sweet Charity’s Kamelia. Being classic hits, the crowd did not need much encouragement to sing along with them.
Up next is the band’s latest single, Obses, that made it to the finals of Anugerah Juara Lagu 31 last month.
The concert came to an end with Potret, the band’s biggest hit to date. It was Best Song at last year’s AJL. Overall, it was undoubtedly a commendable performance by Akim & The Majistret.
I have a gripe, though. I was expecting the band to incorporate orchestral elements into the performances. As the venue is home to the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, the audience might have hoped for that too.
Sadly, the band did not. So the concert appeared to be just like their regular showcases, only that this was in a more intimate setting.