Zooming in

Dengan tak semena-mena, I was told to write a couple of scores and high-tail to Angkasapuri for a rehearsal. "Apa hal lak ni?" Apparently, due to some last minute cancellation, Man Kidal was asked to fill in the gap. Since it was last minute (4 days mas o menos), we had to just squeeze whatever we had into that one-hour show to be aired on Saturday night.

top left & right: MK, Muix & Ritz; bottom left: MK & Muix; bottom right: Ali, Joey & Muix

It was a cakewalk for me since I only had to supervise my strings arrangements (two to be precise) and just literally sit back and enjoy the show. The coolest thing about this gig was the line up: Man Kidal, Hassan Babylon, Pae ex-XPDC, Norman, Yan, Ritz Metalasia, Muix Metalasia, Joey BPR, Hattan, Ali XPDC and Elly Man Kidal, most of whom I have developed a close personal and working relationship with. Heck, I was even credited during the credit roll (cari makan!).

This show was one of its kind. The response was awesome. The show was 'sepak keldai' tapi ada aje orang yang menyepoilkan keadaan (err... don't want to name names here but a certain keyboardist/arranger/lubang keldai yang namanya macam pompuan/loceng). Dah la tak nak main line yang dah ditulis untuk dia, tunjuk pailang dia pulak nak cancel orang punya kerja... dah la tu, main salah pulak masa orang lain punya climax. I'm not one to bitch about people but this person deserves what he gets from me. Apparently there are others who agree. Many others.

Anyways, Zoom In bersama Man Kidal has set a standard for others to follow. The sincerity in the performance was prevalent on screen, everyone had a great time on and off the stage. The entire setlist had the dynamics of a top 40 hit arrangement and ended with a bang. And for the first time, for me at least, Zoom In was received with a standing ovation. Rock tak rock?