The Mind Lounge

Review : Tompi's Friday Night Performance @ Alexis , Ampang 13/05/2006

Since I'm on a 2-day MC , I thought of writing . Yes , I went to watch Tompi's debut performance here in KL . I found out about it a couple of days in advance , so I made the necessary calls .



2015 hrs
Got there bout 15minutes before the reservation time . They gave us front row seats . I think we were one of the earliest , considering his performance starts at 2215hrs . Well we would 've preferred to reach slightly later , but reservations are reservations you know . And it was a supposed to be dinner , not supper :P

2130hrs
While enjoying the main course , the place began to be filling up fast ... as fast as how I was chewing the lamb cutlets in my mouth . We could see Tompi and his band doing the sound checks with that classic looking , one-directional mic of his . Lewis Pragasam , yes the legendary drummer in Malaysia (and probably Asia?) was on drums , this white dude by the name of Chris was on guitar (someone apparently was in love with him ..ciss ) , a mysterious old malay guy on bass and a young lady on keyboards ( I forgot both of their names ) .



2230hrs
Showtime . Started out by singing tracks from his Bali Lounge album like 'Apa' etc ... This guy is just simply awesome . He scats really well , has a chameleon-like voice and the music was just off the hook ! He even sang one of my favourites , a Stevie Wonder track called 'Isn't She Lovely' .. yep .. gave me goosebumps . Maybe I'm just into live jazz/R&B .. I felt so alive .. not to mention I had an excellent company to experience it :) ..

2315hrs
End of session one .

2335hrs

Session two starts . He got the crowd goin with M People's 'Ain't No Sunshine' , then his signature track from Bali Lounge called 'Something's Wrong' . Later on he would introduce the band and belted out a smooth rendition of 'Selalu Denganmu' .. cair man .. 'cayak habeh' :P .. Plus the crowd was a cool bunch and such a sport , participating in his impromtu jazz freestyle sessions .. part of me was itching to join ... but volunteering wouldn't look good hehe ...



0130hrs
2 hours of mesmerising Jazz and R&B was exactly the perfect way for me personally to relax . What a nite .

After that , I went up to him to get the CDs he's selling .. took photos and got him to sign on my CDs . He was a humble chap . Told me that he's coming back again next week . Told him that I'm definitely bringing my friends along again . He nodded humbly , smiled and said "Please do that .." .



The scenery ? plenty of nice views for the guys hehe but too bad not for the ladies ..unless a bunch of gay guys or a Shawn Yue lookalike is your cup of tea . The gay guys sat right next to our table by the way ..and NO nothing happened to me :P . All in all , it was a night to remember and one that I look forward to in the future ... with lesser gay guys and more ladies I hope hehe ...

Peace .

Thank You 1433 for making it all happen :)