It was a hell of a blast at Battle Blast on 29 March 2008, held at Kenyalang Community Hall, Kuching. My impression of the venue was, well, rather generous on space and didn't quite compliment the compact arrangement of the sound system set up for the event. However this not hamper the enthusiasm and raw energy shown by the participating bands, about 20 plus in total. The event started at about noontime and bands plus their audience poured in to the venue non-stop after that. Band selection was arranged by having 5-7 bands play in one session consecutively, each band playing 2 songs, and a 15-minute break after each session.
I was there with the rest of SYKE Music Centre's personnel - Billy Boy, Peter and Edwin - and the boss himself, Allie Robert. SKYE helped out two bands, Fred and his band, and Acie and his friends, a.k.a. The Sludont. Both bands rendered out some covers during their session, which the crowd seemed to enjoy very much. Fred and his band played their alternative-rock version of the Indonesian line-dance pop song "Poco-poco" which really got the crowd going.
10 bands were finally selected to enter the finals, the date and venue I've yet to find out. Fred and
his band made it, unfortunately The Sludont did not. To Fred, congratulations guys! And to the Sludont, it's OK guys, better luck next time. Most important, you had a good time and gained some exposure in the local music scene.I praise the organisers for maintaining good crowd control during the event, which did not see any undesirable incidents happening.
Here are some images of of Fred and his band and Acie and friends/The Sludont in the Battle Blast event. Rock on and see at SKYE!
