GREAT SHOW, SMALL TURNOUT

UNLIKE previous concerts which boasted big names, the Paralympic Solidarity Concert 2000 held recently had no Federal Reserve Unit personnel and no tight security - as there was hardly a crowd.

In fact, there was only a very small number at this charity concert which was held at Stadium Merdeka last Thursday night. Judging by the poor response, one would be excused for thinking that the whole affair looked more like a rehearsal than a full concert.

A concert featuring the creme de la creme of the music industry - such as Siti Nurhaliza, Ziana Zain, Sheila Majid, KRU, Noraniza Idris, Raihan and Juliana Banos - attended by hardly 200 people, when a mammoth stadium like this could easily seat 30,000, screams out an obvious question: what went wrong?

Understandably, the underwhelming response was a real blow to the two organisers, Malaysian Paralympic Council and Crimson-Asia Holdings.

This aside, the poor turnout is not good for the artistes' image and self-esteem, regardless of who they are.

The disappointment was evidently felt when showtime, which was slated for 8.30pm, started half an hour later, with the organisers hoping the crowd would have grown by then. Wishful thinking?

Dwelling on what went wrong would be like conducting a post-mortem.

But, really, many factors had contributed to the failure. One is the wrong timing. If the Malay concert-goers are the target group, then the show promoter and organiser should have known better than to hold any concert on a Thursday night - called malam Jumaat - which is considered a time reserved for religion amongst Muslims.

Second, the concert title is a mouthful and not easy to remember.

The tickets though were fairly priced. After all, the point that the organisers wanted to drive home was Berhibur sambil menderma (donate to charity while being entertained). So, paying RM30, RM50, RM80 and RM100 for tickets to watch Malaysia's top artistes in action is reasonable.

However, playing minus-one tracks instead of an accompanying live band for the sake of cutting cost will not attract concertgoers. Minus-ones are for promo shows and definitely not for concerts.

But many felt the real cause was the not-so-aggressive promotional effort. It was heard over radio station Era and advertised on the back of buses months before. Apparently it wasn't enough.

In any case, the spirit of the artistes were not dampened despite having to croon to a ``privileged'' lot at the stadium.

Wacky Aznil Nawawi and cheery Seha emceed the concert and went on to introduce nasyid group Raihan who sang Bismillah and Iktiraf.

The beautiful and lanky Juliana Banos, a relatively new artiste, delivered her popular tune Tiap Detik and a tame version of Jennifer Lopez's Let's Get Loud. Juliana sounded and looked every inch an amateur, judging from her voice control and presentation.

A poised Noraniza Idris came on next. She sounded like the Irama Malaysia champ that she is when she rendered Sang Puteri (put to music in the zapin Hanuman style) and Tinting (in the tune of the traditional hadrah from Perak) backed by her six dancers from Johor Baru.

She stole the limelight when she sang the Sarawak folk song Najat Tampi with complete ethnic attire. Now, this tune is definitely Irama Malaysia material and should be highlighted, one of the pertinent points that many music enthusiasts failed to realise.

Sheila Majid proved that she is still an artiste of high calibre when she was cheered and encouraged by her small group of fans. She gave heart-felt renditions of Catat, Ku Mohon and Sinaran.

The audience in the open-air stadium grew excited when KRU tackled a fast number. The boys looked visibly remote as they plunged into their hit Jangan Lafazkan, a slow number. Did the small crowd get to them? Still, their rendition made many in the crowd sing along with them.

Another hot favourite that evening was Ziana Zain. Looking relaxed in an ash-grey dress, she presented Ada Suara Ada Cinta, the catchy Kalau Mencari Teman and Syurga Di Hati Kita, all the time beckoning fans to come on stage to dance and sing with her.

By the time Siti Nurhaliza appeared, the mood was set and there were some 40 diehard fans converging in front of the stage listening raptly to every word of Kau Bagai Permata, Purnama Merindu and Nian Di Hati.

A few (all men) were daring enough to come on stage to meet the idol in person. On seeing this, the panicked Siti announced: ``Please don't come on stage.'' Many were taken aback by this especially after other singers had been game enough to entertain fans on stage.

Was there any necessity for this curt announcement? Was it to deter male fans from coming near so that it will not in any way sully her squeaky-clean image? This aside, Siti's heavenly voice is undoubtedly one of the best we have here.

The concert ended well before midnight and the satisfied expression on everyone's face was enough to conclude that the organiser had put on a highly entertaining show, one of the best so far, despite the poor response.

As for the small turnout, the organisers had better look into this as it is a cause for concern - especially if the Malaysian Paralympic Council and Crimson-Asia Holdings plan to hold a series of concerts of the same nature all over Malaysia soon, namely in Johor, Penang, Perak and Pahang.

BY ZIEMAN - PUBLISHED 17/10/2000