BISMILLAHILRAHMANIRRAHIM.
In the midst of funeral, marking of exam papers and workshops, I‘ll take a moment to jot down my experience being a part of GEGO 2011 | 8th July 2011. A memorable event I would say. Mind you guys that I am writing this as a part of the crew, and also as a chaperone to 12 international school students that we invited to tag along.
Though the event started at 3 in the evening, we came at almost 5. Our car broke down on our way to Bukit Timbalan, and that is another story all together. Our deepest apology to JOHO and all JOHOlovers for not being able to organize the “Belon Acah” event for the Sukan Rakyat slot that evening. But in our redemption, KukuBesi held an awesome talk on photography, sharing his radical ideas and inspiring tips while bands from in and around the state rocked the Grand Staircase at the Open Mic session. P.A.B, Syahir NADI, and a number of talented people were among that list. Crowd started to build around 6p.m when Plague of Happiness took the stage for their acoustic set.
In other parts, Pudipang came from Muar,Johor and set up their booth alongside some influential names such as Bigfoot industries, Ronin and The Keeper, Boomslang with Sempoiboogie, ABSTRAX Jingga and POP MY BERRY. While running around making sure things were running smooth near the Lifestyle booth, I stopped by to check out those awesome graffiti and tags by ABSTRAX Jingga, 84CUBES and the SuperSundayCrew. And we were lucky for our talented art resident TAIB AUR, to grace GEGO 2011 with his inspiring finger painting/mural. He took the liberty to Cako(sketch) lucky visitors on the wall.
This is when one 13 year old Bruneian student of my wife came to me and expressed his awe. SCORE! Talking about students, those kids are mainly from Brunei, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and some locals. GEGO 2011 was the perfect platform to showcase Johor scene to them, no matter if its art scene, extreme sports scene, or even local music scene. It proved that Johorean do have a scene. A student went and approached the longboarders at the Slide demo and were impressed at how well these “abangs” responded to him. Thank you for your pointers BOOMSLANG! At the same time I had to coordinate the parking spaces and skate comp venues, but that was a cinch. Organisasi Papan Selaju organized an awesome skate comp.
With the sun now completely down, we stepped back and took a breather. Then we saw the scale of things. There were A LOT of people. Fixed bikes, skateboarders, longboarders, couples, families, friends, photography enthusiasts, musicians, entrepreneurs and the list goes on. A lil coffee to boost our tired feet, and we start preparing for the BIG EVENT, the concert. While this is happening, DJ Dimas from Bandung spun a few tracks to get the party started up front at the DJ set . The awaited moment came and Statik took the stage for an EPIC opening show. Dewata came up next with a rocking metal set. Their pumping music were causing fans to move and started a MOSH PIT. This is when my students were trapped in the CHAOS. (note: a boy were punched, and another had cracked tooth when and elbow struck him in the face.) For me personally, it was inappropriate. It was a free concert for the public and it was a family show. But chaos and destruction aside, Full Pledge Monkeys set the mood for some punk – rock action, Singapore style. Fynn Jamal came on next and, what else can I say except; JO…HO, JO…HO. Nice one Kak Fynn. its Fynn Jamal’s second time in Bukit Timbalan, and this time she came with her boys and no flu. Everybody stood up straight when it was time to sing Johor anthem. Dato’ Sharir (Johor assemblymen) got on stage to express his gratitude and congrats to JOHO and the youth of Johor for making that night happen, and for striving to restore the glory of Johor art scene. With that notion, Khottal from Melaka rocked the stage for a picture perfect ending to an awesome day at GEGO 2011 | Bukit Timbalan.
For most people, GEGO 2011 ends there, but all that mess and equipment need to be out of the grounds by that night itself. So, tiredness aside, we worked on till all was done. And 84CUBES even stayed all night to finish their doodles.(respect!) We thank you guys, JOHOlovers, art groups, sellers, musicians and crews for making GEGO 2011 a success. And to JOHO, thank you for giving us a chance to be a part of this. With LOVE, TRUST AND RESPECT. Yours sincerely, Hakim Malik of LifeInTechnicolor.
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