Live & Loud

Think James Morrison perched on a stool, with his trademark guitar resting on one knee, pouring his soul into a song; for you. Look around you and you see everyone in rapture listening to him, some waving light sticks in the air, some waving lighters. The song comes to an end and the roar of applause and whoops are overwhelming, demanding an encore. This is what you’re in for, but it isn’t only James Morrison, other stars of unplugged fame will be part of this unforgettable show.

-excerpt from liveshowinmalaysia.blogspot.com

I never did expect to go but when Kak Yasmin told me her mum, Aunty Mawarni, couldn't go and was offering her ticket, I thought,

"Okay, why not. I mean, it is James Morrison and from what Kak Meera and I saw on Live from Abbey Road, he seems like a good live performer".

But OH MY GOD.


Good was an INSANE UNDERSTATEMENT. This guy was.. I don't even know if BRILIANNT does him justice. He was way way way way above even that. God, James Morrison was SPECTECULAR.

I don't think any of us who went for the Live & Loud Acoustic thought it'd be as amazing as it had turned out. Honestly, so many things had gone terribly wrong that day. From arriving late because of the horrible traffic jam, to sitting right at the back of the concert hall, really, it was one stroke of bad luck after the other.

Once James Morrison came on though, after two songs I think, we decided to stand up front. Kak Meera and Kak Yasmin went first, initially only cause Kak Meera wanted to get a good shot of him, but then when Kak Yasmin came back for me, I knew they'd found a good spot for us to watch the performance. Oh man, and would you believe it, it was an area directly facing the front of the stage.

I can't even begin to describe to you how mind blowing the whole thing was. James Morrison is not only an incredibly amazing performer, he's also a great entertainer. The way he interacted with the crowd, slipped in jokes and little stories in between his songs. One memorable moment was when this one guy shouted out "James, I love you in a sexual kind of way!!" and James laughed and said "Oh, I love you too, in a non sexual kind of way that a man could love another man". Oh, and another was when the crowd called out for him to sing "This Boy", he teasingly said "Which boy?", "What boy?" and then this little kid shouted "This Boy!", which made him laugh cause well, for one, I don't think he expected a child to be there. And so he sang "This Boy", dedicating it to the little guy.

There were so many more moments like that. I could go on forever, but I think you get the picture. The best part? After he left the stage, a lot of people started chanting, "We want more, we want more!" and just when the chanting started to die out, cause you know, I don't think anyone thought it was going to happen, he came on. You can imagine, everyone went crazy, left their seats, and we were right in front of the stage. Well, to be exact, Kak Meera and Kak Yasmin were right in front, I was more in the second row but still, so close, soooooooooo close.

I still can't get over last night. It was the most satisfying performance I have ever witnessed. Somehow, I know these are two totally different things, but it kinda makes up for missing the Muse concert. I just feel so extremely grateful to Aunty Mawarni and Kak Yasmin. Not forgetting of course, her two aunts, Kak Mimi and Kak JuJu, who drove and accompanied us.

I wasn't to say a huge James Morrison fan before but heck now, I'll follow him to the ends of the earth. Figuratively speaking. But on a more serious note, I feel like I can really appreciate his songs now, mostly because of knowing the stories behind them. It makes you see how good this guy really is.

I'll leave you then with this short clip of "Last Goodbye", James Morisson's final song of the night..

It was such a blessing that Kak Meera managed to get in front to record this =)