Today, I headed to the Putra Indoor Stadium at Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur to catch West End’s Thriller Live which was a musical celebration of MJ’s illustrious career, chronicling the Jackson 5’s early pop years right up to the 1970s, followed by the solo Michael Jackson years. It is still on until until March 25 so you guys can still catch it!; information: visit www.ticketcharge.com.my or call 03-9222 8811.
The show is here in Malaysia for the first time ever with over 21 international cast members, 11-piece live band(I am so so in love with the live band.) and the actual stage set and props all the way from London. And I totally enjoyed it even though I wasn't a hardcore fan of the late King of Pop.
The show is very much like a tribute concert, and not a musical play with plots and characters. Instead of having one person pretending to be MJ, the late legend's personality and personas are divided into a few incredible lead vocalists who perform the King of Pop's hit songs along with energetic dancers, colourful visuals and special effects, it's a full MJ musical journey experience indeed. However, just like most theater production, there are two acts with an interval in between. Act 1 kicks off with a bit of MJ's history before taking the audience back in time with songs from The Jackson 5 including I Want You Back, ABC and I'll Be There, performed with retro-style visuals and costumes. I especially loved the few moments with solo electric guitar performances. That was just, wow.
The talented and charming performers were very interactive; at one part they split the crowd into two and seem which could shout the loudest, and they got the strong crowd to not only sing along, but during several songs, majority of the audience got onto their feet, clapped and moved to the beat as well. The dance choreography is amazing and dancers are highly energetic throughout the entire show. The song arrangements, if I'm not mistaken, are mostly faithful to the original except for the obvious ones like the opening Jackson 5 medley; the vocals, needless to say, was pitch perfect.
In the second half of Act 1, the show begins performing songs from MJ's solo career as well like Dangerous and Rock With You. On this night, I thought the act was stolen by Australian rocker MiG Ayesa when he performed the heart wrenching ballad She's Out of My Life. Besides singing and dancing, Ayesa also plays the role of a host/emcee who does the opening speech and introduces his colleagues. The act closed with a strong performance of The Jackson 5's Can You Feel It, and it was like as though they're asking if we were warmed up and ready for an even more entertaining act after the coming interval. Yes, I felt it!
Act 2 features the stronger and more popular hits including Beat It, Smooth Criminal, Man in the Mirror, They Don't Really Care About Us, Earth Song, Billie Jean, Bad, Black & White, and of course, Thriller. The practically perfect performance made Act 1 seemed as though it was just a sound check. Former The Voice UK contestant Alex Buchanan stands out vocally as his growling sounds strikingly similar to MJ's when he sings the "rockier" parts and songs like Beat It and They Don't Really Care About Us. The iconic dance moves like the moonwalk and the anti-gravity lean are assigned to be to led by one of the other lead vocalists, Sean Christopher,(who after watching this show, I am now a huge fan) who dresses like MJ in entire show, and his performance killed it as well. The rest of cast also did a very good with MJ's other styles, personas and personalities, particularly with MJ's trademark falsetto
Thriller Live is one gig that fans of Michael Jackson should never miss when it's in town. It was truly a complete and sincere celebration of MJ's magical music and career, and I was blown away by how great it was. Even the King of Pop himself, although we know he was a perfectionist, may have approved if he was still around today.
Watch this mini trailer of the show!
PS: Photos are not mine.
Till next post!
With love, k
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looks very interesing ;)
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