USM Convo 2016 (2)

1. Dark clouds hovered on the horizon as USM continued her Convocation's festival.

2. The crowd was less than last year; this was expected as students were home enjoying their mid-semester break.

3. I was told by one of the cafeteria operators (Desasiswa Aman Damai) that an Officer from USM ordered her to cease operation for a while. This, I think, was part of a concerted move to assist stalls in convocation arena to achieve more sales.

4. I moaned quietly as I was thinking where would I buy my dinner tomorrow? The observant cafe operator noticed my grief, and she offered a quick solution,"boleh pi cafe bawah...mungkin depa bukak?"

5. "Saya jarang pi sana...selalu memang saya mai sini", was my subsequent reply.    

6. My answer elicited a strange duality of feelings to her...both joy and sympathy. She quickly gave me free food that she packed earlier (fried egg and sausages).

7. And then, the night came.

8. Drama Band was scheduled to perform after 9 p.m. I knew this band from my time in Unimas, when I was truly enthralled by a girl's rendition of the band's song Cerita Dia (I wrote about it here).

9. The much awaited show started around half past nine. 

10. Aepol Roza, the vocalist, appeared to be a playful character on stage. Actually, he was the composer of Ronnie Husin's hit song, Dikoyak Waktu.

11. Contrary to popular belief, I had nothing but respect for Ronnie. Even Kechik addressed him as "sifu"...signalling his own admiration for him. So the rumours of discontent between them were just that...fiction.   

12. Aepol certainly lived up to expectation. On stage, he enjoyed himself and was lifting the crowd's mood as well. He moved around the stage with ease, dancing to the tunes of his song. 

13. He knew exactly how to properly channel his energy. There were times when he slowed down his movement in accordance with the song's tone...only to raise it a couple of bars higher later to keep up with the pace of the music.

14. They presented five songs in total...including a rendition of Jon Bon Jovi's hit song It's My Life. They did enough to captivate the audience while keeping them entertained. 

15. A good performance on a good night was a fitting finale on a rather good day.     

USM Convo 2016

1. Convocation week is back in the groove.

2. There are plenty of lights and sounds again permeating the drab atmosphere surrounding Malaysia's only Apex university, USM.

2. Some people were drawn by the carnival-like atmosphere; some were excited by the great deal of foods on offer; while some were drooled by the graduation ceremony itself.

3. Me? I was only interested in concerts.

4. Last year, Hujan entertained us with a succession of their hit songs. Noh was exceptional...full of energy and enthusiasm, he treated the crowd with respect (he ordered one of the spectators who removed his shirt to put it back on as there were VIPs present).

5. It rained when Hujan took the stage last year. Luckily it wasn't this year.

6. Man Kidal kicked off the show with a rousing start. Armed with his trademark left-handed guitar, he showed off his skills in swashbuckling style. Rock-queen Ella followed through with her evergreen golden voice.

7. Special mention deserved to be allocated towards a family of Chinese who performed admirably in the Battle of the Band contest. Police officers from north-east district of Penang (who nicknamed themselves NEPD) also made a special appearance as contestant.

8. I hope this wind of joy continues unabated till the end of the week.