Arthur’s Day @ Sunway Lagoon Surf Beach

By Miranda Yeoh  •  in Reports
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The traffic snarl into Sunway was massive – as was to be expected. The announcement of Arthur’s Day and it’s original non-muslim policy (later reversed) had already created a brou-ha-ha, and with the Black Eyed Peas announced to headline, if you weren’t in Singapore for the F1 weekend, it was THE event to hit.

JUICE arrived at Sunway Lagoon Surf Beach after a good hour on the road and was surprised to overhear ushers segregating the crowd according to religion (muslim and non-muslim). While a decision was made by the government to allow muslims to celebrate Arthur’s Day, as it turned out the organisers were required to allow muslims into areas where no alcohol is stocked only. We commiserated with the organisers for having to comply - segregation is just not cool. So much for 1Malaysia….

After much ado I finally managed to find my way closer to the stage and gosh, those projector screens on either side of the stage were hee-uge. From afar, Reshmonu (who was performing at the time) looked like a giant singing to his little minions. The lights, sound and stage setup was great, but it wasn’t complete without a pint of Guinness. It was Arthur’s Day after all. And then I saw the queue for the already over-burdened bar.

Not being the type to give up I cast my eyes further afield and there like an oasis in the desert was the Gravity Bar! With a pint of the black stuff now looking like a more promising prospect I headed that way only to be have to contend with a 300 meter long queue to get in. So, like a good little beer drinker (not yet drunk and still orderly) I took my place in the line just as Joe Flizzow aka The President (pronounced “Prezzzzident” by Flizzow) came on stage with SonaOne.

Their performance of track ‘All Around My World’ stood out but sadly for me halfway through The Prezzzident’s set I was still only halfway down the queue to the entrance of the Gravity Bar. Yes, the entrance…. So this Guinness lovin’ JUICE writer gave up and tried the Silver Area instead. And that’s when the heavens opened their doors to a great view of the stage and unlimited quantities of heavenly Guinness. On tap, mofos.

With a Guinness in one hand, and another already on the way down to my liver I was just in time to catch Taiwanese group MJ116 and then MC Hotdog, who sampled from songs like The Verve’s ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ and even nursery rhyme ‘Three Blind Mice’. Hmm….

Finally after a crecendo of cheering and some rousing, overly bombastic Gladiator/Eye Of the Tiger type music the Black Eyed Peas made for the stage. Opening with ‘Let’s Get It Started’ (or did they just sing ‘retarded’?), the highlight performance was of latest single ‘Meet Me Halfway’, which thanks to an echo and possibly some other mic tweaking sounded nothing like the voice of Fergie.

In the 90 minutes that the Peas had the rapt attentions of Sunway Lagoon, the group of Will.i.am, Taboo, Fergie and Apl.de.ap packed in everything but the kitchen sink: DJ set by Will.i.am, backup dancers dressed as speakers, and even Fergie singing ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’. Predictably, BEP ended with monster hit ‘Boom Boom Pow’ and current single ‘I Gotta Feeling’ and predictably the crowd went mental.

Capping off Arthur’s Day was a huge fireworks display that lasted 3 and half minutes (I counted) and I swear I even spotted red heart shapes in the spectacular pyre show. Or was that my 7th pint of Guinness talking…. Happy Arthur’s Day everyone!

If you were there you sure looked like you had loads of fun. Check out our gallery to spot yourself and your friends.