What Went Down: Maliq & D’Essentials @ KL Live

By Melanie Zhu-Han  •  in Reports
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KL Live has seen its fair share of acts this year and one that we didn’t regret missing out was Maliq & D’essentials when they showed up in town last Friday. The opening acts were Ahmad Ahmad, providing an acoustic warm-up before Tilu the band came on stage to belt out jazz-infused ballads, with a saxophone and flugelhorn as part of the charm.

The well-mannered crowd kept their edginess within whilst waiting for the headlining act. Surely a jazz outfit that opened for Jamiroquai can’t let us down! Kicking off the night with ‘Blow My Mind’, indeed it was the beginning to a wonderful night alongside the diehard fans who could sing along to every song they played. Quite possibly the only blip of the night was that Indah, the female vocalist did not travel to KL for the show as she is pregnant. 2 back up vocalists replaced her temporarily together with a percussionist and trumpet player as part of the line-up.

A quick collaboration with a rapper for two tracks was also a surprise to many, but it certainly gave Angga a chance to catch his breath throughout the 75 minute set. There’s a certain power this jazz outfit had over their devotees, given the wistful and melancholic melodies that has earmarked Maliq & D’essentials. Enraptured with the solid performance (which included tracks from their 3 studio albums and EP), aching feet and stiff necks were happily ignored.

There were also a few solid hearts broken that night (one of them belonged to this writer) as Angga had many swooning fans eating out of his hands. Highly entertaining with choreographed dance moves and angelic vocals, the truth was spoken, not with words, but with the appreciative crowd that fully occupied KL Live. It was a Friday night well spent, with Maliq & D’essentials clearly leaving us with wanting for more.

Click here for photos of the event.  Maliq & D’Essentials Live in KL gave us a good night when they performed @ KL Live on 16 December.