Singer-songwriter Alec Benjamin from Arizona, USA is not slowing down anytime soon. The 28-year-old is currently on his “(Un)Commentary World Tour” and kicked off the Asia leg in the Philippines, a week ago before moving on to Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, and then Malaysia, making our shores his 5th stop.
Malaysian fans have been dying to see the young musician ever since his concert was announced. Some had already arrived and gathered at LIVE8, Hall 8 KL Convention Centre as early as 3:00pm yesterday (Wednesday, 30th November) and we can confidently say that Alec definitely did not let us down.
As soon as the lights went out, fans can be heard cheering from all corners of the venue. Members of the audience quickly took out their smartphones to capture the moment the singer went up on stage to join his band and open his show with “Devil Doesn’t Bargain” and “If I Killed Someone”. The red-lit stage perfectly captured and even elevated the emotion and overall feel of the two songs.
The atmosphere of the free-standing hall definitely felt very intimate as Alec made everyone feel right at home and believed we were all friends having a good time listening to live music. Without ever relying on over-the-top stage design or production, the American musician managed to keep our eyes and ears glued to him with just his voice and guitar.
After tracks like “Dopamine Addict” and “Mind Is A Prison” from his new and previous album respectively, the singer slowed things down by performing solo with “Hill I Will Die On” and “Death Of A Hero”. Fans were also treated to a fun medley of some favourites like “One Wrong Turn”, “Hypocrite”, “Must Have Been The Wind”, and ending it with “Annabelle”.
It’s basically impossible to not sing along to Alec’s music regardless if the songs are fast, mid, or slow tempo. The reverb of his voice went straight from the speakers and into our hearts, basically bewitching us to sing along with him. Fans gave the singer their full attention throughout the night as they were excited to hear every word that came out of his mouth whether he was singing or speaking to the crowd. It felt almost like Gospel.
And speaking of Gospel, it definitely felt like a worship service when everyone sang along to “Jesus In LA”. The 28-year-old then sat down on the keyboard and shared the story of how he was let go from his previous label back when he was 18 before revealing he recently received the rights to his previously released song “Paper Crown” which he performed right after. If that wasn’t amazing enough, the singer announced that he’ll re-release the song in just a few days!
Fans were very well-fed last night as surprises didn’t end with “Paper Crown”. Alec then invited special guest singer and influencer Gaston Pong on stage to perform “The Way You Felt” with him in 3 different languages; English, Mandarin, and Malay! After the impromptu duet with the Malaysian influencer, a certain suspense built up in the room as everyone tried to guess the next song just by carefully listening to the otherwordly yet familiar instrumental. Screams of excitement soon followed as the solo artist played the first few chords of “Let Me Down Slowly” on his guitar.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper show without an encore. Fans’ voices filled up the hall by chanting, “WE WANT MORE!” before Alec came back on stage to strike another chord in our hearts with “Water Fountain” while playing the keyboard. Before ending the night with one last song, one lucky fan got the best present ever as the singer sang them “Happy Birthday”.
The intimate showcase unfortunately had to come to an end as all things do. Alec Benjamin thanked his fans for coming and for their support before closing the show with “Speakers” accompanied by a sea of lights illuminating from the audiences’ smartphones. Though the venue may be small, we couldn’t have asked for anything better after the amazing show Alec and his team put on for us. We very much look forward to the next time he brings his tour to Malaysia.
Stay tuned for our full interview with the singer!
