Ever since Michael Learns To Rock first performed in Kuala Lumpur 30 years ago, the band has made numerous visits to the city to show their love and appreciation for the fans who have continued supporting them in their decades-long career.
On 10th November 2024, the soft rock band once again performed in Malaysia, this time for their “Take Us To Your Heart Tour” at Arena of Stars, Resorts World Genting. Taking the stage to the sound of excited cheers from the over 5,000-strong crowd packing the venue that evening were frontman Jascha Richter, guitarist Mikkel Lentz and drummer Kare Wanscher.
Accompanied by their bassist on tour, Troels Skjærbæk, the trio opened the show with “Someday” and “Sleeping Child”. During the brief interlude before “Complicated Heart”, Mikkel greeted the audience and asked, “Did you guys know that the first time we ever played a concert in Asia, that was down in KL? At a Hard Rock café in front of 300 people.”
From the hundreds to the thousands; the growth in audience number is a testament to the band’s perseverance and success over the years. Their next song, “I Still Carry On”, encapsulates their very essence of resilience and determination in succeeding in the industry.
Before playing the song, Kare shared an anecdote from the early days of their career. “We were driving in this car, the whole band, and suddenly for the first time ever, we heard our song on the radio.” Wanting to capture and immortalise that special moment, they pulled out a camera and…proceeded to take a photo of the car radio. “It was very special, but a very, very boring photo we got,” he concluded with a disappointed shake of his head.
That photo may have been boring, but the Genting concert was certainly not. Now armed with 36 years of experience, the band knew exactly how to engage with their fans and get everyone singing along to their hits.
After performing “Blue Night”, it was Jascha’s turn to address their fans. He started off with a compliment. “You look so beautiful,” he said, looking to the audience to his left. Turning to his right, he assured, “You look beautiful too, don’t worry.” He then asked if anyone has listened to their new song “A Life to Remember”, which they would be playing next.
Receiving a lukewarm response from the crowd, the funny man drily remarked, “One person has listened to it, okay.” “It’s a song about getting older,” he continued. “When you turn 40, it’s like the end of the world. When you turn 50, you look at yourself in the mirror and you think, ‘Okay, maybe I am a little bit
old’. But when you turn 60, you realise, it’s the time of your life!”
Sure, the singer has turned 61 this year and his bandmates both 55, but their performance that evening proved that they could still hold the stage like they did in their 20s.
The lights and screens dimmed. Then there was a little shuffling of instruments on stage, during which Kare shared this was how it was in their early days, of just them jamming in their studio – no fancy visuals and lightings augmenting their surroundings.
Speaking of, the setup of their stage at the Genting concert was one that gave fair coverage to the founding members. Each of the trio’s “station” – Mikkel (to Jascha’s right) with his guitar, Jascha in the middle with his keyboard, and Kare with his drum kit – was equipped with a camera and a personal screen directly behind each member.
This means that they didn’t have to worry about jostling each other for screentime and fans could see all their faces clearly. Another larger screen onstage, set at the back, displayed visuals to accompany their performance as well as lyrics for sing-alongs to certain songs.
“You guys need to form a band, you sound so good,” was a praise that the band repeated throughout the night, by the way – impressed by their fans singing along to practically every track. It was probably no hard feat having the songs memorised, since most of the fans did grow up listening to the band since their debut in 1988.
The acoustic stage all set up, Kare “invited” fans in to their makeshift studio so they could enjoy a few songs like how they used to play them back in the day. Just Jascha with his vocals, Kare on the cajon and Mikkel playing the guitar. “I’m Gonna Be Around”, “Out of the Blue”, and “Nothing to Lose” were the three acoustic songs they performed. They then returned to their standard setup to play “25 Minutes”, “The Actor”, “Love Will Never Die” and “Breaking My Heart”.
@mltrofficial Singing Breaking my Heart with Malaysia was a blast 🇲🇾🫶 Thank you for singing your hearts out and making it a show to remember. 💙 #TakeUsToYourHeartTour #ontour #MLTR #BreakingmyHeart #Malaysia
♬ original sound – Michael Learns To Rock – Michael Learns To Rock
In another interlude, Mikkel joked that they called themselves Michael Learns to Rock because they thought that they would go down the rock and roll route. Instead, here they are years later, crooning their hearts out to ballads.
He introduced their next song, “Wild Women”, as one that gives fans a taste of how the band would’ve been like if they had gone full rock. After the rocking stage, it was almost time for the band to say goodbye. Kare thanked their fans for being the “superpower” holding the band together all these years.
Meanwhile, Jascha said, “Since we came to Asia for the first time in ’94, we felt a special connection to you guys despite the distance to Scandinavia and in spite of the many different cultures around Asia. You really took us to your heart.” After performing “You Took My Heart Away” and “Paint My Love”, the band left the stage.
But, of course, they honoured their fans’ call for an encore and soon returned on stage. “Thank you! We were already sitting in the car actually,” Jascha joked.
Wrapping up the concert with their final songs, “Take Me to Your Heart” and “That’s Why (You Go Away)”, the band bid farewell to the crowd. Though, knowing how eternal their love is for their Malaysian fans, their next visit to the country might not take an “Eternity”.
Florey contributed to this article.
