Janda Baik Festival 2024

Location: Padang in 101 Resort Janda Baik

13^th July 15 2024

9.50pm Interval. There was a palpable air of anticipation. The Sarawak ethnic rock band At Adau Borneo, fronted by two brilliant sape musicians had just delivered a rousing performance, culminating in the wildly excited crowd dancing in a conga line. Suddenly someone leaped from behind me and shouted Victor! His blue wristband was flashing brightly in the darkness of the field. Afendi a friend of Planet Sheila Majid, beamed at me and said, this is what we do in a festival! On cue, Jaslena and I promptly wore and switched on our pink and green wristbands. Then we sat on the ground and passed glow-in-the-dark wristbands to some friends of Afendi. 

The number of festival goers had swelled to around 400 in the past hour. Some were milling around foodstalls while others were relaxing and lying down on picnic mats. There was a mix of young and old, families with children and groups of friends. Despite the morning drizzle, the weather was perfect now. The humid air faintly scented by the fragrance of wet grass, the sounds of water rippling through rocks in a brooke, the constant buzz of cicadas and a half moon in clear sight in the inky starless sky, only heightened our sense of awareness. The perfect foil for the arrival of our Queen in the idyllic setting of Janda Baik. 

At 10.10pm the stellar line-up of musicians appeared on stage – Jenny Chin on keyboard, Pa’ang Zaman on percussion, Abang Fendi on drums, Rozhan Razman on bass, Dean Sim on guitar and Acis, music director on piano, Widy (of Gerhana Skacinta fame – I have been a fan for 20 years) and Eja as backup vocals. Their presence was accompanied by strains of D’Legenda, also our Clubhouse signature sign-off tune. With my mind fleeting between memories of Clubhouse sessions and being transported back to Legenda The Concert, we rushed to the front of the stage. A shy meek wave to Jenny was returned in gusto by her. Then came the customary uncontrollable loud scream of “Sheila!” to invite her onto the stage.  And there she appeared in her casual yet resplendent self; hair styled into a ponytail, in an all black ensemble comprising of T-shirt bearing the Palestine flag, faded Levi’s jeans and Converse shoes. 

The uptempo beats of Embun ensued and soon Jaslena and I were in our own Planet Sheila Majid zone – the highly addictive syiok sendiri mode. “Menitis membasahiiiii….” an apt opening song in this environment.  We sang, at times out of tune (I, not Jaslena) and danced, at times in unison, and swayed throughout her show. When the “kata demi kata” of Dia came, the audience burst into a collective roar and sang and danced along. Afendi screamed in delight when he recognized the tunes of the next number Memori. The personal favourite of ours was the 80s medley of Memori, Kasih (Melangkah Pasti), Hasrat Cinta and Tua Sebelum Waktunya. Die-hard fans immediately recognized these tunes and Sheila cajoled the crowd to “tuu duu dud, tu du…” with her on the last song. We also got to tarakucha heartily during a medley of P Ramlee popular hits of Bunyi Guitar, Larut Malam, Getaran Jiwa and Tiru Macam Saya, once again reminiscent of the Legenda concert (ehh where is Manusia?!). By now, the audience was fully energized by the radiant vibes emanating from the stage. 

The tempo was slowed down with Legenda next. The dark field was lit up by a sea of mobile phone lights, with the audience singing along to this crowd pleaser. When the first few notes of Antara Anyer dan Jakarta were played, again there was a roar of recognition and a big karaoke session followed. Aku Cinta Padamu dedicated to her fans got its instant approval and appreciation from the audience. And when we heard “ooh ooh Sheila!”, we jumped and pranced to Warna. The show reached its climax with Sinaran, masterfully rearranged and refreshed by Acis in disco beats. My Zouk style “pushing the sky” dance move coupled with old school pogo stick dancing was in full display by now. The audience was driven into a frenzied state as Sheila weaved her magic before the 55 minutes show came to its conclusion. The sky might be starless on this particular night in Janda Baik, but Sheila’s star is shining brighter than ever. And hear this: she is a precious gem – priceless and gets better with time.

 Following a brief group photo of the performers and audience, soon Sheila was backstage. Through the assistance of our resourceful Planet member Irina, we ambushed Sheila earnestly like young fans. We got our photos taken with her, and recorded an exclusive Planet only videoclip for John, thoughtfully requested by Jaslena. Sheila autographed rare Japanese release of the Ratu and Wanita album cover, procured by another wonderful Planet member Adam. I felt thankful once again for finding my home in this Planet. The spirit of togetherness, inclusivity and looking out for each other defines this community of ours. 

Final words (for Sheila) – We have proven to you that otai like us still have it in us to dance and party all night long with you, like the good old times, both during the recent highly acclaimed Diskoria show and here in Janda Baik.

The question is:  Are you ready for a dance zone in your 40^th anniversary concert? Are you ready Sheila?