Not quite a break free!

 Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Brent Havens, conductor; Brody Dolyniuk, vocals.

Perhaps they wanted to re-live the lost times, the times that they missed whilst pursuing their dreams and music took a backseat. They ploughed while sluggards slouched. Maybe the present time is just too stressful and they yearn for the good old carefree days. Or they were inquisitive how a rock songs were to be belted by a philharmonic orchestra, singers rocking away carrying the mike-stand swinging it around like a baton accompanied by violinists and cellists.

In the hearts of hearts, they were just out to exhibit their new party dress and black tie clueless whether Kinks were competitors to Queen. Or to entertain their foreign business partner to show off that their third world capital city is at par with its western counterparts with a philharmonic orchestra to flaunt. Anyway, the mark of a city of a certain standing needs two things to be in the league of the big boys' club of 'cultured metropolis' - an orchestra and a marathon event!

Perhaps, they wanted to hear for themselves of the promise of the conductor that their music is as close as the Queen themselves. The audience must have also been wondering if the vocal range of the lead singer could match that of the legendary Mercury's. Even the talented George Michael failed to reach Mercury's span of vocal ranges. Could the sanitised high brow environment re-create the uninhibited flamboyant greater-than-life histrionic loud evergreen Queen music, they wondered?

And I wondered how many in the audience knew that Freddie Mercury was no red blooded English boy but  Farrokh Bulsara, a Parsi born in Zanzibar, fed ZoroAstrian diet, grew in Goa listening to Asha Bhosle and matured in the UK and as US!

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