Kechara Presents: The Cranberries
On 4th April 2012, the Irish rock band The Cranberries performed for the very first time in our country. Personally, I do not know much about them or their songs, but I have heard a few of their well known debuts and I know for a fact that they were quite a popular group in the nineties.
One of my close students and liaisons, JP Thong, had been exploring the possibility of organizing concerts to raise funds for our charitable organization, Kechara. After much research and studies, JP decided to organize and invest into bringing The Cranberries concert to Malaysia.
JP teamed up with his friends whom he has known for many years, who worked for Wonderland Artistry and Sevent Media. Between them, they formed a team to manage the concert.
JP has no experience whatsoever in running a concert, however he quickly learned the ropes during meetings with the team, from concept making, marketing, finances to promotion and event management.
Wow! I am impressed and very touched by JP’s initiative and effort to raise funds for Kechara for dharma to spread! JP has always been very kind and generous, and always wants to make sure I am okay. Thank you JP.
The concert was officially announced on 7th February 2012 in the Star newspaper and tickets were on sale starting 13th Feb 2012. The main sponsor was Celcom along with other sponsors such as Moocow, Hilton KL, radio stations MIX fm, Lite fm, 988 fm, TV stations NTV7, Channel E and DIVA.
Kechara’s very own video production house did the post-production for the TV commercials on NTV7, Channel E and DIVA as well as the thank you video loop that played in the stadium before the concert started, and Captiv8, also helmed by Kecharians, designed the flyers, posters and other collaterals, such as the poster above.
Cranberries TV Commercial produced by Kechara
This marked the very first time in history that Kechara is organizing a concert of such scale. And I am most proud of our very own Kecharians who produced such remarkable work at an international standard for an international act.
The concert begins to a full house!
The concert turned out to be a success! JP’s hard work and effort paid off, the stadium was full with screaming fans and I sent a group of hard working Kecharians and volunteers down to The Pit with special passes, where they rocked and partied along with hard core Cranberries fans as the band belted out their famous tunes like Dreams, Ode to my family, Linger and Zombies!
Kechara and The Cranberries!
(left to right): JP, Noel Hogan (lead guitar), Dolores O’Riordan (vocalist), Mike Hogan (bassist), Fergal Lawler (drummer)
The Liaisons, Heads of Department and other Kechara staff also took a well-deserved break from work and headed down to support the concert. All of them had so much fun, even KB and my other Nepali boys and the chef Levi were seen dancing away! Hehe…
Kecharians in The Pit!
The lead singer Dolores O’Riordan has a very unique voice, and it is no surprise that the Irish band has collected many fans over the years! I was also very happy to find out that she is a vegetarian. She says: “I do not eat meat, so garlic is a pleasure for vegetarians”. Its nice when celebrities use their fame to support a greater cause.
I was very pleased to learn that Dolores O’Riordan, the lead singer of The Cranberries is a full-time vegetarian!
The party did not end there. My close student Ethan Chu teamed up with Chalk and Lah Lah Land to throw a tribute after-concert party to The Cranberries at Bakita, Changkat Bukit Bintang. Quite few people including many Kecharians got together, DJed, danced… and Kecharians sure know how to party! Hehe…
Ethan Chu – DJ extraordinaire AND member of the Private Office
It was nice to see the Kecharians get together to support our very own event and having so much fun at the same time, all with the motivation of supporting the organization and making dharma grow. It really breaks the conventional way of thinking that being Buddhist is all just about chanting and meditation and dry scriptural study. Kecharians had proven that being spiritual can still be lots of fun as it is for a greater purpose.
I am so so proud of my people and of what they can do when they put their minds to it. I congratulate JP for his effort and hard work in making the concert a success, the departments who were involved in the work behind the scenes, and the students and friends who supported the event. I sincerely thank you all for supporting Kechara.
Tsem Rinpoche
PS: Take a look at the great photos of the event, courtesy of Lew of e-Division and Sean Lee. While everyone else was dancing and singing along, these two men were working hard moving around the venue snapping photos.
Setlist:
- Dreams
- Linger
- Tomorrow
- Wanted
- Just My Imagination
- Ode to My Family
- Dreaming My Dreams
- Animal Instinct
- Desperate Andy
- Daffodil Lament
- When You’re Gone
- I Can’t Be With You
- Waltzing Back
- Raining In My Heart
- Free to Decide
- Schizophrenic Playboy
- Ridiculous Thoughts
- Zombie
- Roses (encore)
- Conduct (encore)
- Salvation (encore)
- Promises (encore)
Wah Ying and Wai Meng of e-Division
Lucky winners of The Pit tickets courtesy of Tsem Rinpoche’s Paranormal Zone contest!
Many arrive earlier to grab the spots with the best views
Where to go?
The passes that allowed Lew and Sean to go wherever they wish in search of the best photos
As the crowd builds, the technical team also get ready
Waiting with anticipation
JP (left) and Selina (right) wait backstage to meet The Cranberries. They have been good friends for a very long time, and their friendship has fruitioned in this partnership to raise funds for a good cause
JP presents a gift to each member of The Cranberries and explained that part of the concert proceeds will go towards a charity organisation – Kechara!
Carmen Koo takes the opportunity to invite The Cranberries to the after party!
Tan Sri Dato Wira Jason, his wife and daughter, Tunku Zarina and JP enjoy a chat in the Royal Box
Dato’ Ruby Khong and Ms Michele Theseira, Senior Writer of Malaysia Tatler
Dato’ Ruby Khong (right) with Datuk Eric Ong and wife
JP catches up with Philip Gan, his wife Nica and Fred Chong, producer of the award-winning movie ‘Nasi Lemak’
It begins! The opening act is Dreams and the crowd responds rapturously
Riff time!
The chemistry between Dolores and the audience was great
Noel Hogan – Guitarist
Dolores on guitar with drummer Fergal Lawler in the background
Mike Hogan – Bassist
The Setlist!
The crowd goes wild with Zombie!
Zombie, zombie, zombie, hey hey hey!
The classic hits – Linger, Ode to My Family and Zombie were the most popular with the audience
End of the first set
Stadium Negara was packed that night
The crowd sings along!
Mr Lew on the left in the red shirt snapping the action with the rest of the photographers
They are lovin’ it!
Some Kecharians preferred to watch the concert from the comforts of the Kechara Hospitality Box on the top floor
Back for the encore in an interesting headdress
Salvation, Salvation, Salvation is free!
Good night Malaysia!
Memories of a great night out
Satisfied concert-goers trickle out of the stadium… heading to the AFTER PARTY!
More photos of concert here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150661319299531.401776.544619530&type=3
The Cranberries Live in KL Concert Videos!
Dreams – the opening act
Ode To My Family
Linger
Zombie… and the crowd goes wild!
After Party @ Bakita
Watch the Kecharians let their hair down at the Cranberries after party. Who says Buddhism cannot be fun?
News Coverage – The Cranberries Live in Malaysia
Rocking good time with The Cranberries
From The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Irish rock band The Cranberries rocked Stadium Negara in their maiden concert here. Fronted by female vocalist Dolores O’Riordan, they kept 8,000 fans at the concert under their spell last night with classic hits like Zombie, Linger and Dreams.
Stellar show: The Cranberries performing at Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur last night.
The Cranberries delivered an energetic performance that chronicled their career, which spanned over two decades. During the one-and-a-half hour concert, the band also previewed material from their newly released studio album Roses.
Since their debut in 1992, The Cranberries have sold more than 30 million albums. Their concert in Malaysia was jointly managed by The WonderLand and Sevent Media.
Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/4/5/nation/11052542&sec=nation
The Cranberries Entertained 8,000 Malaysian Fans
From MyNewsHub
KUALA LUMPUR – The famous rock alternative band from Ireland, The Cranberries was not disappointing when they successfully entertained about 8,000 fans at their first concert in this country at Stadium Negara here yesterday.
The Cranberries Live In Malaysia 2012 Concert organized by The Wonderland and Sevent Media, the four member band held a performance which started at 8.40pm to 10.30pm singing 22 songs.
According to the singer of The Cranberries, Dolores O’Riodan, she was honoured to be able to hold their first concert in Malaysia and was touched with the fans’ response here after the band was formed since about 20 years ago.
“The response from fans here was really great although the weather is not as hot in Ireland. Thank you for your support because after a long time The Cranberries was formed then only now we had a chance to hold a concert here,” she said at the concert.
The highlight of the concert was when The Cranberries sang their 18th song entitled Zombi which is their most popular song when all the fans waved their hands while singing along.
Besides that song, they also sang their popular songs like Just My Imagination, Salvation, Promises, Ode To My Family, Animal Instinct, Raining In My Heart, Ridiculous Thoughts, Can’t Be With You, Free To Decide and When You’re Gone.
“Please also accept this song Losing My Mind which we are performing for the first time on stage and it is especially for all of you,” said Dolores at the concert that charged tickets priced at RM110 to RM320.
Source: http://mynewshub.my/eng/2012/04/the-cranberries-entertained-8000-malaysian-fans/
(Special thanks to Beng Kooi who organized the photos, videos and did the write up for this blog post. Tsem Rinpoche )
Please support us so that we can continue to bring you more Dharma:
If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team
Dear Rinpoche, I know that The Cranberries did perform in Malaysia and the one didn’t know before I read this article is that Kechara organize this concert. It’s so amazing! The only song and the song I love from The Cranberries is ZOMBIE! I love that song. I love Rinpoche
The Cranberries threw a really good concert that night! I went there with the Ladrang staff and we all really enjoyed ourselves.
To be honest, the first thought upon walking into the stadium was, “My goodness, Kechara really can do anything”. JP is a risk taker, but nonetheless it always seems to pay off. He always sees things on a bigger scale, and for this concert his hardwork really paid off.
Imagine, a rock band The Cranberries and Kechara in collaboration. Something new for a Buddhist organization? Just another day in a Tsem Rinpoche Buddhist Organization 😛
The Cranberries, they are superb and awesome. after so many years they are still sooooooooooo good!!!
Congratulation to JP to make it the event a success. you really inspire me a lot to make it happen for Kechara. It is really mission impossible for raise fund to Kechara. Thank you JP
Yeah! I enjoyed the concert so much. Thank you JP to make this event a success. Good experience together with Kecharians!
Concerts are exhilirating.Even you don’t like the band playing,you will have a great time.The music was loud,exciting and the crowd was screaming and singing along.Really liked the songs especially dreams,linger,just my imagination etc,to name a few.An amazing experience for me.
It was in my teenage years that I first encountered the Cranberries, their soulful ballads is a reminder of how good the times were. The after party was attended by many young kecharians who really let their hair down. Thank you to Dolores for being a famous vegetarian and flying the flag of not harming animals!
Good effort JP and team! Rock, rock and rock more to Kechara! Jp is not just rocking money to Kechara but also creating awareness to a totally new audience. Hurray JP!
As I was making my way into the stadium, the first song ‘Dream’ was being played and the crowd was electrifying. I did not know all songs played at the concert except for Dream, Zombie and Salvation but most fans in the crowd obviously did and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Probably some went home with their throats sore but I guess it’s worth it.
They are just soooooooooo awesome….!!! The Cranberries ROCK!! Hehehe…
The Cranberries After Party was super great!!! Ill Kidd ROCK too hehehe…we had somuch fun 😉
Thank you JP!!
Hey guys, thanks loads for the tickets! Never in my wildest dreams, i’d see this happening, hats off to you all. Btw, i noticed they didn’t play “Roses” from their setlist, instead they played #19 Conduct and #20 Losing My Mind – from their new album which was played live for the first time especially for us. 🙂 Was wondering if anyone of you recorded the whole concert on video or mp3? thanks again 🙂
Wow! Actually it had already happened!!! Great Great!!! Did you love it guys?? Jamie, I just love the photo you’re on! We can see the fever !!!! Glad for you everyone! 🙂
Dear JP,
I know you had sleepless nights, xxx bricks and worked very hard for this concert to be staged successfully. You done it !
For Kechara, it’s worth the few additional fine lines on your flawless complexion . You will do it even better the next time !
Congrats JP and everyone, it’s so impressive that you got the Cranberries all the way to Malaysia for a huge event.
Kudos to JP for getting this off the ground and having made it a huge success. I’m not a fan but nonetheless happy that people of all walks of life enjoyed a night out and made some indirect contribution to a good cause. You know what will undoubtly be a massive success, I am very sure? K-Pop!! That’s the current craze today for young Malaysians and we should capitalise on it. The Gen Y & Z people will snap up all tickets, money will not be an issue, just you watch. I saw that recently when I took my daughter to see a K Pop group recently that she’s crazy about. We almost got crushed. Gratification first. Go book Girls Generation first quick quick quick before anybody else does, JP! Their following is massive. They’ll sell out.
Congratulations to Kechara and thank you JP, is a super success concert with more 90% full! JP, can we have Madonna for next round?
OMG, it’s such an enjoyable night!!!
When they were playing the song Zombie, everyone went crazy and sang together, it’s like everybody’s concert. The power of music is great and bring everybody together regardless race and religion.
Thank you JP!!! Can you bring us more??!! Hehe…
It was a great concert even though I am not a crazy fan for the Cranberries. The stadium was packed that night and I understand that JP took up this project quite last minute.
JP is always resourceful and I must congratulate him,his good friend Selina and all the Kecharians who were behind the scene for all the effort and hard work that have made this a very successful concert.
You all have made being “Kecharians” proud indeed !!!
Who can now dare say Kecharian can not ROCK??? LOL!
Thank you JP for working so hard to make this event a success. I am sure there are a lot of experience we picked up along the way which will help us organize our international event in the near future 🙂
And yes, I enjoyed taking photographs very much 🙂