Peterpan perform during their concert in Kuching recently.

Story/photos by Paula Chang

My entire Sunday afternoon all the way till night was spent hanging out or rather “following around” popular rock band from Indonesia, Peterpan. The experience was as intoxicating as William Miller’s in Almost Famous, but less intense in the absence of an “ALL ACCESS” pass.
Despite a delay in their flight, the guys from Peterpan were driven to their hotel on time for a meet and greet session with the fans which began at 5 pm at Victoria Arms in Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites Kuching.
The fans gathered as early as 4 pm and were hysterical upon seeing the guys from Peterpan. There were exclusive posters provided by Celcom for the event. But before the session began, burly bodyguards were stratigically positioned to shield the boys from any attack by Peterpan fanatics.
Fans held their breaths in the presence of the boys and moved along the table to get their posters, bags and personal items signed.
Some held the line up by taking multiple pictures of the rockstars and some regretted not hugging them while they were having their pictures taken.
All in all, everyone went home with a cool souvenir.
They were then ushered to the VIP area to relax after a hectic schedule (they performed in Tawau, the night before and had only arrived in Kuching on Sunday afternoon. Upon arrival, they proceeded to the meet and greet session).
There they watched a little bit of football and joked while waiting for lunch to be served. By this time, it was already 6 pm.
As time was of the essence, an illustriously fabulously long interview was not possible. I only got to ask Luki and David: “Is this your first time here?”, to which David answered; “Yes, it is.” and Luki added; “Mine, as well.”
Not long after, they were called for a meeting to run through the playlist for that night’s performance. They each pitched their ideas in and lunch was served.
For nosey fans out there, yes, yours truly, will divulge the details. Peterpan had Chicken Rice and Fish and Chips, but as to who had what, that I would not know because to actually hover around them while they eat would be rude.
By 7 pm they had adjourned to their respective rooms to prepare for the concert.

(From left) Aini, Farina, Melissa, Eza and Ani are the first to arrive at the meet and greet session.

Aeru (right, in pale yellow) and his friends enjoying the concert.

Starstruck fans getting their items signed.

Fans’ thoughts

Peterpan’s concert was held later that night, much to the excitement of many screaming fans.
I got took the opportunity to have a few words with the fans and find out what they thought of the concert.
One fan, 32-year-old Aminah Hirman 21 from Kuching has waited in line about an hour before the concert. Aminah, who was at the concert with her aunts and brother, said her favourite song was “Kupu Kupu Malam” and added that she couldn’t wait to see the guys in action.
Aminah said she hoped to see Peterpan do something spontaneous and extraordinary. And commenting on the band, she said; “They will last for quite a while as they are genuine and their music is evergreen.”
“They must come back to Kuching to perform again!,” she added excitedly.
Aminah is a Celcom customer and subscribed to them because of the low IDD rates to Indonesia. “My grandmother is in Indonesia and we call her all the time. Sometimes I just SMS (texting) her, but either way, the plan helps me save money,” she said.
Meanwhile, Aeru (21) from Pontianak, who was at the concert along with his compatriots said; “We’ve been their fans eversince they started.”
On their expectations of Peterpan’s performance, they simply do not have any because; “we know Peterpan memang OK!”
“Keep rocking, Peterpan!,” said one of his friends.
For Aeru and his friends, it was their first time watching a concert in Kuching and they loved what Celcom has done for this event.
Dayang Nurfauziah bt Fauzi, 15, was the winner from Hot.FM’s Peterpan competition. For her prize, she gets to bring her mother and friends to the concert with VIP privileges. She was also at the meet and greet session and apart from the signed memorabilia, she and her friends were also included in the VIP photo session with Peterpan taken by professional photographers.
Her next perk was a backstage pass that allowed her to mingle with Peterpan before they went on stage, which was a full two hours! How envy provoking!
And during performances, they were all ushered to the front of the stage where even people with “MEDIA” passes such as myself were restricted from entering.
All these privileges and Dayang had this to say: “Tak puas enjoy concert! (I was not done enjoying the concert!)” She wanted more singing and more Peterpan.
Despite the initial delay, Peterpan’s concert was well worth the wait. It was wholesome and vivacious and because of that very nature, it had left everyone wanting more. An outstanding effort by everyone involved. The experience really is “UNBEATABLE”.