Rush Reviewer

Jakarta Jam 2011 (Day 1)

I  went to one of Jakarta’s yearly rock festival called Jakarta Jam (in short Jakjam) 2 days ago (22/2). Actually I wasn’t interested in attending any concerts held by Java Musikindo, but seeing electrocore band, I See Stars, on the set list for Jakjam’s first day, I quickly went to the nearest record store and booked myself a ticket. The days went by and I found myself anticipating it as the event drew nearer and nearer. I am, a big fan of I See Stars.

The weather was surprisingly nice that day as I arrived to Senayan Tennis Indoor Stadium with some friends of mine. After a short check by the security, who made sure that none of us bring any prohibited items, my friends and I proceeded to the waiting place and queued for the gate to open. There were a bazaar sponsored by brands such as Crooz, Macbeth and Petersaysdenim while Indonesian indie rock band, The S.I.G.I.T, entertained the waiting crowd which consisted of mostly junior high and senior high students.

Doors opened at 6.30 pm sharp and we quickly made way to the front of the stage. After waiting for about half an hour, the first act, NeverShoutNever started the set. I was expecting an acoustic set since I only knew NeverShoutNever to be an acoustic one-man act, but instead Christopher Drew and his crew played a full band set, singing songs that were unfamiliar to my ears. Wearing the Indonesian Soccer Team uniform, Ingle captivated his fans with his wit and funny messages, resulting in a sing-along session. He ended the set with hit song, “Big City Dreams” and waved goodbye to the fans. There was no encore.

Second band of the night was I See Stars. They opened the set with their new song “The End of the World Party”, marking the day their new album’s release. After that they performed songs such as “What This Means to Me”, “3D”, and “The Big Bad Wolf” infusing the crowd with some energy boost, despite being unfamiliar to their songs. I, for one, went totally nuts during I See Stars’ set, moshing and headbanging with my mate, in our very own private mosh pit. Though the sound system was slightly flawed, I must say that I enjoyed their set thoroughly. My only disappointment was that they played less than 10 songs, while I wanted more and more.

The main highlight of the event, We The Kings, appeared after an extensive sound check done by their roadies. I quickly realized that most of the people who came are actually We The Kings’s fans as I heard the stadium grew noisier when Travis Clark and his band mates came out to greet the crowd. They started off with songs from their new album while progressing backwards to songs from their older albums. The night’s most fantastic moment was when Clark played a one-man show with his guitar, singing two songs acoustically, one of it being “All Again For You”. Everyone went silent while throwing their hands into the air, swaying to the wonderful performance. After another song, the band retired backstage. Soon enough people were shouting for an encore, and the concert cliche happened as the band came back to sing more songs for the audience. Singles such as “Secret Valentine” and “Check Yes Juliet” rocked the night, and I felt re-energized when the band played a rendition of a Jimmy Eat World song, “The Middle”, as the latter band was one of their main inspirations.

The concert ended at around 11 pm with the crowd tired and satisfied. I can say that I had a really great time, so I shall give two thumbs up for Java Musikindo’s professionalism (definitely better than Ismaya), and I’ll be looking forward to attending more concerts organized by them.

Over and out, Arlinka

LOVE GARAGE IN THE PARK : TWO DOORS CINEMA CLUB

Two Doors Cinema Club akhirnya menginjakkan kaki di tanah air (15/2). Band indie rock asal Irlandia yang beranggotakan Sam Halliday (guitar), Alex Trimble (vocal, guitar) dan Kevin Baird (bass)  ini melangsungkan konsernya di parkir EX Plaza Indonesia dalam acara bertajuk Love Garage in The Park yang diselenggarakan oleh Ismaya Live (ya, si fenomenal Dougy Mandagie dan teman-teman Temper Trap nya bisa keliling tiga kota Indonesia berkat mereka)

Grup elektronik asal kota Bandung, Rock N Roll Mafia didaulat menjadi pembuka konser sore itu. Beranggotakan 5 pria berpakaian monokrom, aksi enerjik mereka cukup mengundang ketertarikan crowd untuk berjoged dan maju ke bibir panggung.

Flight Facilities menjadi aksi panggung kedua. Setelah menunggu cukup lama sambil diisi dengan berbagai pertunjukan tidak penting dari pihak penyelenggara, duo DJ asal Australia itu mulai menunggangi set masing-masing. Meremix beberapa lagu dan membagi-bagikan kaus sampai akhirnya hit single sing a long able mereka, “Crave You” menutup penampilan.

Menunggu hampir 45 menit, akhirnya yang punya acara naik panggung. Ditemani seorang additional drummer, Alex Trimble cs segera menggeber “Cigarettes in The Theatre” tanpa ampun. Dilanjutkan dengan “Undercover Martyn” yang tak disangka dibawakan ditengah penampilan. Basa-basi artis luar macam mengucapkan terima kasih menggunakan bahasa lokal dapat ditebak ampuh membuat penonton histeris.

Dua lagu baru sempat dibawakan,” Lagu ini baru kami buat 2 bulan yang lalu”, jelas Alex yang tak henti-hentinya mengangkat gelas wine miliknya. “I Can Talk” menjadi penutup pesta malam itu disusul confetti yang meriah.

Tata suara, cahaya dan  penampilan luar biasa Two Doors Cinema Club menjadi penambal kesal bagi jadwal yang ngaret luar biasa dan penuhnya event ini oleh berbagai kepentingan sehingga menyebabkan kaburnya tema acara. Tapi siapa peduli ketika pada akhirnya Alex Trimble mengajak semua berdansa dan berseru : “A O AA O !”

RR.

RIP : THE WHITE STRIPES

Waktu santai saya menjadi sedikit terganggu ketika iseng utak-atik internet dan menemukan satu hal yang mengejutkan. Salah satu majalah musik internasional tiga huruf yang berbasis di Inggris memuat headline yang cukup mengguncang : “The White Stripes Split-Jack and Meg’s Statement”.

Duo rock dengan formasi teraneh yang pernah saya temui memutuskan untuk bubar jalan. “The White Stripes would like to announce that today, February 2nd, 2011, 
their band has officially ended and will make no further new recordings or perform live” demikian yang tertera di website resmi mereka. Tidak disebutkan alasan spesifik yang menyebabkan perpecahan pasangan ini, ”It is for a myriad of reasons, but mostly to preserve what is beautiful and special about the band and have it stay that way” hanya itu yang dijelaskan.

Hilang sudah harapan saya untuk bisa menyaksikan mereka tampil langsung maupun sekedar menunggu notasi-notasi terbaru mereka dengan beragam ekspektasi. Tidak akan ada lagi riff-riff sederhana yang dihiasi dengan pedal kotor seperti Black Orchid, tusukan santai nan tajam macam 300 MPH Torrential Outpour Blues maupun hits dansa galau yang luar biasa  megah layaknya Seven Nation Army. Sejujurnya, pasangan misterius ini terlalu cepat untuk melepaskan taringnya dan undur diri dari dunia musik.

Tapi Meg dan Jack memberi kita kata-kata terakhir :

“The White Stripes do not belong to Meg and Jack anymore. The White Stripes belong 
to you now and you can do with it whatever you want. The beauty of art and music is 
that it can last forever if people want it to. Thank you for sharing this experience. Your 
involvement will never be lost on us and we are truly grateful.”

Cek statement lengkapnya disini

Simak video clip mereka yang menarik, The Hardest Button to Button disini

Bagi yang tidak mengenal siapa mereka, cek disini

Fight for your right! Wahyu