Expatriates entertain Indonesians at Ancol<\/p>\n
By Dini S. Djalal<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Does anyone remember the last time they went to
\nAncol recreation park in North Jakarta?<\/p>\n
Remember the long, torturous drive through kilometers of
\nmerciless traffic? Remember the multiple fees charged (Rp 9,000
\nor US$4 at last count for a party of two) when waltzing through
\nAncol's copious gates?<\/p>\n
I do, having made the trip last Saturday to attend the
\n\"Concert of Nations\" at Ancol Art Market. By the time my weary
\nframe slumbered to the open-air stage, my zeal for all things
\nmusical had evaporated along with the fuel in my gas tank.<\/p>\n
It couldn't get much worse. Having received no information
\nabout the concert's intent or content, I soon discovered it was
\namateur night for country-and-western singers. More specifically,
\nexpatriate singers were fronting ensembles of mostly-Indonesian
\nmusicians.<\/p>\n
\"We're performing in celebration of the Ancol Art Market's
\n21st anniversary,\" said concert organizer Anto Soemartono of
\nIkapari Country Music Association.<\/p>\n
Celebration was the last thing on my mind. My stereo system
\nwelcomes a spectrum of musical genres, from salsa and swing to
\nrap and opera, but a Kenny Rogers retrospective has never been a
\npriority purchase. Neither is a tribute to Dolly Parton. You can
\ntake country to the girl, but you can't take the girl into the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
So imagine my surprise (and self-reproach) to find my tired
\nfeet tapping halfway through the concert. Was I joining the ranks
\nof Willie Nelson devotees? Had Ancol's surrealist atmosphere (it
\nis called Dreamland) overpowered my senses and legitimized any
\nbehavioral idiosyncrasies? What in Little Richard's name was
\ngoing on?<\/p>\n
Maybe it was just good fun. Winking under their best Stetsons,
\nthe performers howled and do-si-doed to their hearts content,
\nmaking me feel guilty for being a snooty sloth. Their enthusiasm
\nwas admirable, especially considering the crowd. Comatose and
\nclueless best describes the mostly-Indonesian audience, who
\nstruggled to make linguistic sense of Achey Breaky Heart, the
\nBillie Ray Cyrus hit performed by English teacher and aspiring
\ncrooner Ben Dawson.<\/p>\n
Perhaps my companion could have helped them out, as he sang
\nalong to both Jimmy Buffet's Margarita Fields (sung by Travelodge
\nGeneral Manager David Fletcher) and Charlie Daniel's The Devil
\nWent Down to Georgia.<\/p>\n
\"You've never heard of Jimmy Buffet?\" my companion complained.<\/p>\n
\"Huh? No,\" I answered with questionable regret. I am familiar,
\nhowever, with Kenny Roger's The Gambler (sung by Ben Dawson) and
\nPatsy Cline's Crazy (sung by Kai Michelle), but any survivor of
\nthe early 1980s could not have escaped these two country
\nclassics.<\/p>\n
No eyes could escape the outrageous Kai Michelle that evening.
\nWearing a pink sequined mini, matching cowboy hat and silver
\nboots, Michelle walked away with the evening's award for best
\ngetup.<\/p>\n
Honolulu-born Kai Michelle also made heads turn with her
\nrendition of Norma Sanger's Gembala Sapi. These Indonesian-
\nlanguage songs were the highlights of the evening, whether it was
\na West Sumatran folk song sung by French physician Pierre Jolly
\nor Ebiet G. Ade's ballad Untuk Sebuah Nama (for a name) sung by
\nBen Dawson. Their Indonesian was at times so flawless that MC
\nAnto Soemartono asked Ben Dawson, \"Where did you learn your
\nEnglish?\" to which Dawson answered, \"On the street.\"<\/p>\n
Clear enunciation, however, didn't deter the audience from
\ngiggling.<\/p>\n
\"It's so weird to hear expats sing in Indonesian,\" said 20-
\nyear-old Santi. \"They just sound funny,\" she added between
\nlaughs.<\/p>\n
\"We organized this concert in the name of friendship,\"
\nexplained concert organizer Retno Windrati. \"We wanted to both
\nattract the expat community to Ancol and make local audiences
\nmore familiar with foreign musicians,\" she said. Ikapari's team
\nof musicians has also performed on Indosiar.<\/p>\n
The local musicians, however, held their own. Savvy violinist
\nHendri easily stole the show. Drummer Iskandar also took over the
\nstage with his foot-stomping version of Jimi Hendrix's Stone Free
\nduring the show's rock section, performed with Japanese guitar-
\nwizard Toshia Ansai. In his jeans and sneakers, Ansai looks like
\nyour average Judo instructor (his day-job), which makes his
\nroaring growl all the more mind-bending. I could barely decipher
\nthe words to Voodoo Child, but, with my ears rocked to noise
\nZion, I couldn't care less.<\/p>\n
Thunderous is the only word to describe the vocals of Sue
\nBonnington, singer of Blues Breaker. The band's name is
\nmisleading, however, because she sings country, salsa, rock,
\nblues and whatever she entwines round her booming Joplin-esque
\nvoice. Anyone can catch Blues Breaker on March 18 at Elvis Bar's
\njam session, organized to raise funds for the families of
\ndeceased musicians.<\/p>\n
\"Most Indonesian musicians make hardly any money with no
\npension plans, so when they pass away their families face
\nbankruptcy,\" explained Bonnington. Bonnington is currently
\nwriting songs in Indonesian.<\/p>\n
When asked why most of the musicians were Indonesian while the
\nsingers were non-Indonesia, Bonnington answered, \"If the
\nmusicians were expatriates, it means they were working for a
\njob.\"<\/p>\n
Bonnington added that it doesn't make much difference who
\nsings what songs in whatever language.<\/p>\n
\"The point is not to make money, but to have fun working
\ntogether,\" said Bonnington.<\/p>\n
So when the band belted out The Rolling Stones' You can't
\nalways get what you Want, the lyrics rang relevant.<\/p>\n
A country music concert isn't my preferred way to spend a
\nweekend, but if you try sometime, you just might find, you get a
\ngood time.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/expatriates-entertain-indonesians-at-ancol-1447893297",
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