Few attend Saigon Kick's lackluster show<\/p>\n
By Yoko N. Sari<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Rock band Saigon Kick painstakingly entertained
\ntheir Jakarta fans during their one off performance at the
\nJakarta Hilton Convention Center's Plenary Hall last Saturday
\nnight.<\/p>\n
The 5,000 seat concert hall was quite empty as they opened the
\nconcert with one of their hits entitled One Step Closer.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta concert of the Miami-based Saigon Kick, comprising
\nlead singer and guitarist Jason Bieler, bassist Chris McLernon,
\ndrummer Phil Varone and guitarist Pete Dembrowski, was part of
\ntheir Asian tour to promote their newly released album Water.<\/p>\n
Wearing black vest and knickers, the long-haired Bieler
\ncontinued sung more than fifteen songs from previous albums to
\nthe more recent ones such as I love You, Love is On the Way.<\/p>\n
In contrast to their \"metal\" appearance, including Varone's
\nfully tattooed body, most of the band's soft songs are dedicated
\nto their love of women.<\/p>\n
Vocalist Bieler commented, \"Love is a universal thing, it just
\ncame naturally to my mind when I wrote our songs.\"<\/p>\n
But the band also tried to prove that they are a real hard-
\nrock band.<\/p>\n
\"We will rock our fans here with an enthralling and energetic
\nperformance,\" said drummer Varone prior to their concert.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the group was not communicative enough to make
\na concert come alive. They just came out on stage, did their gigs
\nand then ended the show without involving the audience.<\/p>\n
The audience were only heated once when the band tuned their
\nfamous hit On and On and pre-teen fans sang along with their
\nfavorite song.<\/p>\n
The fact that the crowd knew the song surprised the band. \"I
\nam surprised that you know the lines to this song, I should
\nprobably take you all on our tour,\" Bieler accompanied by
\nMcLernon shouted after they finished with Love is on the Way.<\/p>\n
Surprised<\/p>\n
Most of the fans were pre-teens, locally known as Anak Baru
\nGede, who paid Rp 50,000 for festival class tickets. The wore
\nfashionable bell bottomed pants, sleeveless shirts and high
\nheeled sandals.<\/p>\n
\"I only know two songs, On and On and I love you,\" said Cendy,
\n16, a second grader from Tarakanita High School, who watched
\nalong with 10 of her friends.<\/p>\n
Established in l988, the band began to penetrate the
\ninternational scene when they opened for Extreme in Japan and
\nOzzy Osborne in the United States. In Indonesia, the band is only
\nfamous among youngsters which is why their concert was empty.<\/p>\n
Apart from Jakarta, the group also performed in Bandung,
\nSurabaya in East Java and Denpasar, Bali.<\/p>\n
\"I am here to see the crowd, it's fun to hang out with my
\nfriends,\" said Audi, 15, from Pangudi Luhur High School, adding
\nthat he enjoyed the show and owned the band's latest CD, Water.<\/p>\n
Julian, 18, from SMA 3 High School, said he owned all of the
\nband's albums. \"This is awesome, but the cassette is better,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The unimpressive show ended with Varone throwing his sticks
\ninto the audience during the group's hit Torture, which tells the
\nstory of Bosnian war.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/few-attend-saigon-kicks-lackluster-show-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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