Foreign musicians, singers widen locals' horizon<\/p>\n
By Rita A. Widiadana<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Although nationalists must be ecstatic that
\nfewer foreign artists performed here this year, a number of high-
\nquality imported shows managed to sneak in and delight local
\nmusic buffs.<\/p>\n
The performances of Phil Collins, Japanese-born Kitaro and Jon
\nBon Jovi afforded a rare chance for Indonesian musicians to widen
\ntheir horizons. The foreign concerts, packed by thousands of
\nfans, also allowed audiences to taste good music and to watch
\ninternational-standard shows.<\/p>\n
British rock-superstar Phil Collins, also a member of the
\nGenesis rock group, opened l995 with his single concert
\nbefore 40,000 fans at the former Ancol race circuit in March.<\/p>\n
Security was extremely tight at the first open-air music
\nconcert since the Metallica riot in l992. The Metallica fiasco
\nlabeled Indonesia as unsafe among foreign musicians.<\/p>\n
Only a few foreign musicians included Indonesia in their
\ntours, preferring to perform in Singapore, Malaysia and the
\nPhilippines instead.<\/p>\n
The Phil Collins concert organizers employed hundreds of Armed
\nForces members to patrol the show in order to build Jakarta's
\nreputation as a safe concert location.<\/p>\n
The soldiers, however, made the concert seem more like a
\nbattlefield than a entertaining music show. Only Collins'
\nexcellent performance managed to ease the tense atmosphere.<\/p>\n
During the concert, Collins presented 12 hits from
\nhis six solo albums, Face Value, Hello I Must be Going, But
\nSeriously, No Jacket Required and his latest Both Sides of the
\nStory.<\/p>\n
The success of the Phil Collins concert led to more foreign
\nentertainment.<\/p>\n
In May, Indo Ent entertainment agency presented a one-off Bon
\nJovi concert called Crossroads to the East, part of the band's
\nAsia tour.<\/p>\n
Bon Jovi and the band guitarist Richie Stephen Sambora,
\nkeyboardist Dave Bryan Rashbaum and drummer Hector "Tiko" Torres
\nsatisfied more than 100,000 spectators with their best songs in a
\ntwo-hour concert at Ancol in North Jakarta. The concert's theme
\nwas No drugs, no alcohol.<\/p>\n
Unlike Phil Collins' show, the Bon Jovi concert was marred by
\nhundreds of gatecrashers trying to force their way into the
\nmiddle of the venue.<\/p>\n
The gatecrashers, however, couldn't keep the Bon Jovi and
\nCollins open-air concerts from being the hits of the year.<\/p>\n
Another hit was a concert by New Age musician and composer
\nKitaro, he enchanted more than 3,000 music lovers at the Senayan
\nIndoor Tennis Stadium in September.<\/p>\n
Kitaro provided spiritual music for his fans during his An
\nEnchanted Evening world tour. The one-night performance proved
\nthat Kitaro, born Takahashi Masanori in 1953, is really a master
\nmusician.<\/p>\n
The concert was opened by a medley of ten of Kitaro's hit
\nsongs from various albums, including the famous Silk Road,
\nMandala, Dance of the Sarasvati, a pop song Caravan, Planet ,
\nWinds of Youth, Cosmic Love and Chant from the Heart.<\/p>\n
Through his vigorous performance, Kitaro illustrated how he
\nexplores the sounds of nature -- water, wind, fire, rolling
\nstones and thunder -- through his synthesizers.<\/p>\n
Kitaro's music was recognized after Silk Road, a highly
\nacclaimed television documentary series based upon the ancient
\nsilk trade route. RCTI screened the series for several years in
\nIndonesia. Kitaro's combination of passionate, gentle and naive
\nmelodies charm music lovers worldwide.<\/p>\n
Kitaro is credited with 12 albums including Astral Voyage,
\nFull Moon Story, Silver Cloud, Asia and The Light of the Spirit.<\/p>\n
He won a Golden Globe Award for the best soundtrack Heaven and
\nEarth, for Oliver Stone's Vietnam war film of the same title. In
\nthe song, Kitaro incorporate Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese
\nmusical elements to create an Asian melody.<\/p>\n
Ban<\/p>\n
Rapper Vanilla Ice (Robert van Winkle) performed at the M Club
\nin October and British band Take That hit the Jakarta Convention
\nCenter in November. British group Wet Wet Wet and other top
\nmusicians like Peabo Bryson, James Ingram, Kool and the Gang,
\nGeorge Duke and Earl Klugh also brightened the local music scene
\nthis year.<\/p>\n
This was also the year the government extended performance
\nbans to foreign artists. In the past, only local cultural groups
\nsuffered from such bans.<\/p>\n
La Toya Jackson was slapped with the first ban, with her
\nscheduled concert series in Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya in May
\nbeing canceled.<\/p>\n
Intense objections by politicians to the planned concert by
\nthe 36-year-old sister of mega-star Michael Jackson turned La
\nToya's name into a household word in Jakarta during May.<\/p>\n
The strongest objections to her visit came from the powerful
\nGolkar political grouping.<\/p>\n
Her nude spread in Playboy magazine and shocking revelations
\nabout her family apparently were considered "at odds with the
\nethics and morals of the Indonesian people". This earned her a
\nban. Besides, the general view of officialdom was that she is
\n"not an entertainer of internationally acclaimed quality".<\/p>\n
The news of La Toya's ban spread widely and was headline news
\nin many newspapers. The most discouraging aspect of the ban was
\nhow far it was blown out of proportion to its importance.<\/p>\n
Many newspapers urged politicians to pay attention to more
\npressing matters instead of fussing over La Toya Jackson.<\/p>",
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