Music doesn't differentiate between rich and poor, but tickets do<\/p>\n
By Achmad Nurhoeri<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Slam dancing, loud music, moshpits, teenagers in
\nchains and leather jackets, four-letter words and mohawks were
\njumbled together at the Green Day concert last Saturday in the
\nJakarta Convention Center.<\/p>\n
Teenage havoc reined.<\/p>\n
\"Green Day's music is made to heat up fans. They depend on
\nit,\" said Agustinus Nugraha, a musician popularly known as Nugie.<\/p>\n
\"It's okay if it all happens inside the concert hall. But
\nsometimes Indonesian fans cannot contain themselves and then run
\namok outside,\" he said.<\/p>\n
And that is precisely what happened in front of the Convention
\nCenter's entrance when ticketless fans outside heard Green Day
\nstart jamming inside at a maximum volume.<\/p>\n
In seconds, the Berkeley-based rock band's show caused a
\nfierce battle between the police and the frenzied fans who
\ncouldn't get into the party. About 3,000 fans who failed to get
\ntickets tried to crash the concert. Some had lined up for hours,
\nonly to find the concert was sold out. Others, for who the ticket
\nprice was way out of their reach, just wanted an opportunity to
\nbreak inside.<\/p>\n
The police tried their best to get the unruly crowd away from
\nthe entrance. The crowd showed no intention of budging.<\/p>\n
\"Green Day isn't only for rich kids,\" the crowd chanted, while
\nhurling rocks at the glass entrance doors.<\/p>\n
The police resorted to charging at the youths, letting fly
\ntheir batons and unleashing huge German shepherds. This stopped
\nthe riot but the Convention Center's entrance was devastated.<\/p>\n
The police handled the riot like they handle demonstrations.<\/p>\n
\"We used force because the crowd was becoming more and more
\nbrutal,\" said Iman Haryatna from the city police information
\noffice.<\/p>\n
\"There were 6,000 fans inside. We could not afford to have the
\n3,000 people from outside break in because there wasn't any
\nroom,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
Sociologist Iwan Gardono stated that the police were not to
\nblame.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the policemen come from a different social background
\nthan the fans. They were indignant when a crowd from a different
\nsocial group set on them.\"<\/p>\n
\"We only use batons and the dogs are well trained. They won't
\nbite anybody,\" Iman claimed, adding, \"We usually use tear-gas but
\nwe were not equipped with it at the time.\"<\/p>\n
Iman also denied reports there were bullet holes in the
\nentrance doors.<\/p>\n
\"We didn't fire shots. The holes in the glass door were caused
\nby rocks thrown by the fans, not by bullets.\"<\/p>\n
One package<\/p>\n
The riot reminded Jakartans of a similar brawl at the 1993
\nMetallica concert, an U.S. rock band, at the Lebak Bulus stadium
\nin South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"It has similarities to the 1993 riot,\" said Iwan Gardono, who
\nheads the University of Indonesia's school of social and
\npolitical sciences.<\/p>\n
\"The type of music played has a tendency to cause a commotion
\nand violence,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Harvard-graduate noted that the riots increase bands'
\nreputations.<\/p>\n
\"Actually the bands are proud of it. It boosts their record
\nsales and popularity,\" Iwan said.<\/p>\n
Another sociologist, Nugraha Katjasungkana, sees the riot from
\na different point of view.<\/p>\n
\"It Is born from cultural globalization,\" Nugraha claimed.<\/p>\n
In his essay for a campus paper, Nugraha stated that music is
\na commodity and a culture for the young of all social classes.<\/p>\n
\"Fans who can afford tickets fantasize that the concert is a
\npart of their culture. Unfortunately the ones who cannot afford
\nthe tickets begin to realize that the concert is not for them, so
\nthey try to fight and change the situation,\" Nugraha said.<\/p>\n
Iwan said this makes rock concerts no-win situations.<\/p>\n
\"It's old-fashioned to ban such concerts. Banning it would
\nonly cause the public to think that the police cannot cope with
\nit. But, on the other hand, we cannot let it happen again,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"What we can do is minimize the situations that could lead to
\nriots. Increase security, localize the venue to a remote place
\nlike Ancol, hold it during the day. All this could help,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/music-doesnt-differentiate-between-rich-and-poor-but-tickets-do-1447893297",
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