'Rockestra' concert adds new dimension to music<\/p>\n
By Helly Minarti<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Three super rock groups were given the same
\nchance: forty five minutes onstage, an orchestra of 85 musicians
\nand Erwin Gutawa, the arranger with the special touch who
\ndeveloped the idea.<\/p>\n
Titled Rockestra, the event was staged at a glitzy venue, the
\nPlenary Hall of the Jakarta Convention Center, and was packed
\nwith teenagers -- sometimes accompanied by their elders -- who
\nspent Rp 80,000 to Rp 175,000 on a ticket.<\/p>\n
The three -- Dewa, Slank and GIGI -- have been around for
\nyears on Indonesia's music scene and, between them, have recorded
\nbags of hits.<\/p>\n
\"That's one of the reasons I chose them,\" said Erwin, who was
\ninspired by Michael Kamen's orchestral treatment of Metallica
\nconcerts. Fundamentally, Erwin saw the trio as having a solid
\nmusical character -- something that comes with attitude.<\/p>\n
\"It has been proved to be the case. I really enjoyed working
\nwith them. They knew what they really wanted,\" he added,
\ndisproving the skeptical view that the rockers' egos could get in
\nthe way of the realization of his venture.<\/p>\n
However, each band treated the opportunity differently as
\nindicated by the end result onstage which probably reflected what
\nwas going on offstage.<\/p>\n
GIGI, who performed last, lavished themselves with an
\ncomprehensive repertoire. They combined jam sessions and featured
\na mixture of their experimental numbers, such as Garis Lini with
\nAcehnese rampai music, and some of their \"mainstream hits\" such
\nas Janji and Terbang, bravely skipping their regulars like the
\nsweet Yang T'lah Berlalu (Nirwana).<\/p>\n
Their opening act was a hardcore number Basa Basi -- which
\nrarely surfaces in their gigs -- taken from their early album.
\nLead singer Armand Maulana persisted with his overacting style
\n(you can either like it or be appalled by it) and carried it off
\nwell.<\/p>\n
Slank was a real surprise. They rode roughshod over the time
\nlimitation by featuring some songs in medley format. The result
\nwas that while the other two groups only managed to belt out less
\nthan 10 songs, Slank succeeded in singing at least a dozen of
\ntheir long ones.<\/p>\n
As the only group performing that night that has never used
\norchestras in their albums, Slank sounded rock-solid, applying
\ntheir jamming concept where electric guitars collided in a
\nmusical conversation with the orchestra's violins and trumpets.<\/p>\n
Their fanatical fans, Slankers -- who had earlier shown some
\nsigns of wanting to cause trouble -- responded to the group's
\nlead singer Kaka's offbeat, down-to-earth stage act with tame
\nhead-banging, \"piss\" signs in the air (their trademark pun for
\n\"peace\") and by dancing around the floor in a long row imitating
\na children \"snake\" game. Initially worried that their devoted
\n\"Slankers\" would feel uncomfortable seeing their heroes in an
\nair-conditioned hall, Slank seemed relieved to see that their
\nfans remained laid-back, spontaneous and funky.<\/p>\n
Kaka's rhetorical performance -- by cleverly engaging the
\naudience in a word-playing game using one of the refrains from
\ntheir song Pak Tani -- added to their reputation as a band with a
\ndistinct character.<\/p>\n
These two groups did well, but Dewa -- the first act -- was
\npuzzlingly disappointing. Churning out most of the new hits from
\ntheir latest album, Bintang Lima, it turned out to be an echo of
\ntheir promo tour.<\/p>\n
With almost the same arrangement -- the orchestra only
\ncontained more musicians compared to their album version that was
\nhighlighted by only 12 string players -- their live sound was
\nexactly the same as their records. No surprises. Not a real kick-
\noff.<\/p>\n
\"We didn't have time to rehearse,\" said Dhani Ahmad of Dewa,
\nsurprisingly defensive. \"Our touring schedule is tight and we
\nwere informed only 1 1\/2 months ago,\" he added. Dhani is
\nobviously trying to deal with a number of things at the moment --
\na new album played by a new formation that ended a long drama in
\nthe media chronicling the band's comings and goings tainted by
\ndrug problems.<\/p>\n
One of the new, key members is Michael Elfonda (Once), the
\nfrontman, who has to work hard building a new image as well as
\nwinning over Baladewa - the band's fans - after the departure of
\nAri Lasso, the original vocalist whose voice characterized Dewa's
\nidentity. Being whisked from gigs both in and out of town and
\nvideo clip shooting, Dewa failed to use Rockestra as a showcase
\nof their rock prowess.<\/p>\n
It was such a waste given that Dewa could have presented a
\nrich repertoire -- like the other two bands -- chronicling their
\nyears-long musical journey. Old hits such as Siti Nurbaya or
\nRestu Bumi would guarantee a sneak peek at Erwin's occasional
\nquirky touch on arrangement as shown when he handled Chrisye's or
\nHarvey's special concerts. But it didn't happen.<\/p>\n
Erwin said the two songs were in his first proposal to the
\ngroup. \"But Dhani said that they now have a concept of performing
\nthe way they sing in records. It's fine with me since I did want
\neach band to carry an image of the way they project themselves,
\nso that they could play happily.\"<\/p>\n
But the bottom line was that it was simply Dhani being
\npredictably practical, and still displaying his notoriously
\ncasual arrogance.<\/p>\n
\"Next time it should be Dewa performing alone. Now the most
\nimportant thing is breaking the one million sales (of new albums)
\nbarrier in six months as we just did,\" he said.<\/p>\n
So much for an attitude. It cost Rp 2 billion for Indocitra
\nSatriasena, the promoter, to run Rockestra the way it did --
\ncomplete with lighting that went along with every song the way it
\nis supposed to be. That figure was justified by the performances
\nwhich were backed up by the acts of Achmad Albar, the keyboard
\nduo of Rony Harahap and Jockie Suryoprayogo, and Nicky Astria --
\nrockers from 1970s and 80s. The three bands also composed a song
\ntogether during rehearsals, Satu Cinta, Satu Bendera (One Love,
\nOne Flag -- the title was decided on after the show), and swarmed
\nonto the stage to belt out the new tune.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rockestra-concert-adds-new-dimension-to-music-1447893297",
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