'Asereje' craze is, thankfully, over

M. Taufiqurrahman The Jakarta Post Jakarta

It started to get really nauseating, but who knows perhaps hearing Asereje live would give another meaning to the song.

So, there was not much expectation in coming to the concert of the Spanish (overnight) sensation, Las Ketchup, but wanting to -- as Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys put it -- have fun, fun, fun.

Alas, the Munoz sisters, Lola, Lucia and Pilar, did not even give a iota of it.

Their performance last Wednesday at the Bung Karno indoor stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta, did not live up to the hype and was downright boring.

Even the very song itself, which has been sweeping across the country in the past three months or so, was unable to spark up the night.

Before the 4,500-strong crowd that night, all that Lola, Lucia and Pilar could offer was a crossbreed of rumba, hip-hop and a little bit of flamenco here and there, and those infamous dance moves. No more than that.

Some people in the audience concluded that dangdut (traditional music with Arab/Indian influence) singer Inul could deliver a more lively concert.

Inul, the rising star of dangdut known for her gyrating dance moves was actually the opening act for the concert. But most reporters, however, were only allowed to come inside after Inul's last song.

Las Ketchup hail from Cordoba, Southern Spain, and have created a craze all over the world with Asereje (the Ketchup Song). A catchy and contagious dance song indeed, despite its meaningless verse in Spanish, and the notoriously simplistic dance moves.

This country was not immune to the fever, as Sony Music Indonesia recently awarded the group three platinum, which means that 300,000 records of their Hijas del Tomate album have been sold so far in the country.

The concert here kicked off with Me Persigue un Chulo, a song with a New Order-esque beat, which received a cool reception from the crowd, who apparently had trouble recognizing the beat and deciphering the lyrics which were delivered in Spanish.

Until the third song which was bathed with Santana-ish licks, the crowd did not seem to be pleased. Only a handful of people adjacent to the stage hesitantly danced along to the beat.

Las Ketchup tried in vain to state their presence during the fourth song Krapuelo by jumping and running around, but nothing changed.

Their standout performance, however, turned up during the sixth song, reminiscent of Gypsy King, with a forceful flamenco strumming built within an acoustic session. But again the old trick did not work.

The cool reception notwithstanding, Las Ketchup did not do anything beyond saying terima kasih (thank you) over and over again and broke out into those infamous dance moves.

To the chagrin of the audience, Las Ketchup smoked cigarettes and drank wine onstage while performing their sixth song Sevilanas Pink and there was no telling whether it was part of the show.

The two guitarists of the six-piece band at times came to the rescue by playing Santana-ish licks and Flamenco strumming which occasionally outperformed the vocals.

Knowing that all efforts were to no avail, the Las Ketchup tried to salvage the show with what else but Asereje.

Yes, the crowd cheered and the atmosphere hightened, but surprisingly only dozens danced along.

This was the last chance to save the day, and the song, originally a three-minute ditty was then expanded to a 10 minute rendition with extended passages of improvisation. And this very song was then repeated two times. A salsa version of Asereje was even a little bit awkward with a piano clanking in the background, while the last version played was an exact copy of the recorded version.

Prior to leaving the stage, the Last Ketchup sang their latest MTV single Kusha Las Payas which is more melodic than their first single, and some in the crowd were electrified for a little while.

But the damage had been done, people came only for the hype which apparently faded away even before they came to the gig. Some left their seat right after the third Asereje was concluded.

After barely an hour the concert was over. It seemed that, for better or worse, the Asereje craze was officially over too. Thank goodness.