Concerts fall victim to terror scare in Southeast Asia

Concerts fall victim to terror scare in Southeast Asia

Amy Tan, Reuters, Singapore

Concert tours to Southeast Asia have become the latest casualty
of recent bomb blasts in Bali and the Philippines with veteran
jazz guitarist George Benson and rock groups Red Hot Chili
Peppers and Oasis canceling shows.

"George Benson did cancel some dates that he had lined up for
Indonesia," promoter Nigel Peters said on Tuesday.

"It's obviously a direct relation to the Bali bombing. That's
the only reason this decision was taken."

Bomb attacks at two nightclubs on the Indonesian holiday
island of Bali on Oct. 12 killed more than 180 people, most of
them Australian. Ten people were killed and almost 200 wounded in
subsequent bombings in the Philippines.

The United States has since warned of possible attacks on U.S.
interests in Indonesia and urged its citizens against travel to
the huge Muslim archipelago. Britain and Australia have extended
similar travel warnings to much of Southeast Asia.

American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers was due to perform in
Bali in December but said on its Web site the show was canceled
"due to (a) state department travel advisory".

Red Hot Chili Peppers also canceled a Manila appearance but
shows will go on as scheduled in Japan, Singapore, Thailand, New
Zealand and Australia.

British rock group Oasis said on Monday it was pulling out of
concerts in Manila and Singapore citing the "recent terrorist
attacks both in Bali and the Philippines".

Oasis did not want to perform under the "extreme security
precautions", an Oasis spokesman said.

"The situation in this region is already depressing enough
with all this news of bomb blasts," said 20-year-old Singapore
student and Oasis fan, Darren Lim. "Now we don't even have any
real, live music to offer some relief."

But not all artists were avoiding the region.
The New York Philharmonic Orchestra put on two shows in Manila
over the weekend.

"We are absolutely going according to schedule," Eric Latzky,
director of public relations, told Reuters on Tuesday from Hong
Kong where the orchestra is performing.

"There are security concerns anywhere in the world today,"
Latzky said. "We take precautions and we continue to tour."

The orchestra moves on to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore next.

Multiple Grammy award singer Chaka Khan will perform at a
private charity function in Kuala Lumpur on Friday and India's
number one actor, Shah Rukh Khan, will keep his November dates
for two back-to-back appearances in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.

"He doesn't think there's any reason to fear for his safety,"
said Raj Bhatt, promoter for Khan's Malaysian show.

(Additional reporting by Barani Krishnan/Kuala Lumpur)