Expatriates entertain Indonesians at Ancol
Expatriates entertain Indonesians at Ancol
By Dini S. Djalal
JAKARTA (JP): Does anyone remember the last time they went to Ancol recreation park in North Jakarta?
Remember the long, torturous drive through kilometers of merciless traffic? Remember the multiple fees charged (Rp 9,000 or US$4 at last count for a party of two) when waltzing through Ancol's copious gates?
I do, having made the trip last Saturday to attend the "Concert of Nations" at Ancol Art Market. By the time my weary frame slumbered to the open-air stage, my zeal for all things musical had evaporated along with the fuel in my gas tank.
It couldn't get much worse. Having received no information about the concert's intent or content, I soon discovered it was amateur night for country-and-western singers. More specifically, expatriate singers were fronting ensembles of mostly-Indonesian musicians.
"We're performing in celebration of the Ancol Art Market's 21st anniversary," said concert organizer Anto Soemartono of Ikapari Country Music Association.
Celebration was the last thing on my mind. My stereo system welcomes a spectrum of musical genres, from salsa and swing to rap and opera, but a Kenny Rogers retrospective has never been a priority purchase. Neither is a tribute to Dolly Parton. You can take country to the girl, but you can't take the girl into the country.
So imagine my surprise (and self-reproach) to find my tired feet tapping halfway through the concert. Was I joining the ranks of Willie Nelson devotees? Had Ancol's surrealist atmosphere (it is called Dreamland) overpowered my senses and legitimized any behavioral idiosyncrasies? What in Little Richard's name was going on?
Maybe it was just good fun. Winking under their best Stetsons, the performers howled and do-si-doed to their hearts content, making me feel guilty for being a snooty sloth. Their enthusiasm was admirable, especially considering the crowd. Comatose and clueless best describes the mostly-Indonesian audience, who struggled to make linguistic sense of Achey Breaky Heart, the Billie Ray Cyrus hit performed by English teacher and aspiring crooner Ben Dawson.
Perhaps my companion could have helped them out, as he sang along to both Jimmy Buffet's Margarita Fields (sung by Travelodge General Manager David Fletcher) and Charlie Daniel's The Devil Went Down to Georgia.
"You've never heard of Jimmy Buffet?" my companion complained.
"Huh? No," I answered with questionable regret. I am familiar, however, with Kenny Roger's The Gambler (sung by Ben Dawson) and Patsy Cline's Crazy (sung by Kai Michelle), but any survivor of the early 1980s could not have escaped these two country classics.
No eyes could escape the outrageous Kai Michelle that evening. Wearing a pink sequined mini, matching cowboy hat and silver boots, Michelle walked away with the evening's award for best getup.
Honolulu-born Kai Michelle also made heads turn with her rendition of Norma Sanger's Gembala Sapi. These Indonesian- language songs were the highlights of the evening, whether it was a West Sumatran folk song sung by French physician Pierre Jolly or Ebiet G. Ade's ballad Untuk Sebuah Nama (for a name) sung by Ben Dawson. Their Indonesian was at times so flawless that MC Anto Soemartono asked Ben Dawson, "Where did you learn your English?" to which Dawson answered, "On the street."
Clear enunciation, however, didn't deter the audience from giggling.
"It's so weird to hear expats sing in Indonesian," said 20- year-old Santi. "They just sound funny," she added between laughs.
"We organized this concert in the name of friendship," explained concert organizer Retno Windrati. "We wanted to both attract the expat community to Ancol and make local audiences more familiar with foreign musicians," she said. Ikapari's team of musicians has also performed on Indosiar.
The local musicians, however, held their own. Savvy violinist Hendri easily stole the show. Drummer Iskandar also took over the stage with his foot-stomping version of Jimi Hendrix's Stone Free during the show's rock section, performed with Japanese guitar- wizard Toshia Ansai. In his jeans and sneakers, Ansai looks like your average Judo instructor (his day-job), which makes his roaring growl all the more mind-bending. I could barely decipher the words to Voodoo Child, but, with my ears rocked to noise Zion, I couldn't care less.
Thunderous is the only word to describe the vocals of Sue Bonnington, singer of Blues Breaker. The band's name is misleading, however, because she sings country, salsa, rock, blues and whatever she entwines round her booming Joplin-esque voice. Anyone can catch Blues Breaker on March 18 at Elvis Bar's jam session, organized to raise funds for the families of deceased musicians.
"Most Indonesian musicians make hardly any money with no pension plans, so when they pass away their families face bankruptcy," explained Bonnington. Bonnington is currently writing songs in Indonesian.
When asked why most of the musicians were Indonesian while the singers were non-Indonesia, Bonnington answered, "If the musicians were expatriates, it means they were working for a job."
Bonnington added that it doesn't make much difference who sings what songs in whatever language.
"The point is not to make money, but to have fun working together," said Bonnington.
So when the band belted out The Rolling Stones' You can't always get what you Want, the lyrics rang relevant.
A country music concert isn't my preferred way to spend a weekend, but if you try sometime, you just might find, you get a good time.