Foreign musicians come back to Indonesia

Foreign musicians come back to Indonesia

By Hera Diani

JAKARTA (JP): Music lovers rejoice -- the next three months
will see a veritable rush of international artists coming to
Indonesia to perform.

Sure, the list of scheduled acts may not be spectacular by the
standards of many countries, but it's not bad for Indonesia.
Especially considering that over the past year the country has
only seen the likes of Westlife (another playback act), Megadeath
(so 10 years ago) and the Scorpions (relics).

The fun begins on Sept. 14 with U.S. rock group Firehouse
scheduled to perform in eight cities: Bogor and Cirebon in West
Java; Yogyakarta; Semarang, Surakarta and Purwokerto in Central
Java; and Malang and Surabaya in East Java.

Next in line is Singapore-born violinist Vanessa Mae, who will
give a concert on Sept. 20 at the Grand Melia Hotel in South
Jakarta.

Four days later, Irish teenage rockers Ash will join local
rock group Padi in a concert at the Bung Karno Sports Complex in
Senayan, Central Jakarta.

Another Irish group, The Corrs, will follow on Oct. 3 at the
Jakarta Convention Center. The Irish quartet was scheduled to
perform here last February, but had to cancel the show because
vocalist Andrea had an ear infection.

There is also something for jazz lovers, with Canadian pianist
David Benoit to give concerts on Oct. 8 and Oct. 9.

All the way from Orange County, California, the popular Sugar
Ray will perform their brand of pop/alternative music on Nov. 4
in Jakarta and Nov. 5 in Bandung.

Danish group Michael Learns To Rock will give fans a taste of
their sweet and mellow sounds on Nov. 7 in Surabaya.

And last in line, so far, is singer/guitarist George Benson,
who will perform his mix of jazz and pop on Nov. 26 and Nov. 27.

According to Peter Basuki, the president director of concert
promoter Buena Produktama, the improved (political) situation in
the country makes it easier to hold concerts.

"The problem (before) wasn't obtaining permits. But due to
security reasons, the police required us to provide a large
number of security officers and that's very expensive," he told
The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Buena is the promoter for all of the above concerts, except
for The Corrs and Ash, whose concerts are being promoted by Java
Musikindo.

However, despite the more conducive environment, Peter said
there were difficulties because of the U.S. government's warning
to its citizens not to visit Indonesia because of fears of
terrorist attacks.

"As a result, some of the artists are reluctant to come here,"
he said, pointing to Firehouse who at first refused the
invitation to perform in the country.

"We had to approach the artists personally. We showed them
that nothing happened when the Scorpions and Megadeath came
here."

All of the concerts here are part of the artists' tours of
Asian countries.

"It is cheaper for us that way, instead of inviting them to
come here exclusively," Peter said.

He disclosed that the fee for the artists ranged from
US$10,000 (Firehouse) to $100,000 (Vanessa Mae) per performance.

"Vanessa is bringing 38 crewmembers. She will also use 12
Indonesian musicians from conductor Yazid Jameen's orchestra to
accompany her."

Peter did not give the prices of the tickets for the concerts
or say where to obtain them.

But for the Ash and Padi concert, tickets cost Rp 150,000 for
tribune seating and Rp 125,000 for festival seating. For further
information, contact Java Musikindo at 57988623/24/25.