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.