Four upcoming concerts hang in the balance
Hera Diani The Jakarta Post Jakarta
Local music aficionados hungry for outside talent may have to brace for more disappointment, due to the possibility that upcoming concerts will be canceled due to Thursday's bombing at the Australian Embassy in South Jakarta.
Four artists are scheduled to hold concerts here -- German pop metal icon Scorpions, British boyband Blue, American diva Alicia Keys and British classic crossover quartet bond.
Scorpions is scheduled to perform on Thursday, Sept. 16, while concerts of Blue, Keys and bond are planned to be staged on Sept. 23, Oct. 5 and Oct. 12, respectively.
However, with the latest bombing, everything hangs in the balance.
In 2002, after the Bali bombing, artists like Deff Leppard, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Yngwie Malmsteen and George Benson called off their performances here.
Afterwards, news of concert cancellations were heard a few times, especially after last year's JW Marriott Hotel bombing.
Blue previously canceled scheduled concerts twice.
The most recent cancellations were Missy Elliott and Boyz II Men a couple of months ago due to a travel warning from the U.S. government.
"The (Thursday) bombing is very unfortunate. Just when we thought the situation had gotten better, an incident like this happens," promoter Tommy Pratama from Original Production told The Jakarta Post.
Since the beginning of 2004, the concert scene had started to liven up, with a diverse range of foreign artists, including Patti Austin, rock groups Korn, Toto, Deep Purple and Linkin' Park, as well as pop diva Mariah Carey, Latin heartthrob Enrique Iglesias, singer Brian McKnight and pianist Maksim, coming to perform.
But the bombing may put paid to it again.
Tommy, who is handling the Scorpions, said there was no news yet of a cancellation by the group.
"We hope they will still be willing to perform. Last year, Air Supply was really committed so they still performed on schedule, a week after the Marriott bombing," Tommy said.
Promoter Adrie Subono from Java Musikindo, who invited Blue, Keys and bond, also said there was no news yet from the artists' management. "We'll see what happens," he told the Post.
Adrie was particularly shaken by the latest bombing. Last year, he narrowly escaped injury during the Marriott bombing. His office in Plaza Mutiara, which is located next to the hotel, suffered damage in the blast.
"This brings back all the trauma from last year," Adrie said.
Tommy said concerts by foreign artists here work as good public relations for the country's tarnished image, and the losses were not counted in rupiah..
"Rather than a financial loss, it's more the morale damage caused by a concert's cancellation, as we get our money back if the artist calls off the performance here," he said.
So get your fingers crossed, and hopefully the concerts will still go on as planned.
I-BOX:
Concerts schedules
Scorpions World Tour, Sept. 16 at Senayan Indoor Tennis Stadium in Jakarta and Sept. 18 at Garuda Wisnu Kencana, Denpasar, Bali. Tickets cost Rp 200,000, Rp 250,000 and Rp 350,000. Check out www.tommypratama.com for information.
Blue concert, with opening act Derek McDonald, Sept. 23, 7.30 p.m.. at Senayan Sports Stadium in Jakarta. Tickets are Rp 150,000 (standing), Rp 185,000 and Rp 200,000 (standing)
Alicia Keys World Tour 2004 Concert, Oct. 5, at the plenary hall of the Jakarta Convention Center in Jakarta at 8 p.m.. Tickets cost Rp 300,000 for festival (standing) and Rp 750,000 for tribune class.
bond "Classified" concert, Oct. 12 at the Senayan Indoor Tennis Stadium in Jakarta at 8 p.m.. Tickets are Rp 200,000 (tribune) and Rp 400,000 (VIP)
For the last three concerts, contact Java Musikindo, at (021) 57988623/4/5, e-mail info@javamusikindo.com or check out the website www.javamusikindo.com.