Frente entertains fanatic fans at private show

By K. Basrie

JAKARTA (JP): At around midnight on Saturday evening, an unusually long line of cars was converging on the site of the elite Pondok Indah housing complex in South Jakarta and parking along both sides of Jl. Taman Metro. The guests, mostly celebrities, walked to a luxury mansion where two spotlights were strategically positioned with rows of flaming torches lining the front yard.

They were there at the invitation of the host, music promoter Adrie Subono, who invited his colleagues for a private New Year's and birthday party.

This was not your average backyard barbecue party. It was an exclusive gathering highlighted by the Frente, an Australian music band whose debut long-player Marvin the Album has gone gold in several member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including Indonesia.

One of their top hits here was Bizarre Love Triangle, from the same album.

Performed from a tiny pulpit in front of a swimming pool that night, the foursome -- vocalist Angie Hart, guitarist Simon Austin, drummer Alastair Barden and bassist Bill McDonald -- appeared in top form, singing their favorite hits, including those from their latest album, Shape.

Over half of the roughly 100 guests at the party were celebrities, including singers Chrisye, Titi DJ, Ikang Fauzi and wife Marissa Haque, Chintami Atmanegara, video-clip producer Rizal Mantovani and MTV jockeys Nadia Hutagalung and Mike Kassim. Several models were also in the crowd.

Among the government officials present was Rahadi Ramelan from the Agency for Technology Assessment and Application.

The Frente (Spanish word for front) started the show about 10:30 p.m. with Angie's sweet voice, accompanied by her butterfly-like dance movements and the striking sound of her teammates' instruments echoing through the calm neighborhood of the upper-class housing complex.

As usual, the Frente members wore casual clothing, except bassist Bill, who came across as the "neat guy" of the group, with his long-sleeved shirt.

Angie, with her trademark fish tattoos on her right arm and left knee, displayed her guileless vocal talent throughout the show. Simon, with an anchor tattoo on his arm, exuded unbridled energy.

Although attempting to provide their best performance, the six-year-old Frente -- minus the familiar exclamation mark following their name -- apparently received a frigid response from the audience.

When Angie acknowledged a special request to sing Horrible (from Shape), a woman in the crowd shouted "Yeahhh ... sing whatever you want. I'm not familiar with your songs" in Indonesian.

Yelling could be heard from other parts of the crowd, amidst the applause.

According to a guest, if it weren't for Bizarre Love Triangle, the group would not have a following here.

"In Marvin the Album, the rhythms of the songs were almost similar to one another. So people got bored," the guest said.

The group was apparently aware of the atmosphere.

Simon, for instance, told the audience before the show that many of their hits were still unfamiliar to Indonesians.

In their latest album, the Frente tried to redefine and expand their style, although there were still plenty of Marvin-like songs, soft-toned and dominated by acoustic guitars, as well as bizarre love songs.

This informal show was also meant to promote the group's latest album.

According to the host, Adrie, 43, the reason he invited the Frente to perform at his party was purely because he and his family were fanatic fans of the group.

In response, guitarist Simon said the party was a unique experience because they had never done such a private, open-air show before.

Adrie refused to reveal the honorarium for the visiting band, which last year performed at the Hard-Rock Cafe in Jakarta.

The group, in spite of the cool response from the local fans, looks set to continue its global success story which began with Marvin, leading to an appearance in Indonesia.

"I'd even love to come back here again and write a song mixed with Indonesian musical textures," Simon told The Jakarta Post.

Angie hinted in Air (from Shape): In mourning for the morning/you laughed yourself into the afternoon/you thought was endless/You wanted to be weightless/You didn't want to wait/What's wrong with the air around you?