Rock the nite away with the 'Rockestra'
Rock the nite away with the 'Rockestra'
JAKARTA (JP): Three rock groups--Slank, GIGI and Dewa--will
share the stage tonight (Friday) at the Plenary Hall, Jakarta
Convention Center.
It is indeed a rare occasion considering the venue, but what
will make the night special is that an orchestra will back them
up. It is another venture of Erwin Gutawa, a fan of the three
groups, after he succeeded in doing it with other singers, such
as Chrisye.
The idea came up after Erwin was asked by GIGI to arrange an
orchestral number for the group's special Tribute Concert last
year. He found the last experience enjoyable because the audience
were more relaxed and spontaneous although a string lineup was
onstage.
Other reason, "I just like them all - their music, their work
and the way they play," said the arranger about his choices.
"Besides, their music have such a strong character and they can
be categorized as a super group with many hits already," said the
musician who is known as one of the country's best keyboard and
bass player.
With a catchy title "Rockestra", the concert will involve 85
musicians - almost double the number at Chrisye's concert last
year - and an impromptu choir. The stage can hold a maximum of
140 people.
Each group will sing their hit songs for 45 minutes and some
guest artists will give their best acts too. Among them Ahmad
Albar, Roni Harahap and Jockie Soerjoprajogo - supposedly
representing the 1970s rockers while the rock queen Nicky Astria
is projected as the symbol of the 1980s.
Asked for a musical surprise he prepared this time, Erwin was
a bit puzzled. "You just have to see the concert. What I can say
is they will play together. They even composed a song together
during the rehearsal but they haven't figured out the title yet,"
he said.
Still, expect his quirky touch on the 30 songs he has to
arrange. Only a few weeks ago, Erwin delighted the audience of
Harvey Malaiholo's concert as he tuned out his upbeat, modern
version of Keroncong Pasar Gambir - a keroncong number.
Tickets range from Rp 80,000 to Rp 175,000. Fifty percent of
the tickets have been sold, mostly for second and third class
seats.
--Helly Minarti