'Rockestra' concert adds new dimension to music

'Rockestra' concert adds new dimension to music

By Helly Minarti

JAKARTA (JP): Three super rock groups were given the same
chance: forty five minutes onstage, an orchestra of 85 musicians
and Erwin Gutawa, the arranger with the special touch who
developed the idea.

Titled Rockestra, the event was staged at a glitzy venue, the
Plenary Hall of the Jakarta Convention Center, and was packed
with teenagers -- sometimes accompanied by their elders -- who
spent Rp 80,000 to Rp 175,000 on a ticket.

The three -- Dewa, Slank and GIGI -- have been around for
years on Indonesia's music scene and, between them, have recorded
bags of hits.

"That's one of the reasons I chose them," said Erwin, who was
inspired by Michael Kamen's orchestral treatment of Metallica
concerts. Fundamentally, Erwin saw the trio as having a solid
musical character -- something that comes with attitude.

"It has been proved to be the case. I really enjoyed working
with them. They knew what they really wanted," he added,
disproving the skeptical view that the rockers' egos could get in
the way of the realization of his venture.

However, each band treated the opportunity differently as
indicated by the end result onstage which probably reflected what
was going on offstage.

GIGI, who performed last, lavished themselves with an
comprehensive repertoire. They combined jam sessions and featured
a mixture of their experimental numbers, such as Garis Lini with
Acehnese rampai music, and some of their "mainstream hits" such
as Janji and Terbang, bravely skipping their regulars like the
sweet Yang T'lah Berlalu (Nirwana).

Their opening act was a hardcore number Basa Basi -- which
rarely surfaces in their gigs -- taken from their early album.
Lead singer Armand Maulana persisted with his overacting style
(you can either like it or be appalled by it) and carried it off
well.

Slank was a real surprise. They rode roughshod over the time
limitation by featuring some songs in medley format. The result
was that while the other two groups only managed to belt out less
than 10 songs, Slank succeeded in singing at least a dozen of
their long ones.

As the only group performing that night that has never used
orchestras in their albums, Slank sounded rock-solid, applying
their jamming concept where electric guitars collided in a
musical conversation with the orchestra's violins and trumpets.

Their fanatical fans, Slankers -- who had earlier shown some
signs of wanting to cause trouble -- responded to the group's
lead singer Kaka's offbeat, down-to-earth stage act with tame
head-banging, "piss" signs in the air (their trademark pun for
"peace") and by dancing around the floor in a long row imitating
a children "snake" game. Initially worried that their devoted
"Slankers" would feel uncomfortable seeing their heroes in an
air-conditioned hall, Slank seemed relieved to see that their
fans remained laid-back, spontaneous and funky.

Kaka's rhetorical performance -- by cleverly engaging the
audience in a word-playing game using one of the refrains from
their song Pak Tani -- added to their reputation as a band with a
distinct character.

These two groups did well, but Dewa -- the first act -- was
puzzlingly disappointing. Churning out most of the new hits from
their latest album, Bintang Lima, it turned out to be an echo of
their promo tour.

With almost the same arrangement -- the orchestra only
contained more musicians compared to their album version that was
highlighted by only 12 string players -- their live sound was
exactly the same as their records. No surprises. Not a real kick-
off.

"We didn't have time to rehearse," said Dhani Ahmad of Dewa,
surprisingly defensive. "Our touring schedule is tight and we
were informed only 1 1/2 months ago," he added. Dhani is
obviously trying to deal with a number of things at the moment --
a new album played by a new formation that ended a long drama in
the media chronicling the band's comings and goings tainted by
drug problems.

One of the new, key members is Michael Elfonda (Once), the
frontman, who has to work hard building a new image as well as
winning over Baladewa - the band's fans - after the departure of
Ari Lasso, the original vocalist whose voice characterized Dewa's
identity. Being whisked from gigs both in and out of town and
video clip shooting, Dewa failed to use Rockestra as a showcase
of their rock prowess.

It was such a waste given that Dewa could have presented a
rich repertoire -- like the other two bands -- chronicling their
years-long musical journey. Old hits such as Siti Nurbaya or
Restu Bumi would guarantee a sneak peek at Erwin's occasional
quirky touch on arrangement as shown when he handled Chrisye's or
Harvey's special concerts. But it didn't happen.

Erwin said the two songs were in his first proposal to the
group. "But Dhani said that they now have a concept of performing
the way they sing in records. It's fine with me since I did want
each band to carry an image of the way they project themselves,
so that they could play happily."

But the bottom line was that it was simply Dhani being
predictably practical, and still displaying his notoriously
casual arrogance.

"Next time it should be Dewa performing alone. Now the most
important thing is breaking the one million sales (of new albums)
barrier in six months as we just did," he said.

So much for an attitude. It cost Rp 2 billion for Indocitra
Satriasena, the promoter, to run Rockestra the way it did --
complete with lighting that went along with every song the way it
is supposed to be. That figure was justified by the performances
which were backed up by the acts of Achmad Albar, the keyboard
duo of Rony Harahap and Jockie Suryoprayogo, and Nicky Astria --
rockers from 1970s and 80s. The three bands also composed a song
together during rehearsals, Satu Cinta, Satu Bendera (One Love,
One Flag -- the title was decided on after the show), and swarmed
onto the stage to belt out the new tune.