Roxette enthralls Jakarta enthusiasts in one-night show
Roxette enthralls Jakarta enthusiasts in one-night show
By Alice Akerman
JAKARTA (JP): The night Roxette played in Jakarta an enthusiastic crowd had gathered anxiously at the doors of the Jakarta Convention Center.
It is an impressive auditorium with a capacity to hold over five thousand people. The floor at the front of the stage was packed with patient fans content to stand for the entire performance. Those lucky enough to have seats in the gallery were the ones who benefited from the night's entertainment.
Having promised an 8.30 p.m. start, Roxette kept us waiting with anticipation, finally arriving on stage at 9.40 p.m.
The lead singer, Marie Fredriksson, a petite, Scandinavian blonde -- still sporting her trademark peroxide spiky hair -- appeared in a black shiny plastic outfit consisting of a tailored jacket and skin tight pants. The black plastic jacket was shed within five minutes of the opening song, which was not really surprising. It must have been sweltering.
The stage, simply set, consisted of a black checkered background illuminated with different lights. The only props of the evening were four large plastic balls which were bounced around the audience standing in front of the stage.
The attractive Swedish singer seemed to spend most of her time jumping around the stage with endless energy so it is no wonder she stays so slim. She was accompanied by her regular partner, and fellow producer, Per Gessle and a couple of long haired electric guitar players strumming along enthusiastically.
The good old rock song She's got the look was greeted with delight from the audience, who joined in with the words to the song: "What in the World can make a brown eyed girl turn blue, when everything I do I'll do for you and I go la la la la la she's got the look."
A popular trend amongst the audience, a mixture of young Indonesians and expatriates, was to brandish lighters in the air giving off disconcerting fumes of paraffin.
One band member leapt around the stage like an overfed genie clutching what resembled Aladdin's lamp, whilst dabbing his forehead with a pink flannel. Obviously this finished him off because we did not see him again until the fourth to last song.
Delighted crowd
Marie Fredriksson joined in with the spirit of Jakarta within half an hour. She asked the audience what the word was for thank you in Indonesian. A delighted crowd told her and she even mustered up a very sexy sounding Terima Kasih in response, which impressed everyone, myself included.
Amidst the repertoire of songs, we had my old favorites, Get Dressed For Success, Big Love and Joy Ride, to which everyone joined in with a very effective hand swaying motion, made even more surreal by the lighting engineer's swing of the lights around the auditorium. These were followed by the heavier numbers Hot Blooded and Harleys and Indians.
To rustle up a degree of romance a darkened stage was lit by four candles and Marie sung a heartfelt rendition of Shine A Light, Shine it on me. The screen at the back of the stage was now a vast yellow sunflower.
The most touching song, I thought, was a lullaby. It was this tune, Marie told us, she sang to her young daughter at night. It was appropriately titled Before you go to sleep.
The concert was over within two hours, which appeared to pass very quickly. Before this time, though, the crowd had begun to thin, presumably because people were anticipating an early 4.30 a.m. rise.
Roxette approached the front of the stage for a good old- fashioned bow, giving us all the usual comments of how much they enjoyed playing in Jakarta and how they are looking forward to playing here again soon.
As we left the auditorium and crossed the road to the nearby Hilton Hotel, which was where the band were reported to be staying, my main concern was how these unassuming Swedes would be able to make it back to their rooms past the teenage groupies already accumulating in the hotel lobby at well after midnight.