Taiwan's boyband F4 coming to town

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Will the Taiwanese boyband F4 still exist next year? Will their flowing hair and chiseled jaws finally wear off? Or, is it possible that might show some true talent and last longer in the business than anyone would have thought?

Let's put off all these questions and just see if they can maintain their popularity for the next five months, because that is when the foursome is expected in Jakarta for a concert.

After the rumors had flown about for some time about F4's eventual arrival here, it was finally confirmed that Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou, Ken Zhu and Vanness Wu will perform here on Jan. 10 and Jan. 11 next year.

The venue is massive -- the Jakarta Fairground in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, about 44 hectares big. The audience is expected to be enormous as well, about 70,000 people for the two concerts.

And the ticket prices are equally whopping: Rp 200,000, Rp 500,000, Rp 1 million or Rp 2 million, depending on which class you prefer.

"They (F4) are now very much in demand. They have a huge legion of fans here. People are already very enthusiastic and are ordering the tickets," promoter Jeddy Suherman of AJ Promo said during a media conference on Thursday.

"F4 has a very tight schedule, so we could only get them next January," said Jeddy, the father of child sensation Joshua Suherman.

After taken Asia by storm with the TV series Meteor Garden, the boyband is indeed in demand, with concerts, a few other TV series (including Meteor Garden 2) and solo albums.

According to Jeddy, it was a struggle to get the deal for the two Jakarta concerts. Even more of a struggle than when going after European and American acts, he said.

For some reason, the boyband's management had not originally included Indonesia on the list of concert dates.

So Jeddy approached Singapore agency Peter Loh Production Associates, the authorized promoter of an F4 concert in Singapore.

AJ Promo got the deal, as long as the production and equipment is handled and brought from Singapore.

"That was the requirement set (by the F4 management). The equipment and the production from Singapore meet their standards. It's not that locals are bad, though. We use 50 percent local stuff," said Peter Loh, adding that the boyband would also bring some 100 of their own crewmembers for the concerts here.

The promoter picked the venue for its size, which allows for holding a concert on a grand scale. As for security, AJ Promo is collaborating with Renny Djajoesman Enterprises as a copromoter.

Tickets will soon be available, but they will not be your average ticket. Purchasers will receive a credit card-like ticket along with a bar code, to avoid fraud.

So, you still want to see F4? You can buy tickets starting in September from AJ Promo, tel. (021) 5748838; Digital Pro, tel. (021) 4516326; HR Cellular in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, tel. (021) 3806139 and Tendean Plaza, 3rd Floor, tel. (021) 5252408. If you are in Bandung, contact PT Gramavindo, tel. (022) 4222137, and F4 fans in Semarang can buy tickets at Sentra Ponsel in Ciputra Mal, tel. (024) 8451988.