The Corrs 'In Blue' concert, Some smooth operators

The Corrs 'In Blue' concert, Some smooth operators

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian singer Krisdayanti and the Irish group The Corrs
are, of course, different. The latter, for example, don't try too
hard to look good. Well, actually, they don't have to.

And while Krisdayanti works hard at looking good, she also
works hard at entertaining her audiences, as demonstrated at her
concert on Sept. 20.

The concert might have looked a bit like a fashion show, but
it was fully prepared and neatly arranged, resulting in quite an
entertaining live performance.

This was something that was missing from The Corrs Jakarta "In
Blue" concert at the Jakarta Convention Center on Wednesday
night.

Sure, it was nice to see the Corr siblings -- Andrea
(vocalist), Sharon (violinist), Caroline (drums) and Jim
(keyboard, guitar) -- performing dozens of their hits live.

But they could have at least done something to make the whole
experience somewhat more lively.

They could have changed costumes over the course of their 90-
minute performance. Maybe done something with the stage lighting
to provide some dramatics, or given some of their songs a new
twist (a techno version of Runaway, perhaps), or danced, or just
moved about a bit.

Anything to make the audience feel like they had not wasted
their money. And remember that tickets were quite expensive at Rp
550,000 (US$57.90) and Rp 500,000 for tribune seats, which were
sold out, and Rp 300,000 for festival seating.

Especially since The Corrs were meant to come here in February
but called off their show because Andrea had an ear infection.

At the end of the day, however, none of this mattered. Those
in the audience were so enamored of The Corrs that the group
could have come out and played a 10-minute set of polka hits and
received a standing ovation.

The concert began at about 8:15 p.m., with the siblings taking
the stage and playing Only When I Sleep, Give Me A Reason and
Irresistible -- all of them taken from their second album, Talk
On Corners.

The Corrs have released five albums, including an unplugged
record and a greatest hits compilation, since forming in 1990.

The group's signature sound is catchy pop songs mixed with
traditional Celtic music, a combination that has endeared them to
fans around the world.

"Selamat malam, Jakarta (Good evening, Jakarta)!" Andrea
shouted back at the venue.

"It is absolutely wonderful that we eventually came here,"
said the vocalist, who wore a burgundy sarong with a matching
tank top and no shoes.

Forgiven Not Forgotten, taken from their debut album of the
same name, came next, followed by What Can I Do and a cover of
Fleetwood Mac's Dreams.

The next song was an instrumental number called Joy of Life,
followed by I Never Really Loved You Anyway.

After that, Andrea grabbed a chair and rested while Caroline,
wearing a long black skirt and halter top, came out from behind
the drums to play the keyboards.

Runaway, The Corrs first hit, had the crowd of some 5,000
people singing along with the band.

"You're great singers, thanks," Andrea said after the song.

More mellow love songs followed, with the band playing Don't
Say You Love Me, All The Love In The World off the soundtrack to
American Sweethearts, Old Town and Queen of Hollywood.

The rest of the band then moved back, leaving Sharon alone in
the center of the stage. Wearing a golden dress, she played a
Celtic-infused instrumental number. Another instrumental number,
Haste to The Wedding, came next.

They sang five more numbers -- Radio, No More Cry, Breathless,
Would You Be Happier and So Young -- before saying good-night.
That was, of course, after the cliched shouts of "we want more".

Most of the audience, which had more than its fair share of
celebrities like Mayang Sari, Krisdayanti herself, Yana Julio and
Tika Panggabean of Project Pop, seemed very happy with the
concert.

However, a woman in the audience, Ria, said the show was too
short. "Well, I mean, Rp 300,000 for a barely two-hour
performance?"

Noted musician Erwin Gutawa said that despite The Corrs' great
voices and music, the performance was too simple.

"It's different when they perform in other countries,
especially in Europe. It's so typical of foreign artists who come
to Asia. They don't really think about any other aspect of their
performance besides singing. Unfortunately, people here in
Southeast Asia don't really mind that," he said, as quoted by
Antara.