The Cranberries belt out a memorable concert

The Cranberries belt out a memorable concert

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It was the voice. Dolores O'Riordan's sincere and plaintive, as
well as versatile and distinctive voice. And then the lilting
guitar pop, the rock elements and lyrics penning political
messages.

Add some appealing stage acts and humble attitude and those
were the very ingredients that made The Cranberries' concert here
last Wednesday night memorable.

Looking back over the past year, most visiting foreign artists
did not put a lot of effort, if any, into their performances.

They just sang and played by rote, like on their albums, and
on stage the act was mediocre, the small talk predictable and
their outfits simple.

All of shortcomings in previous concerts, thankfully, were
compensated by The Cranberries concert, which followed the
release of their latest album, 2001's Wake Up and Smell The
Coffee.

The Irish foursome put on a rockin', entertaining and lively
show and performed like they would have performed anywhere else
in the world, regardless of the country.

The band is well-known, has high record sales, and their fame
goes well beyond Asia.

Within 12 years, which is like two or three life spans of a
boyband, the Limerick natives have sold over 33 million records
in the course of five albums.

They are both critically and commercially acclaimed, not only
in Ireland and England, but practically everywhere, including in
the United States. And its all thanks to their spot-on melodic
instinct, probing songs and no-frills style.

Yet, O'Riordan, along with Noel Hogan (guitar), Mike Hogan
(bass) and Fergal Lawler (drums) -- all of them in their early
30s -- are not prone to putting on celebrity airs, as seen at the
media conference prior to the concert.

They were laid-back and friendly. The guys were a bit quiet
but the front woman always cracked jokes.

"How do we manage to stay together? Well, I slap the boys one
by one every day so that they are willing to rehearse and accept
my ideas," O'Riordan laughed.

Apart from being the only female in the band, the petite and
pretty O'Riordan also has impressive skills. She wrote most of
the band's songs and plays guitar and keyboard.

"Being a solo artist? I don't think so. It's much more fun to
be in a group. I'd be extra grumpy if I became a soloist because
you have to do everything by yourself," she said.

On stage in front of the some 4,500 audience at the Indoor
Tennis Center at Bung Karno Sports Complex in Senayan, Central
Jakarta, O'Riordan was the star and the one who shone.

Wearing flared red pants with ruffles, a matching striped tank
top and a shimmering gold mask, she kicked off the show by
singing the upbeat title track from the latest album.

Except for the first two songs taken from Wake Up, the first
quarter of the two-hour show was filled with their earlier hits.

From the very first single that brought them to the fore,
1993's Linger, to Ode to My Family, to Salvation and Zombie. The
latter was a controversial piece as it berated the terrorist
mindset in Ireland.

On the political messages, O'Riordan said that coming from
working-class society, they can relate to things connected with
humanity.

"All of us started working when we were around 12 years old as
we weren't born with a silver spoon in our mouth. We know what
it's like to be hungry," she said.

Back on stage, the woman ran around, screamed, danced with
that robotic-style move and occasionally took up the electric
guitar.

"It's stupid, but I have this obsession with feathers,"
O'Riordan laughed when changing her top and donning a white
feather boa, before getting into the next song.

Track by track from each album were sung, from mellow numbers
to those with a harsher sound, but the intensity did not tone
down one bit.

Later on, O'Riordan took time to change outfits again, and put
on a long black shiny dress and red feather wig.

"I've learned that love isn't always easy. But you just have
to follow it," she said before playing the keyboard and signing
Carry On.

Before the encore, O'Riordan opened a bottle of champagne and
spurted it out over the audience.

"We're celebrating because we finally made it to Asia. Thank
you all!" she shouted.

The show was then completed with 1993's Dreams to the cheering
and satisfied audience, leaving the latter with something good to
remember. Especially a big muscular guy who strutted proudly
after the show as he had managed to catch O'Riordan's black boot.