The musical life of Bandung

Paul Agusta, Contributor, Bandung

Bandung, a name synonymous with indie, non-mainstream music, with bands such as Kubik and Pure Saturday changing the face of Indonesian music in the mid-90's, may seem less active and perhaps stagnant on the surface, but that is far from being true. Granted that many of its movers and shakers have spread their wings and flown down Jakarta way lured by the exposure and the vaster opportunities inherent in mainstream music, but most of them have remained and continue to be active in keeping the scene.

Since the mid 90s when the indie boys and girls woke Indonesia up from the stagnant slumber it was in with their bold and brash sounds, the map of the mainstream music has changed. The borders shift, what used to be indie is now mainstream. Many of them are still trying to push the envelope, but now within the studios instead of in the clubs. But despite what you may have heard, the Bandung scene hasn't died, it's simply not as well exposed as it used to be. There's also a lack of regular venues where these bands can perform, simply because club owners are reluctant to be regular hosts of such events. The reason for their reluctance being that these gigs can get a bit rowdy.

They're still there, people still seek them out, but you have to dig a little to find the city's musical jewels. There are no longer places in which you can catch indie bands play regularly, but there's almost always something going on every week or so. The venues that these sporadic events take place in tend to be a few clubs or bars, colleges and foreign cultural centers such as Centre Culturel Francais, which hosts bimonthly indie music shows. The best place to find out when and where these events are taking place, are the many distros spread around Bandung where you'll most likely find pamphlets or notices about upcoming gigs or events.

Here are some of the places where these events tend to take place:

Classic Rock Cafe
Address: Jl. Trunojoyo no. 38
Phone: 022-4216800
Frequent venue for indie rock gigs. It has a cool bar atmosphere, not too dark, not too smoky. The bands that play range from more poppy fare to garage rock to punk and hardcore.

Amsterdam Bar
Address: Jl. Braga no. 71A
Phone: 022-4214221
Your average live music bar. Nice bar atmosphere. It's clientele tend to be of the over 30 crowd. The music fits the crowd, as the place mostly plays top 40 stuff, unless of course an indie band is booked to perform. It used to be the home of a monthly Indie rock show, but the owners are now reluctant to keep it going.

Laga Pub
Address: Jl. Asia Afrika no. 72
Phone: 022-4236004
A frequent venue for concerts and gigs. The first floor is a pool hall, but upstairs is where it gets interesting. The 2nd floor has a stage, a fairly spacious dancefloor (or in most events, a fairly spacious moshpit), and a bar in the back with decently priced drinks. Can get very dark and very smoky.

Cellar
Address: Jl. Diponegoro no. 10
Phone: 022-4505602
A small, but comfortable lounge, that frequently hosts gigs for the more poppy side of the local music scene. The bands Mocca and De Milo are scheduled to perform on May 15th

Fame Station
Address: Jl. Sersan Bajuri no. 100
Phone: 022-2004667
A more barlike equivalent to cellar, not as loungy.

Centre Culturel Francais
Jl Purnawarman no. 32
Phone: 022-4212417
The Bandung branch of the French Cultural Center has become one of the few places willing to hold regular indie music events. Here are a couple of upcoming indie events scheduled at CCF : April 23, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., an indie music show, the April installment of their bimonthly indie show. And later on June 25, there will be an all day musical blow out featuring 11 bands starting from 10am till late in the night.

For more cool hangout places, simply go to the areas of Dago and Jl. Braga , where you'll find most of the nightlife is centralized. There's a vibrant musical life to be found in Bandung, you just have to know where to look.