Tiga Puluh: Heaving and shoving in nice sort of way

Tiga Puluh: Heaving and shoving in nice sort of way

Bill Blade, Contributor, Jakarta

There are some blessed souls who plough through this life with
rose-tinted spectacles perched on the ends of their noses and
permanent smiles etched onto their mugs.

These acolytes at the alter of positive thinking are fully
convinced that everything's going to turn out much better than
expected and that, basically, we're all going to live happily
every after.

I, however, tend to be a devotee of Mr. Murphy, that
perspicacious chap who explained so eloquently to us that, in
essence, whatever can go wrong darn well will go wrong.

And my experience wandering aimlessly through this veil of
tears some call a life has proved Mr. Murphy to be right on the
ball time and again.

The latest manifestation of his insightful perception came
Sunday two weeks ago when myself and the sidekick eagerly, and
extremely thirstily, bowled up to the imposing portals of Tiga
Puluh Music Bar in Le Meridien hotel on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, only
to find the joint firmly bolted up and sealed.

"Woe of woes," cried the sidekick distraughtly, and proceeded
to put on a reasonably good imitation of a nervous breakdown. But
all to no avail, the doors to this worldly paradise remained
firmly shut in our faces and we were unceremoniously ordered to
"come back tomorrow".

Well, we didn't come back tomorrow, but we did come back the
following Saturday when our abject disappointment of the previous
week turned to joy and, to cut a long story short, all was
forgiven after a couple of beers went down the hatch.

Looks: Tiga Puluh is a rather unusual pub in that it actually
consists of two pubs, with the first one serving as something of
a lobby when you come down the escalator from the Le Meridien up
above.

With its own bar and plenty of comfy sofas where one can
languorously watch the beautiful people drift past, this is just
the sort of place that's tailor made for middle-aged posers to
hang out (the sidekick was immensely taken with it all!).

But the main action takes place through the imposing double
doors of the Music Bar itself, as hot, sticky and sweaty as a wet
evening in Jakarta, but in a much more stimulating sort of way.
This indeed is a weird and wonderful place, the kind of pub that
appears to have wanted to have been something else in its infancy
than what it actually turned out to be.

The name "Tiga Puluh" actually means thirty in Indonesian, and
there is no doubt that a bit of an effort has gone into making
the place somewhat reminiscent of the first half of the last
century. There's cute old-fashioned telephones artily placed on
tables here and there, plenty of photos of times gone by
cluttering up the walls, and a nifty thirties' motorbike parked
up permanently in the lobby bar.

Casablanca it ain't, however, and the connection with Tempo
Doeloe (Old time) doesn't take long before it comes to an abrupt
end. Instead, you find yourself rapidly swept off your feet into
a raunchy, boisterous demiworld of curvaceous ladies dancing on
the tables, flowing booze and high sexual tension.

Of course, Tiga Puluh is not alone in hosting such high-jinks
on a Saturday night and, let's face it, would be a pretty dismal
kind of dive if it didn't. But what sets this watering hole apart
from many of its competitors is the quality of the band.

Brought to Jakarta all the way from Trinidad in the West
Indies, Rapture Band is a cut above your average hotel or
cabaret-style troupe of crooners. With six members, including a
wonderful female vocalist, these guys ooze the kind of energy
that the West Indies is famous for, and keep the electricity
flowing at supercharged rates.

Even if you don't dig reggae and calypso, I'll wager these
guys will keep you on your toes with their sheer zest for life.

Bill, please: As you'd expect with such a flashy
establishment, the vino doesn't come cheap. A glass of local beer
will set you back Rp 30,000, while a premium spirit (like Johnny
Walker Black) will hit you for Rp 65,000.

Meanwhile, a Rp 250 ml bottle of imported beer like Heineken,
Foster's or Corona is quite expensive at Rp 50,000.

Happy hour is from 5 p.m until 9 p.m. every day, and will give
you 50 percent of all drinks, while Thursday night is Ladies
Night, with 50 percent off all food and beverages.

Unfortunately, there's a cover charge of Rp 65,000 on Fridays
and Saturdays, although for this they'll give you any drink you
like!

Odds and ends: Like a number of other venues nowadays, Tiga
Puluh has a policy of borrowing your credit card for the duration
if you want to pay your bill in one lump sum right at the end.
While, many people are unwilling to hand over their cards,
there's no doubt that it does save a lot of hassle, especially
when it's Sardines-ville, Arizona, at around 1 a.m. But be
warned, you could well be getting a lot more on your bill than
you expect. We found two orange juices that hadn't been ordered
on ours, and at Rp 55,000, that's no joke.

Verdict: Great spot if, like myself and the sidekick, you're
into a boozy night of good music with plenty of heaving and
shoving thrown in for added zip. It pays to get there early,
though, as they don't start levying the cover charge until 8:30
p.m.

Tiga Puluh Music Bar, Le Meridien hotel, Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav
18-20, Jakarta. Tel: 2513131. Open Monday to Saturday, from 5 p.m
to 2 a.m. All major credit cards accepted.