Concert!
No matter where I go, I just can't escape concerts. OK, I didn't see any in Taiwan, and in Japan, it was just bar-bands, though some could almost be considered concerts.
So, the other guys noticed a billboard for "Rock Sensation 2005" sponsored by Djarum Super cigarettes. The Djarum Super signs are all over town. So, yesterday we went over. At the worst it would suck. Actuall, we later discovered "at worst" could've been much much worse, but fortunately nothing happened to us.
We head over to the football (no, the other football) stadium, which seems to be in quite some disuse. The pitch really wasn't maintained at all. Entrance price is 3,000 Rupiahs. About US$0.33. It continues to amaze me how cheap everything is here. I will seriously have to do some clothes shopping before I leave, because some of them aren't too shabby.
Anyway, we walk in, and you can go wherever you want up to the stage. The crowd was mostly school age kids, up through high school, although there were enough folk in their 20s, and probably some parents. We were standing near the soundboard, and most of these kids were standing between the board and the stage. There were a lot of people sitting in the stands on the far side from the stage. I think mostly adults, but I didn't pay that much attention. I noticed some guys in camouflage, wearing berets. They also had gigantic knives on their belts. They also had a "beating stick." Not even like a blackjack, or whatever the police in the states have. Just a stick that can do nothing but hurt. There were a little more than what I'd find comfortable, and I wasn't sure if they were police or army or hired security. I'm still not sure, actually.
There were also several guys (I saw at least 5) with machine guns of some sort. They were police (polisi in Indonesian), and that really freaked me out. I wanted to get a picture of them, but I figured it wasn't prudent. One waved to me when we were leaving the concert, and I probably could've gotten a picture with him. 20/20 hindsight and all. I did get a pic of security. Took that one discreetly as well.
Now, there were a couple fights during the concert between kids, probably in their early teens. Security was in there damn fast, broke them up, and dragged both out of the stadium. The ones I saw up close, the kids were walking. The first one I saw, from a distance, they were actually dragging him by the shoulders. And I thought I saw one security guy just deck him in the shoulders. None of the kids were dragged off in a friendly manner... either being slapped or hit a bit. 2 fights were about 15-20 meters from where I was standing, and it's amazing how fast the security got in... they were probably in the crowd, but I didn't really notice them inside so much. The 2nd close-by fight I did see a police guy with machine gun run in. Scary shit.
My biggest worry was that some crazy kid would try to start a fight with me. Alas, it was too crowded to try to run away, but I figure the best solution would be not to fight back. Taking some blows from some punk would be better than taking them from security. And it probably wouldn't've helped that my passport is currently in Jakarta so I can get my visa extended. But that, hopefully, could've been cleared up with a phone call.
Musically, it wasn't too exciting. A punk band (Harapan Jaya), followed by a rap band (Ebith), followed by an almost metal band (Seurieus). The singer in Seurieus thought he was Judas Priest or something. It was hilareous, but not especially good. And Ebith sang some classics... a bit of Cyprus Hill, and, well, Eminem. I have video of each band, but the smallest is 8 MB, and I'm not uploading that on a 24 kBps dialup connection.
Time: 15:00-end?
A pity you can't
see the knife
So, the other guys noticed a billboard for "Rock Sensation 2005" sponsored by Djarum Super cigarettes. The Djarum Super signs are all over town. So, yesterday we went over. At the worst it would suck. Actuall, we later discovered "at worst" could've been much much worse, but fortunately nothing happened to us.
We head over to the football (no, the other football) stadium, which seems to be in quite some disuse. The pitch really wasn't maintained at all. Entrance price is 3,000 Rupiahs. About US$0.33. It continues to amaze me how cheap everything is here. I will seriously have to do some clothes shopping before I leave, because some of them aren't too shabby.
Anyway, we walk in, and you can go wherever you want up to the stage. The crowd was mostly school age kids, up through high school, although there were enough folk in their 20s, and probably some parents. We were standing near the soundboard, and most of these kids were standing between the board and the stage. There were a lot of people sitting in the stands on the far side from the stage. I think mostly adults, but I didn't pay that much attention. I noticed some guys in camouflage, wearing berets. They also had gigantic knives on their belts. They also had a "beating stick." Not even like a blackjack, or whatever the police in the states have. Just a stick that can do nothing but hurt. There were a little more than what I'd find comfortable, and I wasn't sure if they were police or army or hired security. I'm still not sure, actually.
There were also several guys (I saw at least 5) with machine guns of some sort. They were police (polisi in Indonesian), and that really freaked me out. I wanted to get a picture of them, but I figured it wasn't prudent. One waved to me when we were leaving the concert, and I probably could've gotten a picture with him. 20/20 hindsight and all. I did get a pic of security. Took that one discreetly as well.
Now, there were a couple fights during the concert between kids, probably in their early teens. Security was in there damn fast, broke them up, and dragged both out of the stadium. The ones I saw up close, the kids were walking. The first one I saw, from a distance, they were actually dragging him by the shoulders. And I thought I saw one security guy just deck him in the shoulders. None of the kids were dragged off in a friendly manner... either being slapped or hit a bit. 2 fights were about 15-20 meters from where I was standing, and it's amazing how fast the security got in... they were probably in the crowd, but I didn't really notice them inside so much. The 2nd close-by fight I did see a police guy with machine gun run in. Scary shit.
My biggest worry was that some crazy kid would try to start a fight with me. Alas, it was too crowded to try to run away, but I figure the best solution would be not to fight back. Taking some blows from some punk would be better than taking them from security. And it probably wouldn't've helped that my passport is currently in Jakarta so I can get my visa extended. But that, hopefully, could've been cleared up with a phone call.
Musically, it wasn't too exciting. A punk band (Harapan Jaya), followed by a rap band (Ebith), followed by an almost metal band (Seurieus). The singer in Seurieus thought he was Judas Priest or something. It was hilareous, but not especially good. And Ebith sang some classics... a bit of Cyprus Hill, and, well, Eminem. I have video of each band, but the smallest is 8 MB, and I'm not uploading that on a 24 kBps dialup connection.
Time: 15:00-end?
A pity you can't
see the knife