yo yo!

These past weeks have been very great to me. Watching Indonesian films and hopping from one gig to another.

March is known as Bulan Film Nasional (national film month) in Indonesia. So every year, kineforum (www.kineforum.wordpress.com) holds a free screening of chosen Indonesian films. The venue is in Taman Ismail Marzuki. If you want to watch the film, you just need to come an hour earlier to get the ticket.

The films are first rated ones, which you won't have chance to watch in theater. Films like Tiga Dara, Kejarlah Daku Kau Kutangkap, Darah dan Doa, Taksi, Badut-Badut Kota, Beranak dalam Kubur, Asrama Dara, etc.

One good thing about being unemployed is you can catch these goodies because you have the time. Some of the films are scheduled on weekdays and during office hours (such as 2pm and 5pm, so if you're an employee, how is it possible to leave your cubicle).

I'm always a big fan of Indonesian films, that's why I enjoyed Bulan Film National so much. I wish tv station would still play Indonesian films like they always do in the old days.

Another highlight of my week is accompanying Swimming Elephants for their first Bandung gig. They were invited to play in Good Timin', a monthly or bi-monthly music showcase that features indie bands. The gig was on Saturday night at d'Winkel Cafe (next to Heritage the FO)

Since the road manager, Adit, couldn't make it, he asked me to accompanied the dudes and the dudettes.

We went to Bandung on Saturday morning and had sound check at 12.  During the sound check one of the folk from Good Timin told me that Rase FM will have Swimphants interviewed for their Pop Circle segment.

The interview went smoothly that afternoon, despite the bad traffic we had on the way to Rase. The dudes played an acoustic version of ‘Sarah’, which according to some friends was coolio.

They went on stage at 10pm, playing in total 7 songs, and rocked the place J.  You can see the live performance here:

We stayed overnight at my friend’s house Dancicu.  But due to a dawn incident, Gilar, Yogas, and me had to get back to Jakarta early in the morning after rushing to Boromeus’ emergency room.

Later that Sunday night, I went to Superbad to see some bands playing. My friend had previously told me that Whitest Boy Alive will be having a secret gig there. Well it’s a not a secret anymore when more than 200 people knew :p

And the news wasn't a hoax. Whitest Boy Alive did rock Jaya Pub. Erlend and the gang played some songs, some covers, and put Courage as the closing act. You know, i always love to see how people drowned into music. You can feel the energy and it makes you feel excited at the same time.

The last band to play was Hightime Rebellion. I was amazed. They totally nailed me! Really looking forward to watch them playing live again soon.

Then last Wednesday I went to see the premiere of ‘Rumah Bonita’, a concert film by Paul Augusta. I didn't know what a concert film is, I thought it tells you about the concert but at the same time put the interviews with band, put footage of the concert preps, the rehearsal, and something like that. After few minutes watching, I can say that this concert film was a filmed concert. I was bored. I thought it would be more appropriate to put ‘Bonita live in concert in Salihara’ as a title.  Anyway, I went out after an hour of screening. Turned out minutes after I went out, the screening was stopped due to some technical difficulties.

Thankfully, my night was saved by the music concert. The bands were awesome! Opened by wicked piano play and energetic drum from a respected jazz band called Notturno. Followed by Kelelawar Malam. With their classical Indonesian horror set  and the must have pocong and kuntilanak, they successfully made everyone stunned. Their metal-punk music isn’t my cup of tea, but their live performance totally blew me off.

The evening was closed with the grand performance of Bonita and the Hus Band. She was g.r.e.a.t. A woman who sings with her heart.

She sang a cover version of Rindu (a romantic song by Ismail Marzuki). It was so beautiful I was trembled in affection. 

So, in conclusion if you’ve been wondering how am I doing, I can simply say that I’m living my life 

Terima kasih Tuhan!