TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
90s kids enjoy their time reliving the past
The 90s Festival, while luring teens of that decade, also attracted visitors from older and younger generations.
Change Size
Blast from the past: A visitor poses with characters from the 1990s TV show Ksatria Baja Hitam (Masked Rider Black) during The 90s Festival at JIExpo in Jakarta on Saturday. Currently in its third year, the event celebrates music, games and food popular in the 1990s. (JP/Bangkit Jaya Putra)
O
n a rare occasion on Saturday, a time machine full of colorful tendrils brought back memories of Super Mario Bros. for Halma, while Yohana Asti was taken back to the era when she was a groupie of T-Five — an Indonesian hip-hop group popular in the late 1990s.
“When I was in senior high school, wherever T-Five performed, I had be there,” said the alumnus of SMA 54 state senior high school in Jatinegara, East Jakarta. “I wanted to recall those memories here. I want to sing ‘Kau’ [You] with my friends.”
Now a public relations professional, the 34-year-old took her husband and two toddlers to The 90s Festival, where they also met up with college friends. The festival, which was held at the JIExpo in Kemayoran,
Central Jakarta, featured popular singers and bands in the 90s. Among musical acts were rock band Dewa 19 with its original singer, Ari Lasso, a pop band known for its naughty lyrics, Potret, and a pop singer admired for her humming technique, Reza Artamevia — not to mention American alternative rock band Sixpence None the Richer.
Aside from the musicians, the festival also provided an area featuring traditional games that are rarely played nowadays, such as taplak gunung(hopscotch) Game consoles of the 90s were also made available, including Nintendo’s handheld Game Boy.
“My favorite bands [in the 90s] rarely perform anymore. So, I do not mind paying this much to attend this festival. Moreover, there are many bands performing,” Asti said, adding that she paid Rp 700,000 (US$51.83) for two tickets, while tickets were offered from Rp 350,000 to Rp 1.68 million.
Events such as The 90s Festival, she said, were a good alternative for residents of the capital amid limited options. She hopes similar events are held in the future featuring popular movies and cartoons in the 90s.
The 90s Festival, while luring teens of that decade, also attracted visitors from older and younger generations, such as 50-year-old couple Rudy Rimawan and Yenie Maringka, as well as 25-year-old Adinda Astika Kasih.
“Most bands here are from the 90s. However, it still reminded me of when I liked collecting cassettes of my favorite singers,” said Rudy, who works for a car dealership. “I hope that in the future, there will be similar music festivals involving musicians from the 80s and 90s.”
While Rudy took Yenie to watch Fariz RM, who is known for the songs “Barcelona” and “Sakura,” Adinda was eager to watch pop band Base Jam.
“Although I was a young kid back in the 90s, I’m familiar with their songs as my older siblings often played them at home ,” said Adinda, adding that she was also a vintage culture enthusiast.
This year’s edition of the festival was its third, with previous editions held in Bandung and Jakarta in 2015. The two earlier events attracted 4,000 and 7,000 visitors, respectively.
Earlier this year, a similar music event, called the Festival Mesin Waktu (Time Machine Festival) was held at The Establishment in the Sudirman Central Business District in South Jakarta by a community called Generasi 90an (90s Generation).
Despite its limited space, Festival Mesin Waktu was no less lively. Attendees were seen happily taking part in a mass SKJ dance performance. In the 90s to early 2000s, SKJ was an obligatory course in schools usually held on Friday mornings.
