Spartan stage downplays star quality

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 11/26/2006 12:38 PM | Life

Matdon, Contributor, Bandung

Although Anggun -- the international singer hailing from Jakarta and based in France -- may have delivered a successful show in the hangar of Bandung's Husen Sastranegara airport, the management of the concert was messy while the stage design fell short of optimal.

Anggun's Untuk Negeri -- For My Country -- which began an hour behind schedule, enjoyed only a lackluster reception from its small audience. To make matters worse, the organizing committee overreacted when dealing with the press.

Journalists covering the concert were annoyed by the organizers, who asked that they remain outside prior to the performance. When they were finally let in after the first three numbers, the journalists had to stay in the aisle between the festival seats and the VIP seats, a position unfavorable for taking photos and one constantly disturbed by the audience moving to and fro.

Earlier, the organizers had been at odds about whether or not journalists should be permitted to take pictures of the popular singer.

Anggun's show almost turned into a riot when the festival class audience kept shouting and clamoring for the diva, made impatient by the delay -- which was left unexplained.

Some concert-goers in the VIP section only shook their heads at the sight of many empty seats in the performance venue.

Jay Subiyakto, artistic director of the concert, had previously boasted with conviction that Anggun's concert would be jam-packed with some 4,500 fans, but only between 800 and 1,000 people turned up in the audience that night.

Luckily, Anggun began her concert with one of her hits, Kembali/Return, which sent the audience into hysterics of approval. However, from the next two songs, Evil and Angel and Undress Me to the eighth song, Anggun failed to pump enthusiasm and zest into her performance. The French band accompanying her also failed to captivate the audience.

""We are not familiar with her songs,"" said Vivi Magfirah, who had come all the way from Cirebon, West Java, just to watch Anggun live. The friends who had accompanied Vivi to the show agreed.

During I'll Be Allright and Bayang Ilusi/Shadow of Illusion, the audience, as if realizing their tepid reception of the concert, began to show a little pulse -- and it seemed Anggun responded, as she ended the concert with Tua-Tua Keladi/Dirty Old Man, which was relatively more familiar to the audience than the other songs she performed that night.

Although Anggun's performance may have enjoyed only a little applause from the audience, the pop diva showed her star quality, gracing the stage in costumes of sheer fabrics and spangles.

This could have been highlighted by a more creative stage design -- for example, but utilizing the aircraft wreckage to stage left as part of the show.

'Quite satisfied'

As a singer and also a fashion icon with an international reputation, Anggun pays a lot of attention to her appearance. Her sexy, signature style helps define her individuality in the business and also build up a solid fan base.

""I was quite satisfied with my performance in Bandung. There are a lot of creative artists in this city,"" said Anggun during a break in the concert.

Born Anggun Cipta Sasmi on April 29, 1975, Anggun successfully crossed over to the international sphere in 1997 with the launch of her album Au Nom de La Lune/In the Name of the Moon) on the French market. Her first single, La neige au Sahara/Snow on the Sahara, topped the charts in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada.

The album, which combines pop elements with Indonesian traditional instruments like the tambur (drum) and seruling (flute), sold one million copies in France, making Anggun the first Indonesian singer to stand on a par with French musicians.

The singer returned to Indonesia several years ago because, as she said, she had become homesick after living a decade abroad.

Anggun said she had been nervous about performing in Bandung; the city is known for its bustling and dynamic music scene, including indie and underground rock bands, and for the eclectic fanaticism of its music lovers. But she is no stranger to the ""college"" town -- she performed twice here in 2001.

The Bandung gig will be a yardstick for how her fans rate her overall performance: it will only be deemed successful if the singer/band is considerate and accommodating of the audience; if the vocal delivery is free and open; and if the sound system is excellent.

A Bandung audience -- and journalists -- is highly critical about a singer who is arrogant in a show or is insipid in interviews.

In her Untuk Negeri concert, Anggun proved herself an international-class singer -- but she must ensure that her management measures up equally.

To perform does not mean merely producing a beautiful voice, but must also involve a strong stage and solid management beyond the stage.

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