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Kicking in with a three-day rock festival
It’s funny that more people are seen throwing rocks at each other on the telly now that Java Rockin’ Land is about to make an appearance
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It’s funny that more people are seen throwing rocks at each other on the telly now that Java Rockin’ Land is about to make an appearance. Think of it as a tribute or a negative marketing campaign if you will, but the biggest international rock festival in the nation is up and running no matter what.
For three days straight on Oct. 8, 9 and 10, the same guy behind other festivals with Java in front of their names is making sure that you get what you wish for — although cheaper tickets is sadly not part
of it.
The website, for example, confirmed on Oct. 30 that Stryper, a glam metal band hitting the scene in the 1980s, will play on the last day of the festival, booking the main stage to perform old and new songs from its 2009 album Murder by Pride before and after renowned bands like Australia-based WolfMother and The Vines, Netherlands-based Di-rect, one of the most exciting band lives Mutemath and the long-awaited local-industrial-mayhem Koil.
The headliner of this year’s Rockin’ Land, being the second Rockin’ Land so far, is nevertheless Billy Corgan’s The Smashing Pumpkins on the first day of the festival.
Although former band bassist Melissa Auf der Maur, former A Perfect Circle guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin confirmed that the newly formed Pumpkins might as well be “Corgan’s solo project”, with him and other session players currently on a world tour, the band is back on the scene with its official website revamped.
It has been releasing one track at a time since December 2009 to eventually form a new album titled Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. Six songs have been released for free downloads at www.smashingpumpkins.com , namely A Song For A Son on Dec. 7, 2009, Widow Wake My Mind on Jan. 18, 2010, A Stitch In Time on March 2, 2010 followed by Astral Planes on April 16, 2010, Freak on July 6, 2010 and finally Spangled on Sept. 30.
Dashboard Confessional will also make an appearance at the festival after just months ago playing in front of cute Ponds couples at Parkir Timur, Senayan.
With new songs taken from its 2009 album Alter the Ending, you can also hope to sing some of the band’s old tunes on the second day of the festival at 8.30 p.m., some time before Stereophonics. The unforgettable Arkarna and Burgerkill will play at the same time between the aforementioned bands at a different stage.
Unlike the previous Rockin’ Land, the committee decided to cut the number of stages and fill the space with 10 bigger stages this time, ranging from the main Gudang Garam InterMusic Stage, the not-so open sky Langit Music Stage, Tebs Stage near Tebs outlet, Gudang Garam Dome slightly inside,
Segarra Stage in Segarra Restaurant and Demajors Propaganda Stage to Nu Breed Stage for what is hip, Trax Hardrockin’ Stage for heavy metal bands, Free Your Soul Stage for music that can’t be categorized and finally Prambors X Crooz for radio-friendly music.
The festival is also the first to designate a camping ground for spectators, leasing tents for three and four people at Rp 150,000 to Rp 225,000 for three days, with the camping ground located adjacent to the festival venue at Carnival Beach Ancol. Registration for tents in the camping ground is open until Oct. 4 for those aged 18 and above with three-day passes. Tent allocation is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Other bands to look forward to during the festival include Datarock, Galaxy 7, Living Things, Not Called Jinx, Social Code and Steve Fisher, while fans should be grateful that local legends like Slank, The S.I.G.I.T., /RIF, Boomerang, Gugun Blues Shelter, Kripikpeudeus, PAS Band, Netral, Pure Saturday, Saint Loco, Seringai, Superglad and Superman Is Dead are scheduled on different days.
The drawback of the festival is the price of the tickets, reaching Rp 320,000 for each daily pass before tax, with presale tickets reaching Rp 299,000 per day. But live concerts have become one of the main sources of income for musicians, with the Internet continuing to provide recordings for free. This is why you shouldn’t mind paying the slightly cheaper Rp 760,000 (excluding tax) for a three-day pass.
Tickets are available on the festival’s website www.javarockingland.com , as well as band information, festival schedule, step-by-step guidance to surviving the festival and neat advertisements from major sponsors like Gudang Garam and Langit Music.
