Java Rockin’ Land happened this weekend to much fanfare, blanket media attention and branding by the busload.
Big act: Founding member of The Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan (right), plays with his band at the 2010 Java Rockin’ Land festival. Intrepid fans made the pilgrimage out to Ancol to see acts like The Smashing Pumpkins, Stereophonics and Wolfmother. So how did the festival stack up?
In all my years of festival going I’ve never seen anything like what I saw this weekend at Java Rockin’ Land. Having watched acts such as Guttermouth (I was young, please don’t judge me) and The Saints at festivals, I’ve become accustomed to being very careful toward the front of a crowd at a guitar-heavy concert. I’ve been almost crushed, had mud thrown in my eye, lost a shoe and a watch, sprained my wrist, been concussed and badly winded.
Given the excitement that had anticipated this event, I was expecting excitable fans, something a little raucous, fun and certainly silly, perhaps even a little dangerous. Most of the bands were of the heavier persuasion and I went in with my mind prepared for the worst and made my escape plans at each of the stages. Seeing a large police presence, I was concerned that things could get a little ugly.
The first band burst into life and the strangest thing happened: nothing at all. The guitars cut a swathe through my festival weary ears and the drums kept a heavy, quick-paced beat.
All the elements were there for fans to jump around wildly and bash their heads together. Instead a few fans nodded along with the beat, some sang along, but most stood there and watched respectfully. And how lovely it was.
This was a good sample of things to come. The entire festival was most astonishingly civilized: People meandered from one event to the next with calm interest, chatting amongst themselves, occasionally with some food in hand, usually smiling and carrying a camera.
The bands went nuts, however. Slank’s lead singer, Kaka, gave a writhing, girating performance sans shirt, his sweaty skin glistening against the lights. The Slankers adored. Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins gave a slick, fearsome performance which had fans enthralled. Andra of Andra and the Backbone looked like he was about to pop his eye out of its socket, such was the force with which he belted out his band’s melodic rock anthems. But the fans watched on in respectful awe.
Facilities were mostly apt, though not inspiring. There was, for example, nothing at all to do if there were no acts on you were interested in. Other festivals include activities such as tents in which to buy books and LPs, cinemas with a program included in the printed band line-up.
There was a fair selection of food and despite an overly bureaucratic system for ordering, most people managed to be fed when the need arose.
One could perhaps criticize the layout. With so many stages in close proximity to one another, a certain amount of sound bleed occurred, effecting the enjoyment of some performance.
The sound desk for the main stage was in an unfortunate position not far from the stage, with an enormous corridor running from it down to the stage, making the atmosphere at those events peculiar, as if two separate crowds were inattendance.
The branding of the festival’s sponsors was rather obnoxious, too, but then the festival couldn’t happen without them, one supposes. These are but trifling matters, however, which had no bearing on the enjoyment of the music.
When it rained on Friday night, the field in which the main stage lay became frightfully muddy. It was suddenly a real festival. People didn’t cover themselves in mud and slide about on their backsides, but it was still pretty rock and roll. Umbrellas went up and people huddled together.
This was the stuff great festivals were made of, when the crowd of individuals become one in a collective “stuff like this, there’s music to be heard and legends of rock to see!”
The real heroes here were the folks who ran out to clear up puddles which formed to make the field as tolerable as possible to stand in. Hat’s off, gents!
Overall, Java Rockin’ Land was a success. It has some way (and a fair few fans) to go until it is a legendary festival, but it already has its own civilized, casual feel.
Character is important to all good festivals. This has happened within the two short years in which the festival has run and as the years progress, the fans will come back each year and book their tickets well in advance as they become scarce and the line-up continues to improve.
While I must confess to rather enjoying the war wounds I’ve endured in somewhat more frenetic festivals, I was relieved to not have to go through it again at Java Rockin’ Land.
