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A night of Blues
Gugun Blues ShelterTwo policemen and a soldier, still in their uniforms, challenged each other â not in a hostile way, but in a battle of guitar melodies
Gugun Blues Shelter
Two policemen and a soldier, still in their uniforms, challenged each other ' not in a hostile way, but in a battle of guitar melodies.
They were showing off their guitar-playing skills at the recent 7th Jakarta Blues Festival 2014 held in Senayan, Jakarta.
The three delved into the blues, carrying the festival's spectators away with their performance alongside the band Mahir and the Alligators.
'I've invited the three officers to this prestigious blues festival because of their musical talent, especially in playing the blues,' said Mahir, the blues band leader who is also a music instructor of police and military units.
He said he was annoyed by recent brawls between the police and soldiers. 'Now they're in perfect harmony,' he added.
The Blues Festival, taking 'Nothin' but the Blues' as its theme, also showcased other local and foreign musicians, who received warm applause from visitors.
The event ' jointly organized by the Indonesian Blues Association (INA Blues) and the Seventh Three Forum (Fortuga), a forum of 1973 alumni of the Bandung Institute of Technology ' aimed to popularize the blues.
INA Blues chairman Oding Nasution said the event was a way to spread the music. 'It's not merely meant to maintain the genre's existence amid other music genres,' said one of the country's most seasoned musicians and a former member of top groups like Guruh Gypsy and God Bless.
On the festival's stages, Gugun Blues Shelter and Slank attracted music lovers. Unlike at Slank's usual rock concerts, the band was playing the blues.
The festival also brought in famous names, including US singer and left-handed guitarist Malina Moye, renowned as the 'Female Jimi Hendrix' and listed by Guitar World magazine as one of the ten world-class guitarists not to be missed.
Clad in a Cat Woman-like costume, Malina walked among the crowd playing her guitar before ascending to the stage. Her career is rising fast after being invited to appear as the only female guitarist at the Robert Johnson Blues Festival and she has shared a stage with blues musicians like David Honeyboy Edwards, Hubert Sumlin and Pinetop Perkins as well as joining the Experience Hendrix Tour concerts organized in memory of the legend.
Other performers included Kara Grainger from Australia, Japanese singer and guitarist Shun Kukita and Soulmate from Shillong (Meghalaya), India.
As the festival drew to a close, blues music lovers stayed on, ignoring the evening's rain.
' Photos by JP/P.J. Leo
