Original Production, October 26, 2007
MEGADETH DOES RI METAL COMMUNITY PROUD
Source: JAKARTA POST
 

Approaching the Senayan Stadium complex a few hours after dark on Thursday night was like crashing a large-scale reunion of the city’s underground metal community. Everyone was there – the old rockers, the music industry types and the generation of wannabe rock stars. The uniform was black. Some were wearing torn and faded Megadeth T-shirt, while others had picked up the United Abominations Tour of Duty 2007 equivalent.

The fact Megadeth had decided not to bring official merchandise to Indonesia did not stop fans
adding to their collections with the vast array of bootleg options on offer. There was a large police contingency scattered among the crowd, complete with bamboo canes and riot gear. While metal heads around the world continue to be feared, members of Jakarta’s metal community were sipping on bottled tea and water. A lone seller trying to pedal warm cans of beer to the crowd certainly wasn’t making a killing.

This was the night so many Jakartans had been waiting for. Megadeth were to play in Indonesia once again, and this time they had selected Jakarta over Medan. Since the early 1990s after a much-publicized riot at a Metalica concert, there had been an unofficial ban on international “hard core” bands touring in Indonesia. When their Medan show went off without incident a few years ago, Megadeth paved the way for the reemergence of international metal bands in the country.

Megadeth were fashionably late on stage. There was a genuine vibe of anticipation in the air, with even crew members receiving a rousing reception when they walked on stage for last-minute sound checks. Finally, after almost half and hour of false alarms, a lone figure strolled onto the darkened stage. His trademark long, blonde locks gave him away. It was lead singer Dave Mustaine, and before he had the chance to so much as strum his first note, the crowd had gone wild.

The front of the aptly named festival area was certainly not for the faint of heart as Mustaine was joined on stage by bassist James LoMenzo, lead guitarist Glen Drovers and drummer Shawn Drovers. During their first song, Sleepwalker, there was an extreme amount of head banging, both on and off the stage. LoMenzo gestured to the crowd, sending them into even more of a frenzy. Crowd surfers started to emerge and those in the festival area surged forward to get into the action.

After a few energetic numbers, Mustaine paused to ask the crowd who was present last time the band played in Indonesia. The vast majority of fans let out an almighty roar and raised their hands. “So who is watching Megadeth for the first time then?” he asked. His question was greeted with the same response from the energized crowd. Sound glitches during the first few songs were quikly rectified,
and the band continued to entertain the lively crowd with songs from its early days in the 80s to numbers from its latest record – United Abominations.

Megadeth’s set of well over 20 songs included Washington, Gears of War, Tornado of Soul, Never Walk Alone, Symphony of Destruction and Peace Sells. During the ever-popular A Tout le Monde, Mustaine enlisted the crowd’s help to sing.
With California’s wild fires continuing to rage dangerously close to the homes of Mustaine and LoMenzo, one would have understood if their thoughts were elsewhere or their performances failed to deliver all that was promised. Yet the opposite proved true, with the high energy set lasting for the better part of two hours. With the exception of lighting effects and perhaps the sound system, Megadeth could have been playing anywhere in the world Thursday night. Their respect for predominately Indonesian metal-head crowd was obvious, with Mustaine returning to the stage at the end of the shows to clap the audience sincerely.
When his three band mates joined him to throw picks, drumsticks and sweat bands into the crowd, those in the festival area found one last bit of energy to scramble after their own piece of history. Most of them left the area with little more than a sore head, ringing ears and one too many bruises. However, they also took home memories of a fine shows delivered by one of the world’s most famous metal bands.

The police left carrying only their riot gear, with no incidents reported. Judging by the success of the concert, as well as the incident-free visits of a handful of other international metal acts this year, Jakarta’s metal community can look forward to many more reunions in the future.