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| My First ever DEWA concert! | |
by
Farah 'Fairy' Mahdzan
(23-Feb-2002) | Readers Say |
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I had no idea that I would be able to catch Dewa in concert while I was in Jakarta; I was all puppy-dog-eyed and grinned non-stop (after about 5 minutes of shrieking with joy, of course -- goodness, the embarassment I caused at the airport) when Evita told me upon my arrival that we would be catching them performing live on the 14th (apparently she wanted to keep this information a secret but was defeated by uncontained sheer excitement to please me). Ah, it is always a privilege to have friends who work in the music journalism business isn't it? So the 14th of February came, and HRC Jakarta was literally packed with screaming fans (including yours truly!) to catch their idols. Evita and I managed to snake our way past the crowd and stand right at the corner of the stage where the stage steps were located (which is where the Dewa personnel would have to pass by if they wanted to get on the stage!). After watching Evita quickly jotting down in her reporter notebook the names of the 15 songs that Dewa would be performing that night (from the guy who was manning the sound system), the boys came out finally at around 10pm and I had been waiting for about an hour. All 5 of them was cladded in maroon blazers (very boy-band-like of them!). Of course, I was kicking myself for not bringing a video camera with me on my trip! But I took plenty of pictures which you can view here. I'll let you all look at them and read my stories accompanying the pictures.
Visit Fairy's Dewa Love Letter concert photo album! Ok, why was this concert so special to me? Well, I had been waiting for almost 8 years for the opportunity to watch my favorite band perform. Yes, 8 much-awaited years! I first fell in love with their hit single Aku Milikmu from their 2nd album (Format Masa Depan) back when I was a teen in Ohio (USA) in 1994; I had borrowed the album from an Indonesian friend who was attending university at the time. This was the first time I had ever liked a rock song written and sung in the Malay language! Granted, while growing up I was never really exposed to (Malaysian) Malay rock songs, let alone Indonesian! Malay rock songs never caught my attention; it was yucky, cengeng, almost always based on stories of persons doomed to a life of utter misery due to some freaking break-up with their lovers, what more these sadistic lyrics would be accompanied with irritatingly melancholic music that only made you feel like committing suicide. No wonder everyone was really more interested in Western rock music, much cooler with a more positive outlook on love life, don't you think? However Dewa has changed my perception of Malay music for when I heard Aku Milikmu, I was moved by its catchy, sentimental rock melody and strong, passionate lyrics of love powerfully sang by then Dewa's lead vocalist, Ari Lasso. So not all Malay rock music was bad, this stuff was actually pretty good! Needless Dewa and Indonesian music as a whole has brought back my faith in Malay music. The Malaysian music industry must realize that it's way behind compared to our Indonesian counterpart. Anyway, so I caught on to the Dewa hype and was helplessly hooked. Since Dewa back then was only known in their homeland, I had difficulty getting their albums back in Malaysia so I made friends from Indonesia who would help me buy their albums. Over the next few years I spent time collecting their forthcoming albums and memorizing their beautiful lyrics by heart. It is only in since late 1999 or so that Dewa's albums have reached Malaysian shores, even at that only albums The Best of Dewa (1999) and Bintang Lima (2000) are available in our market. However, Dewa has performed in Malaysia once thus far in January 2001 at KL's Hard Rock Cafe. This Dewa Valentine concert is my first, but it will certainly not be my last. Thanks, Evita, for making this BalaDewa's dreams a reality! For more information on this cool band, visit their OFFICIAL website at www.dewa19.net.
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| WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT My First ever DEWA concert!: |
#16. DONNY: I honestly don't care what you say about Dhani and Dewa. I don't really have an opinion on them. Terserah kamu mau bilang apa juga.However I do agree that Dewa 19 sounded much better with Ari Lasso!  "Piss" juga!  Posted by Fairy - Website on 27-Jun-2006, 19:48 MYT
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The phrase Memuja Dewa could not have taken a more true meaning for me on Valentine's Day; I and about a thousand other fans of this popular Indonesian rock group gathered at Jakarta's Hard Rock Cafe to witness a most mesmerizing concert, one which I will remember for years to come. This wonderful performance was lovingly called "Dewa Love Letters." Love was definitely in the air!
Fanatik banget gua ya? Nggak pa pa. Once sucks! And so does Ahmad Dhani (sorry, Fai!) 
Wong Aksan (mantan drummer-nya Dewa; you can listen to his fantastic play di album Terbaik Terbaik mereka) aja sampe bilang Ahmad Dhani tuh nggak mau ada saingan ngetop di Dewa 'n trus cabut!
I always believe kalau nak buat site revamp ni kena always better than the previous one, betul tak? 
congrate!