Progressive Mind

Dear pecinta musik,

Hadiri acara yang merupakan ”terobosan” baru dalam hal PROGRESSIVE ROCK paling HEBOH dan paling MENARIK berupa SARASEHAN MUSIK dengan tema:

AN APPRECIATION for GENESIS

Hari                 : Sabtu, 3 Februari 2007

Jam                  : 14:00 – 18:00

Tempat            : MARIO’s Place, Menteng Huis, Cikini

FDC                : Rp. 50.000,-

KONSEP ACARA:

-          60% live performance repertoire GENESIS

-          40% apresiasi musik

KONTRIBUTOR:

Nara

Sumber:

1. Abadi Soesman (ex Guruh Gipsy, God Bless, Barata, etc)

2. Andy Julias (Chairman – Indonesian Progressive Society)
3. Arry Syaff (lead vocals – Cockpit Band)
4. Bubi Sutomo (ex Kahitna, ITB)

Moderator: Gatot Widayanto – Honorary Colaborator ProgArchives (http://www.progarchives.com)

Band: Inspiring Tribute Band (ITB)

MENGAPA SARASEHAN MUSIK ?

1. Berdasarkan serangkaian acara rock yang diselenggarakan oleh i-Rock! maupun pihak lain, survei kecil dilakukan. Penikmat musik rock yang selama ini fokus pada “pertunjukan musik hidup” saja menginginkan peningkatan dalam hal mengapresiasi musik dalam bentuk diskusi mendalam dilengkapi dengan pertunjukan musik hidup.
2. Memberikan kesempatan kepada setiap pihak yang berkecimpung dalam musik untuk berdiskusi secara interaktif. Ini mencakup: pemusik, pengamat dan penggemar.

MENGAPA GENESIS?

a. Legenda yang telah mempengaruhi band dunia hingga kini, seperti: Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Pallas, Arena, Anglagard, Sinkadus, The Flower Kings, dll.

b. Pengaruh signifikan pada musik

Indonesia

, memberikan warna baru pada musik

Indonesia

yang disebut sebagai Pop Kreatif (ditandai dengan populernya lagu ”Lilin-Lilin Kecil” yang dibawakan Chrisye, juga Badai Pasti Berlalu). Grup

Indonesia

yang pada saat itu terpengaruh, antara lain: Guruh Gipsy, Chrisye, God Bless, Wow!, Barong’s Band, Gank Pegangsaan. Pengaruh Genesis juga masih terasa pada perkembangan musik Indonesia hingga dewasa ini.

MENGAPA ANDA MUSTI HADIR?

Aspek Manfaat:

1. Bagi Anda yang suka musik prog bisa bertukar pikiran secara interaktif dengan narasumber mengenai musik prog rock, khususnya karya-karya GENESIS dan juga pengaruhnya di perkembangan musik dunia maupun tanah air. Utamanya, Anda bisa lebih menghayati bagaimana musisi prog menginterpretasikan kehidupan dan mengekspresikannya dalam karya musik.

2. Bagi Anda yang ”belum” menyukai musik prog bisa lebih memahami dan menghayati bagaimana sebuah maha karya seni diciptakan, utamanya bagaimana musik Genesis mempengaruhi tatanan kehidupan seseorang.

3. Bagi Anda yang ”belum” mencintai musik rock, mungkin melalui diskusi interaktif ini Anda akan mendapatkan pencerahan tentang indahnya musik rock, khususnya rock progresif.

Nara Sumber yang Kompeten:

Jelas, narasumbernya benar-benar kompeten membicarakan aspek kritikal dalam karya seni – khususnya rock progresif. Tidak ada yang bisa menyangkal tentang track record setiap narasumber.

Band yang telah ”teruji”

ITB adalah band yang kompeten membawakan komposisi-komposisi GENESIS. Mereka telah tampil memukau pada acara Ikatan Alumni ITB (IA-ITB) ”GENESIS NITE” di Front Row Cafe pada tanggal 20 Desember 2006 yang lalu, dihadiri oleh 250 orang. Penonton sangat puas dengan penampilan mereka, apalagi karya legendaris Genesis seperti ”Firth of Fifth” dibawakan kumplit dengan ”flute” (YES! It’s a real flute, my friend …).

SO …

Catat tanggal mainnya ye … SABTU, 3 FEBRUARI 2007 jam 14:00 di MARIO’s PLACE!

Organized by:

i-Rock! Music

Enterprise

For my Profile, click here: Gatot Widayanto at ProgArchives

What a great show last Sunday, January 21, 2007 at GOR Bulungan - starting from 12:30 until 21:30 with 16 bands on stage, including: Purgatory, Sucker Head, DeadSquad, Tengkorak, Siksa Kubur, Pain Killer, Kobusa, Inner Beauty, etc. Total crowd was 2,000. WOW! For further details you may find the news at KOMPAS, Friday, January 26, 2007 at page 49 under "MUDA" section. The overal event was conducted in total metal ambience with PEACE man …!!!

Pictures say thousand words, so here they are ….

JRENG!

For my profile, click here: Gatot Widayanto at ProgArchives

Excerpts from 17th Prog Nite (28 July 2006)….

Wow…!!!! Finally ..

Indonesia has a neo progressive rock band. Congratulations! Oh yes, Vantasma is a band in the vein of Marillion, IQ, Pallas, Pendragon – the bands that dared to challenge the new wave and punk music which swept prog music away in the early 80’s. Remember bands like B 52’s, Robert Palmer, Mo, Human League, Ultravox, Duran Duran, Orchestral Maneuver In The Dark, etc? That bands dominated the music industry at that time and even basic pop music was practically not exist. Out of the blue, a Scottish band with unknown name sung “So here I am once more. In A playground of a brokenheart …” well you know it damn well, my friend .. it’s definitely Fish’ voice with Marillion’s “Script For A Jester’s Tear”!!!

History has recorded that the appearance of Marillion in the sea of new wave and punk era stood tall with prog flag – of course with a modified version – not that complex as the old school prog of YES “Relayer” or “Close To The Edge”. People then called it as neo progressive rock music. I never heard any Indonesian prog bands in the vein of neo progressive music but Vantasma.

This new band is really kicking! Their compositions are great! It comprises music with tight structure combining heavy and soft parts with touchy melodies (of course! This has been the main characteristics of neo prog). I remember clearly weeks ago when Welly (the keyboardist) sent me a short message at my mobile number saying that there are touchy parts of Vantasma music which will attract me. He is right! I saw their music last night with heavy influence of marillion, IQ. Vantasma vocalist Opik is an excellent lead vocalist with excellent English dialect which does not seem like non-English speaking vocalist. His voce and singing style remind me of Peter Nichols of IQ. He could manage his low as well as high note registers. The lead guitarist, Eddy, is also an excellent player with playing style reminds me to Mike Holmes of IQ where it has sometime howling guitar effects. Other players in the band: Jacky – guitar, Gig – bass, Gaga – drums.

Vantasma played four long songs. As compared to Votel Roffs, Vantasma music is softer that’s why there was minimum surprises as it happened with Votel Roffs. I could also sense a feel of getting bored with parts which seem like being elongated. I also remember vividly that at third song they played last night there were segments that were heavily influenced by Mark Kelly’s Garden Party keyboard’s fills. It seemed the crowd was familiar with neo prog music as during break between songs the crowd shout “Chelsea Monday …!!!” (Marillion’s song). My friend Keli seemed enjoying Vantasma very much as he is a die hard fan of IQ music. Definitely, when Vantasma release their debut, I would be the first one to purchase the CD. I hope that the band would play their album in its entirety as they launch the CD. Bravo Vantasma!

BAND’S BIOGRAPHY

Vantasma evolved from Voltaire which was established in 1999 with initial line-up: Danny Andreas (guitar), Edi Fitri Gunara (guitar), Gaga (drums), A.T. (vocals) and Yudo (bass). They initially covered metal bands material and later on they focused on covering one band only, i.e. Dream Theater after Jacky joined the band. They also started writing their own material which was heavily influenced by Dream Theater plus some ethnic touch. A.T. and Yudo then left the band, Opik and Rudi D. joined. In 2001, they changed their band name to Vantasma and made their appearance at the First Progressive Festival (Prog Fest) organized by the Indonesian Progressive Society (IPS). The band’s line-up was: Danny Andreas (guitar), Edi (guitar), Gaga (drums), Opik (vocals), and Rudi D. (bass). In 2002 Rudi left the band to concentrate on his career, and Nyoman ‘Yuta’ Bayutara replaced his role on bass. With this line up Vantasma actively participated in any music festivals. In the end of 2003 Edi left the band to concentrate on his study. With the departure of Edi, the band became unstable and for some years only composed material with limited members. When in 2005 Gaga was asked by Andy Julias (the chairman of IPS) for Vantasma to participate in “Progressive Nite” – the light seemed to shine for the band. They worked hard to prepare their gig. Yuta was unable to join Vantasma for Prog Nite and just one week before the event Danny Andreas also left the band. Gaga then asked Edi to rejoin and they performed the gig with new line-up: Edi (guitar), Jacky (guitar), Gaga (drums), Opik (vocal) and Gig (bass). They also recorded a mini demo during the preparation for the Prog Nite. The band finally completed their line-up when they met Welly M.S. whom then joined the band as keyboard player and producer of their full-fledge debut album “Beyond Fallen Dreams” (2006). The debut album represents the first Indonesian band who makes CD in the vein of neo progressive music. Previously, there was Semesta who also played neo progressive music and made a demo CD but they did not continue their effort into a full-fledge album like Vantasma. “Beyond Fallen Dreams” confirms the band’s existence in their new music direction which has changed significantly from previously metal music. The album is completely in the vein of IQ, PALLAS, PENDRAGON, JADIS and heavily influenced by MARILLION (Fish era). “Beyond Fallen Dreams” is a neo progressive music at its best. The lead vocalist voice is between Peter Nichols (IQ) and Nick Barrett (Pendragon). Stunning guitar solo and pulsating keyboard work appear frequently in any segment of the music. It’s a highly recommended album!!!

Vantasma official site: Vantasmaprog

Source of Biography: Vantasma Band Rewitten by Gatot Widayanto (member of IPS, Director of i-Rock! Music Enterprise)

                  
                Review by
               
                    Gatot
               
                (Gatot Widayanto)
               
       
[Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator]
               
   
               Posted 1:43:39 AM EST, 11/4/2004
               

               
               For those of you who claim as early Marillion die-hard fans, you should visit
www.marillion.com and order this boxed set of 6 CDs comprising live set from three
different stages at different times during FISH era. Each live set is packaged in a
double CD. I just got this boxed set 3 weeks ago through a friend of mine, Stephen
Lindlay, who ordered it for me when he was in England last month. I had dreamt of
having this set since it was announced in the web thru FRONT ROW issue no. 15.  I did
not want to risk by ordering directly from my country where it might have some slippage
in delivery like when I got pre-order of Marbles very late. Finally …. I got it in my hands
directly from Stephen who flew from England to Jakarta bringing my stuff.  Yeah. I spin
the CD right away at Stephen’s house in Jakarta. It blew me!

I love live albums. I usually use a set of criteria to review a live album, ie: 1.) the
extent to which the recorded live music is more dynamic than the studio album, 2.) the
extent of communication between the band and the audience, 3.) audience
participation (hand clapping, shouting, etc), 4.) mixing and sound quality (including is
there any cut or edit from original performance), 5.)the extent of musicians emotional
control to maintain the best delivery of the music. The sonic quality is not as good
as “La Gazza Ladra” but it’s better than bootleg version. Overall performance of the
band was recorded continuously as per original concert order, with minimum cuts. It’s
natural.

Volume A – 2 CD (76:47) Live at Rundsporthalle, Baunatal, Germany (1 October 1983)

This was taken during “Script for a Jester’s Tear” Tour. It was actually a mystery gig by
the band but luckily it turned out to be a groundbreaking gig and was key calling card
for the band’s expansion to Germany. The band just hired a new guy to look after the
drum stools, Jonathan Mover
on limited rehearsals. (Well, one of my considerations to buy this set
was actually I want to hear how Jonathan performed his duty. He played
really well and different with Pointer or Mosley). So, the line up was:
Fish (voc), Mark Kelly (keys), Pete Trewavas (bass), Jonathan Mover
(drums), and Steve Rothery (gtr).

Overall, the live performance sounds dynamic and interactive. Almost all breaks
between tracks were fulfilled by Fish humorous (about sex) communication with the
audience. The live set opens with a bit of “Assassing” intro that continues to the intro
of “He Knows You Know” with some words from Fish. Nice opening. Jonathan’s
drumming work is really cool before Fish sings “Problems! Problems” – it sounds more
dynamic than Mosley’s style in La Gazza Ladra. In some segments Fish changed the
lyrics to Germany. Creative. At the end of the track he started the conversation with
the audience “BTW .. we are extremely sorry that in the past year we did not actually
manage to come over here. This will be rectified next year when the full European tour
starts ..”. It’s a very warm opening. “Garden Party” was then performed with some
technical problems with Trewavas’s bass guitar that bit disappear at beginning part of
the track.

One thing that I like with this live set is the inclusion of “Three Boats from a Candy” that
has never been included in previous release (as far as my knowledge). The other thing
is “Assassing”  that by the time of this performance was not released under FUGAZI
album even though Fish did already mention the name of the album. The dazzling drum
beats at intro by Jonathan was performed excellently. This version is a little bit
different with the album version, especially Mark Kelly’s punchy keyboard sounds. The
percussion interlude used the single version. It’s probably by that time only this version
was composed by the band prior to an album. The detail sounds of bass and guitar also
different. I do enjoy listening to this version. COOL ….

The other  part that really blew me is FORGOTTEN SONS. Before the track starts, Fish
made a long conversation with the audience about the song. “The main part of the
story is about our generation. This generation is supposedly an intelligent generation
that has the rights and the know-how to say  NO. …. This is our chance to say NO  to
the invasion of other people’s land.”. He continues :“This is a song that we as a band
wrote about peace; especially peace. This is for peace of northern island. This is
dedicated to us tonight. This is called FORGOTTEN SONS!”
The music was performed excellently with great voice of Fish, stunning lead guitar and
symphonic keyboard. Drumming style is different with other live versions of the band.
The solo keyboard is really nice and different. Overall, this version is much more
dynamic and more symphonic compared to other versions of Forgotten Sons, even
better than “Real to Reel” version.

“Forgotten Sons” seemed to be the last track until the audience requesting “More!
More!” (in Germany’s) and the band backed on stage. Fish started again the
conversation followed by “Market Square Heroes”. This track was performed excellently
with high energy by the band. The interlude is really amazing. One complaint that I
have with this track is the backing vocal quality (Pete Trewavas) when he
sings “..market square heroes” .. so bad voice. Otherwise is excellent. Rothery’s guitar
is really rocking, followed by nice keyboard solo by Mark Kelly. Bass line is excellent.

Volume B : 2CD  (112:18) - Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, England (3 February 1986)

This live set surprisingly starts with the intro of “Emerald Lies” and continues seamlessly
to “Script for A Jester’s Tear” which was performed at its best by the band. It seemed
that Fish sung with his heart. This track has some problems with sound recording and
technical glitches that make this live set much natural, with no overdubs. It seems the
original master tape has damaged especially at the end of the track (minute 7:56). It
flows to “Incubus” with different (and nice!) keyboard sound. At the completion
of “Incubus” Fish starts his first conversation with the crowd; talking about Simon Le
Bon (Duran-Duran ?). He talked, with his Scottish accent, about to whom the next track
(“Jigsaw”) was dedicated. As I expected, the crowd sung “stand straight!” following the
song.

At the end of “Jigsaw” Fish continues his long conversation with the crowd and
answering the crowd’s request for “Grendel”. “No .. no Grendel tonight. I’m extremely
sorry, I’m very story” and some conversation (jokes). “This next song is dedicated for
the people who were here four years ago. It’s called .. the WEB!” and then the music
starts with nice keyboard work of Mark Kelly. I like this intro of the web because the
keyboard is different than the studio version; it’s little bit mellow and simpler. Wonderful
intro!

Having done with “The Web” the band continues with the main menu of the concert:
The A side of “Misplaced Childhood” album until the end of Disc 1. The five songs in this
set was performed excellently by the band. It’s probably the band got used to the
Hammy stage as stated by Pete Trewavas in the sleeve note: “It seemed in thosed
days we played here all the time.”. The climax of this part is my all-time favorite “Heart
of Lothian”; a wonderfully crafted song with tasty melody and great lyrics ..”It’s getting
late ….” WOW … what a fantastic song! Unfortunately, Disc 1 is about to end so that
the B side of Misplaced must be continued on Disc 2.

Disc 2 kicks off with “Waterhole”. I like the vibes-like sound (played by keyboard, I
think) than sounds so obvious in this version compared to studio or La Gazza Ladra
version. There is a tendency that during this track the band almost lose control because
of the fast tempo this track has. Fortunately, it continues with slower tempo
track “Lords of Backstage” and “Blind Curve”. What a great track this one is… “Last
night you said I was cold. Untouchable ….. I just want to be free. I’m happy to be free.
I’m happy to be lonely. Can’t you stay away! Just leave me alone with my thoughts. I’m
just to runaway .. runaway” (drum shot in here is cool man …).

Having completed the whole “Misplaced” set Fish continues with his words “This is a
song for a generation. It’s for you and it’s called Fugazi” and the intro starts “Vodka
intimate …” (unfortunately there are technical glitches here that disturb the voice
quality – but it’s OK, it’s natural isn’t it?). This track is performed longer than the studio
version. I like the exploration of bass line by Pete, guitar by Steve and keys by Mark.
It’s a very attractive live track. It’s the best “Fugazi” the band has ever performed so
far. (I have some bootleg versions of Fish era; but the one in this set is much better:
it’s dynamic, energetic and much more rocking!). I like the part where Fish introduced
the band members to the audience during the “Where are the prophets?” part. It’s very
nice and I keep repeating this track. It’s not just the way Fish sings to introduce each
member, but the background music is really cool: symphonic in nature, stunning guitar,
great keyboard and punchy bass line. The crowd then follows shouting “Where are the
prophets?” repeatedly. Oh boy … what a great chunk of music here. So dynamic, so
lively! It seems I was in the middle of the crowd!

The encore “Punch and Judy” – “Market Square Heroes” was performed seamlessly in
lively style. As usual, the crowd shout together “I’m a market square heroes!!!!”.
Interlude was performed wonderfully (starting at minutes 2:50) where Fish invites the
audience to dance together and giving instructions on what the audience should do.
The background music is great, dominated by keyboard backed with dazzling bass
guitar and guitar fills. The solo bass guitar during Fish invitation to audience to
dance “Yeah twist again …!” is really nice. Great concluding track!

Volume C: 2CD (97:07) - Live at Palatrussardi, Milan, Italy (26 January 1988)

I don’t expect much of this live set as it seems similar with “La Gazza Ladra” or “Live
from Lorelei” version. The difference is that this live set has incomplete “Misplaced
Childhood”. Venue wise, it seems Marillion had loyal and fanatic fan base in Italy. I can
sense it through the crowd participation even during the first track “Slainthe Mhath”.
The even react actively to Fish’s conversation before “Assassing”. Through this live set
I can feel the soul of live performance where the audience actively participated with
the band.
I like Fish conversation just before “White Russian” where he talked about the political
conditions in the world; nothing has changed – like in Nicaragua, South Africa, El
Salvador. Where do we go from here, White Russian? What a great talks! It flows to
the music of “White Russian”. Personally, this is my favorite track of “Clutching at
Straws” album. The ending part is really an ultimate climax: Racing the clouds home ..
We place our faith in human rights.

It seems the crowd were die-hard fan of Marillion as they shout together the beginning
part of  “Fugazi”. Vodka intimate on affair …Mosley did a short drum solo after Fish
sings “of a Friday’s night supper …”. And again at the part when the lyric is “Where are
the prophets?” all the crowd sung together with loud voice. It’s very lively and I like it!
After “Fugazi” all crowd shout loudly like in a football match. Great! The band continues
with first three tracks of “Clutching At Straws” album: “Hotel Hobbie” - performed
differently with longer and ambient intro followed by vibes sound intro. The crowd was
really hot here where I can here clearly the hand clapping. “This pilgrimage to happy
hour ..!!” uuugh I like this part man – rocking guitar, dazzling bass line, stunning guitar
and great drumming. It flows to “Warm Wet Circle” and “That Time of The Night”.
Again, crowd participation is wonderful. The nice and touchy clavinet sound at the
beginning of “That Time of The Night” was accompanied by “Ooooo” by the crowd. Nice.
There is small technical problem here where the start of “That Time of The Night” was
cut too early. But it’s OK.

I don’t know for what reason the band did the “Misplaced Childhood” part in a reverse
way starting from Side 2 and continued with Side 1 without “Pseudo Silk Kimono”
and “Bitter Suite”.  Regretful, actually because if I look at the CD duration, there are
ample space and definitely can accommodate these 2 songs. Anyway, the crowd
participation in “Kayleigh” is really amazing – the can sing the lyrics on top of their head
and it happens to “lavender” as well. Wow! Fantastic!
The other regret is that “Heart of Lothian” is not started from the end of “Bitter Suite”.

The encore of the live set is “Incommunicado” and “Garden Party”.  During “Garden
Party” the crowd voice even louder than other tracks. Almost all of them participated.

OVERALL it’s an excellent live set. For me personally I give FIVE STAR as it is a
masterpiece because I am  an Early Marillion aficionado and I’m sure I must have
been “bias” in reviewing this boxed set. But I don’t want to be so naïve, that’s why I’d
give 4 stars for this page. This rating applicable for those who have listened to the first
four albums of the band. For those who are NEW to the band, you should start with
the studio album “Script for a Jester’s Tear” and don’t buy this boxed set.  GW,
Indonesia.

                  
                Review by
               
                    Gatot
               
                (Gatot Widayanto)
               
       
[Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator]
               Posted 2:42:08 AM EST, 10/20/2006
               

               
               
               This is the only album of Deep Purple with Joe Lynn Turner as lead vocalist – and I
don’t have any problem at all with it. His voice is clear and powerful. All tracks
for me are good. The opening track is an interesting one to enjoy as it has god
combination of keyboard and guitar work in medium tempo style. Turner’s voice is
suitable for this track. My best favorite track of this album is “The Cut Runs Deep”
– it has all power that typically early Deep Purple has in quite fast tempo. The song
has great energy and strong melody. Especially, I love the music riffs combined with
dynamic drumming. Whenever I hear this song, my memory refresh back to my days when I
installed offshore oil and gas platform for Total Indonesie at Tambora Tunu, East
Borneo, Indonesia. Why? Because during the two months offshore installation, I
practically only listened to two cassettes: Deep Purple “Slaves and Masters” and God
Bless “The Story of”. And, The Cut Runs Deep was my spirit for the difficult days I
struggled to manage demanding client’s requests. What an experience! So I just sung
“The cut runs deep …!!!” Wow! It elevated my emotion man…!!!

“Love Conquers All” is a very nice ballad and also “Fortuneteller”. The other
excellent track that I also like is “Wicked Ways”.

Yeah, you may discount my rating to 3 stars because this album is too personal for
me. Working in remote area, offshore, for two months with practically no
entertainment but those two cassettes – what can I expect? But for sure this is
definitely not a less-than- three-stars album.

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW
 
Comments from www.progarchives.com reader:

just read your interesting review of this album! it is probably the most

hated DP-album, but i like it immensely for what it is, and, hey, feb.17th

1991 was my first ever DP concert (with JLT on vocals), and that wasn’t

half bad – and of course one doesn’t forget that.

but anyway, allow me to share MY "slaves & masters" story with you. not

quite as edgy as your offshore-experience, mind you, but i’ll give it a go.

when the album was out i had a full time job at a local McDonald’s

restaurant in northern germany where i used to live at that time, waiting

for my approval to start my studies. one night after opening hours, we

were clearing up the store and the kitchen area, abusing the stereo system,

which is obviously used during the day to "entertain" punters with very

crap indeed "muzak" so to speak, to crank our favourite albums for the

hard cleaning job. we were certainly a bunch of metalheads at that time.

one thing we should have considered though – it was springtime, the air

was mild and people were sitting outside during the day. that’s why there

were speakers outside to convey the "muzak" onto the terrace, which

SHOULD HAVE BEEN TAKEN INSIDE after opening hours.

alas, that did not happen. you know how it continues. the entire western

part of my then hometown was BLASTED with said deep purple album for

hours on end until the police arrived and told us of numerous complaints

about the "monsters of rock" festival at this late hour. i don’t need to tell

you that i am still laughing manically about that story.

well, that’s my two cents that will forever be linked to a very underrated

album. it is exactly what that particular version of DP could come up with

and for that reason alone it deserves some credit, even if one does not

like the music, which is understandable. i like it and i still play it

occasionally as it constantly reminds me of "a very good time" 

peace on earth and mercy mild, indeed!

best regards,

iguana

               

                  
                Review by
               
                    Gatot
               
                (Gatot Widayanto)
               
       
[Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator]
               
   
               Posted 10:06:37 AM EST, 9/9/2006
               

               
               An Excellent Symphonic Progressive Metal Concert

I got the DVD of Angra -  Rebirth World Tour - Live in São Paulo after the double CD
live set. So it was like seeing how the band actually played the concert. It’s an
awesome experience for me because most of my questions when I listened to the CD was
answered satisfactorily. First, I was curious how actually Aquiles Priester played
the speedy drum. And it was quite surprising to me as he plays it in a relax way and
does not seem to look at working very hard to get his strokes. I enjoy the way he
plays his drum set. When he plays his drum solo right after “Make Believe” it’s the
kind of drumming style that I enjoy watching it.

The other curiosity that I had was how hard Edu sings the Andre Matos tunes like
“Carry On” which requires very high register notes. Oh yeah, Edu handles his vocal
job marvelously. I have no doubt at all about the future of the band knowing Edu’s
capability as one of the world’s best metal singer, I think. The other thing is on
guitar jobs how actually the split between Kiko and Rafael was actually made as I
could not differentiate them on audio record. But now after I watch the DVD I can see
clearly that they each other know their parts in every song they played double
guitar. In fact in some appearances they played collaborative guitar solos with
stunning sounds!

I don’t need to elaborate musically as I have addressed this live set at the double
CD album review of the same concert. Having seen this DVD, I recommend you to buy the
DVD version of this album than the CD. But if you love the band very much, owning the
CD is worth the price.

In terms of stage act, each member demonstrates excellent performance. Edu sings by
moving into some places at the stage – sometimes he does headbanging or emulating
guitar playing style. He handles his high register notes easily – without having to
work very hard – it seems to me. Kiko also moves from back to front area and
sometimes he moves up to the drum set, closer to Aquiles. He plays his guitar with an
elegant style and it’s so nice and so rockin’ to see him on stage. Rafael balances
the stage act with moving forward to Kiko’s position and both of them play together
during double guitar solos. Felipe Andreoli also plays dynamically. He does really
excellent bass solo part on “Unholy Wars” – oh it’s really cool …! After this bass
solo followed with Edu’s vocal, Kiko also performs stunning guitar solo. Well, Kiko
is one of the best guitar players.

Setlist composition is also excellent as the band combines the high power metal tunes
and softer tracks like “Metal Icarus” or even “Rebirth”. Overall this DVD is an
excellent addition to any prog music DVD collection. If you didn’t get this DVD, you
can buy limited edition of the band’s “Temple of Shadows” album where this DVD is
added as bonus disc. It’s a budget price with awesome live performance. It’s really
worth owning this DVD. Hmmm I can not wait to see them live at my country.
Keep on proggin’ ..!

i-Rock! presents: ANGRA Live in Jakarta. October 16, 2006. Be there!

Gatot Widayanto

i-Rock! Project Manager for ANGRA Live in Jakarta.

Yeaaaahhhh ….!!! Musik rock jan rule tenan jek! Buktinya?
Tickets SOLD OUT – dan ada 800 crowd yang menyerbu venue di Hard Rock Café.
Semuanya head banging, moshing, slam dance bersama band2 perkasa! Yang gak
nonton udah pasti seseka nafas deh …!!!!!

Gw kagak mau komentar banyak, baca aja di KORAN TEMPO besok
(sabtu 19 Agustus 2006).

To: m-claro@yahoogroups.com

From: "Gatot
Widayanto" <gatot_wid@yahoo.co.uk>

Date: 

Fri, 18 Aug 2006

07:45:01

+0100 (BST)

Subject: [M-ClaRo] KORAN TEMPO SABTU BESOK: i-Rock!: UNITED
WE STAND

Bagi yang nonton maupun yang kagak, ulasan nuansamatik

menggelitik terhadap event maha dahzsyat (terbukti

kan

? gw tuh
sebenernya kagak bombastis? Yang jelas gw

itu EKSPRESIF! karena terbukti menurut mas Harris

event i-Rock! kemaren yahud smaput tenan???!!!)

kemaren i-Rock! UNITED WE STAND Insya Allah akan

dimuat KORAN TEMPO SABTU besok ini (19 Agustus)

lengkap dengan foto2nya. Siapa tahu ada moshing nya

sekalian? Trus kalian pada mejeng di situ????

MAkANYA - BELI KORAN TEMPO SABTU BESOK!!!!!!

Saran gw, sebaiknya elo semua langganan KORAn TEMPO

karena ini harian paling sesuai dengan jiwa kita jek!

Setiap sabtu selalu ada ulasan album nuansamatik pada

rubrik RETRO, belum lagi Ruang Bacanya yang keren

(edisi kemaren tentang SASTRA dalam ROCK yang wajib

dimiliki rockers!). Getahu ntar yang edisi 27 AGustus

temanya apa, mgkn mas Pur bisa cerita. Tapi kalo ndak

ditolak mas Pur, Insya Allah gw juga mau nulis (tapi

bukan musik jek! sekali-kali mengulas dunia profesi

dong … ha ha ha ha ..). Soal ulasan musik Mas Pur

jelas lebih kompeten. Pokoknya top dah!

(OOOiiiii … jangan salah ye, gw kagak dibayar apa2

nih ama KT buat promosi supaya kalian beli / langganan

KT. Terutama beli yang edisi BESOK dah … biar jadi

memorabilia …)

Mungkin juga after KT ada Rolling Stone (mas @dib)

bakalan menglas; Free Kick (bli Rikon?), Sound Up?

Yang jelas sih di blog gw PROGRESSIVE MIND bakalan gw

muat tapi ntar dulu lagi keranjingan ANGRA nijh ..

pemanasan. Semangat gak kalian kalo ANGRA konser di

Jakarta

?
………….

Salam,

G

Np. "Millenium Sun" - ANGRA lagi dunk ..

Apa lagi kalo bukan ini nih …

A Mild Live presents:
i-Rock! UNITED WE STAND
16 August 2006, 19:30 - till nggeBLAKKKK!!!! BLAK ! BLAK!!
Hard Rock Cafe, EX - Jakarta

JANGAN NGAKU ROCKER KALO NGGAK DATENG!!!!

Yang jelas: atraksinya bakalan SPEKTAKULER!!!!

Desain panggung MAHA DAHZYAT!! Band yang main? PILIHAN!!! Selain tiga nama top: EDANE, ROXX, SUCKER HEAD - masih ada 3 band yang MENGAGUMKAN!!!
- The JALU
- Bumble Bee (mojang Priangan yang ngerock polLLL …!!!)
- STUPA (Hard Rock ’80s) yang selalu tampil MEMUKAU di event i-Rock!

BE THERE!!!!! or DIE!!!

Click here for TICKET BOX

YEEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!

Gatot

Jakarta, Indonesia.   The Indonesian Progressive Society (IPS) presented the 17^th Prog Night last night, 28 July 2006, 7:30 PM at Romeo Cafe, Auto Mall, Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD), Jakarta.. Three bands were featured: Votel Roffs, Vantasma and In Memoriam. The first two bands are basically newly established while the latter has performed excellently at other IPS events like Prog Fest as well as Prog Night. In Memoriam has also released a studio album and is now preparing the second one. Vantasma has recorded their first debut album and to be officially released in the very near future – probably next month (August) of this year (as informed by Welly, the keyboard player).

Overall, I was totally satisfied with the event not only that I met many prog rock people as well as friends from m-claro mailing list, and also friends from i-Rock! – the recently established rock organization in the country which will rock globally – but also the performing bands were excellent. I brought along new crowd that never attended the event before like my prog rock colleague Yosafat Hutagalung, a senior executive from Citibank Global Consumer Banking, who attended the venue at the same time with me (roughly at 7:30). Yos is the first time guest of the event and from my conversation with him he said it bluntly last night that he really enjoyed the show. (oh yeahh .. you didn’t need to say it, Yos, actually … because I saw you did many headbangings especially when In Memoriam was on stage.Yeah! Prog rules!). Also with me was mas Keli (Rachmat Hery) who loves Marillion and IQ – he is basically neo progger. I also met Roni of Octavariukm band (the band that covers Dream Theater and did their performance during i-Rock! Secong Out Jammin’ two weeks ago at this venue as well). Needless to say taht I also meet old time proggers like Herman Schulz, Didit, Rikon, Rori, mbak Didy (who just arrived couple of days ago from Germany – watching the soccer final! What a rich lady she is yah …? Don’t you think? Yeah .. she is also chairing the BMW Club as well …). Too bad that my neo prog fans did not attend the event – they are Tatan Taufik, Agung Surjoatmodjo (Fish die hard fan), Imam Khanafi – too busy with Indosiar?

Uuughhh … such a long introduction hah? Nevermind – my aim is to get you bored with long intro so that you are not interested to read this long review. If you still sustain reading until this sentence – that’s too bad! It seems like you don’t have any work to do, professionally! Kuak kak kak kak kak kak kak kak kka kak kak … (read: LOL!)
   

VOTEL ROFFS

Votel Roffs was a six-piece band who opened the Prog Night. Osmond: keyboard, Vano: guitar, Danang: guitar, Fahmi: bass, Roma: drums, Andrew: vocals. They performed their music excellently. All players are excellent with their own roles but I could see that the drum player was fantastic and I think he was the best drummer for last night’s performance. Roma rules! (Note: Roma was once the Winner of Asian Beat Drum Competition conducted by Yamaha Music – no wonder he did play fantastic drumming!). His dynamic drums playing enriched the overall textures of their music which blends progressive metal and the mellow side of prog music – usually people call it as neo progressive rock. During the performance of this band I suddenly remember a prog met band

RIVERSIDE

who has released two albums: “Out of Myself” and “Second Life Syndrome”. VR music is very similar with

RIVERSIDE

even though VR is much heavier in term of composition. But I also get a sense of Dream Theater and Pain of Salvation music as well from VR’s music.

I could see how the keyboard player played his keyboard effects in some segments of their music and he did it wonderfully. Even, his playing style made their performance special. Well, I think I knew Osmond before (2 years ago?) when Inndonesian Institute of Musicians (IMI) conducted Prog Event at their campus in

Jakarta

. The same is true also with Fahmi (bass) and Danang (guitar) who also performed at that Prog Event at IMI. But I think all of them have improved significantly in terms of skills and performance. This band has an excellent potential in the future and I’m sure if they release their debut album, it will prog the world! For sure, I will be the first one to write the review at http://www.progarchives.com. I did enjoy their show last night. Bravo Votel Roffs! Keep proggin’ man …!!!!

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars

VANTASMA

Wow…!!!! Finally ..

Indonesia

has a neo progressive rock band. Congratulations! Oh yes, Vantasma is a band in the vein of Marillion, IQ, Pallas, Pendragon – the bands that dared to challenge the new wave and punk music which swept prog music away in the early 80’s. Remember bands like B 52’s, Robert Palmer, Mo, Human League, Ultravox, Duran Duran, Orchestral Maneuver In The Dark, etc? That bands dominated the music industry at that time and even basic pop music was practically not exist. Out of the blue, a Scottish band with unknown name sung “So here I am once more. In A playground of a brokenheart …” well you know it damn well, my friend .. it’s definitely Fish’ voice with Marillion’s “Script For A Jester’s Tear”!!! History has recorded that the appearance of Marillion in the sea of new wave and punk era stood tall with prog flag – of course with a modified version – not that complex as the old school prog of YES “Relayer” or “Close To The Edge”. People then called it as neo progressive rock music.

I never heard any Indonesian prog bands in the vein of neo but Vantasma. This new band is really kicking! Their compositions are great! It comprises music with tight structure combining heavy and soft parts with touchy melodies (of course! This has been the main characteristics of neo prog). I remember clearly weeks ago when Welly (the keyboardist) sent me a short message at my mobile number saying that there are touchy parts of Vantasma music which will attract me. He is right! I saw their music last night with heavy influence of marillion, IQ. Vantasma vocalist Opik is an excellent lead vocalist with excellent English dialect which does not seem like non-English speaking vocalist. His voce and singing style remind me of Peter Nichols of IQ. He could manage his low as well as high note registers. The lead guitarist, Eddy, is also an excellent player with playing style reminds me to Mike Holmes of IQ where it has sometime howling guitar effects. Other players in the band: Jacky – guitar, Gig – bass, Gaga – drums.

Vantasma played four long songs. As compared to Votel Roffs, Vantasma music is softer that’s why there was minimum surprises as it happened with Votel Roffs. I could also sense a feel of getting bored with parts which seem like being elongated. I also remember vividly that at third song they played last night there were segments that were heavily influenced by Mark Kelly’s Garden Party keyboard’s fills. It seemed the crowd were familiar with neo prog music as during break between songs the crowd shout “

Chelsea

Monday …!!!” (Marillion’s song). My friend Keli seemed enjoying Vantasma very much as he is a die hard fan of IQ music. Definitely, when Vantasma release thir debut, I would be the first one to purchase the CD. I hope that the band would play their album in its entirety as they launch the CD. Bravo Vantasma!

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars

IN MEMORIAM

The last performer IN MEMORIAM was representing the “peak” of last night live music performance. In Memoriam came on stage with new lead vocalist, Didi, who has just joined the band since two weeks ago. Before the show, the band’s leader and keyboard player, Reynold, was interviewed by the host (Rustam). Wearing all black costumes the band played their music in their full energy. The music is dynamic and exploding – it combines prog metal with other kinds of music like hard rock, pop as well as circus music. In Memoriam’s music is tough to categorize but for sure their music is original in terms of style.

They played new tracks as well as those from their debut album. Each player has their own attraction point. The guitar player (Martin) and bass player (Susan) use similar costumes in black with red tie, bold heads! The look of the bass player reminds me to the appearance of Nightwish’ bass player. Not just the look that seemed interesting of Susan – but the way he played is bass guitar was truly fantastic. I even came closer to the stage gave my tribute to him as well as to the keyboard player Reynold. Reynold played weird notes at his keyboard, sometimes. But he also played some symphonic style as well.

As far as my ear and mind sensitivity, I could not detect any problem with each song played by In Memoriam’s personnel last night. The lead vocalist also delivered his voice in power with nice metal headbanging. The crowd who sat around me at front row including mbak Didy kept shouting “In Memoriam is GREAT!” while bang her head many times as the music of In Memoriam rolled. Yosafat did the same thing with his head as he could not afford not to shake it. Yeah man … In Memoriam rules! Hmm .. I happened to know later that In Memoriam’s drum player, Anton, is a Keris Patih’s drum player. (Note: Keris Patih is a pop rock band who is very famous in

Indonesia

).

Overall rating: 5 out of 5 stars

SUMMARY

Well my prog friends … That’s all what I could say about the 17^th Prog Night. I was totally satisfied and I felt rockin’. Hope that In Memoriam and Votel Roffs would release their debut CD shortly. Mr IPS Chairman, please expedite the album making of those two excellent bands! I thank YOU …!!!!!! Keep on proggin’ …!

For those of you who love the heavy side of music, you must be there at this event:

Sampoerna A Mild Presents:

i-Rock! United We Stand

Featuring:

EDANE, ROXX, SUCKER HEAD, BUMBLE BEE, THE DJALU, STUPA

Hard Rock Cafe, EX Building

Wednesday 16^th August 2006, 7:30 – till drop

Don’t miss it!!!

Yeaaaahhh ….!!!! Rock On!

Images & Words by:

Gatot Fugaziyanto

i-Rock! Provocation Manager