I was sleeping in a hotel room somewhere in Kemayoran, waiting for my little sister to call because she was watching Bring Me The Horizon (BMTH) Day 1. At 11.30 PM she texted me "THE SHOW IS STOPPING HALFWAY, STAGE PROBLEM. CHECK TWITTER NOW" I replied with "whaaat" and checked Twitter immediately.

At a glance, the sight was quite brutal. Some people were yelling and storming the stage. I told my sister to be careful.

When she came back safely around 1.30 in the morning, she was pissed which was understandable. I monitored social media for two days figuring out what went down until finally, Oliver Sykes BMTH's vocalist broke his silence via the band's Instagram story as to what actually happened. It was because the stage was bouncing so much that both the band and crew were worried something far more fatal could occur, so they canceled the show mid-performance. This was the right move because had they continued, it would've been dangerous for everyone inside. Many said it felt like an earthquake at the venue. They managed to deliver 11 songs out of 18 or 19 if I'm not mistaken.  

But the sadder outcome was, day 2 was fully canceled. Saosin, initially deemed the day's opening act, failed to perform at all. This marked their second cancellation to play in Jakarta this year (previously Hammersonic), by the same promotor. In their Instagram post, they're going to refund the tickets. Proportional for day 1 and a full refund for day 2. 

As a concert-goer for more than a decade now, I feel like I might have a little to say about this. BMTH has a huge fanbase coming from all over Indonesia, not just from Jakarta and the metropolitan region. Not even just from Java island. My sister's friend for example, they came all the way from Palu, Central Sulawesi. I can't imagine the amount of cost they had to spend in order to come here, yet the promotor's way of delivering the bad news could've been handled more gracefully. Putting one hand in your pocket reeked arrogance instead of remorse, not a great gesture whatsoever. Although I don't condone the audience's behavior of expressing themselves either, they had the right to be angry. I only had to experience one cancellation (Four Year Strong in 2010 or 2011), but at least it was months before not like this. And this might impact the whole live music ecosystem in the country. I'm afraid that it's going to get harder to assure bands and international acts to perform here. But let's hope that it won't happen. 

I can't say much because I'm neither the promoter nor the fans so I'm just seeing this objectively. Maybe all of this happened for a reason, but I don't know what it is. For me personally, promoters I can trust now are Plainsong Live (Joyland Festival), Ismaya Live (We The Fest), and Java Festival Production (Javarockin'land, Java Jazz Festival). Or you can check the ones registered in Asosiasi Promotor Musik Indonesia. Now summoning Java Musikindo, please come out from your hibernation. We need you and we miss you 🙏🏻    

Photo Source:

Bring Me The Horizon Poster