Thursday, October 14, 2010

Tori Amos and The Metropole Orchestra

8 Oktober adalah hari yang cukup bersejarah buat saya, Tori Amos, dan Metropoloe Orchestra.
Bagi saya, hari itu adalah hari dimana saya dinobatkan untuk mendapatkan gelar sebagai Master of Communication. Gelar yang saya perjuangkan selama satu tahun dengan segala "ups and downs" dalam prosesnya. Sedangkan untuk Tori Amos, hari itu adalah hari dimana dalam kurun kurang lebih 20 tahun karirnya sebagai musisi, bermain bersama orkestra besar untuk pertama kalinya di depan para penggemarnya. Bagi Metropole Orchestra, hari itu bersejarah sekaligus emosional karena mereka menjadi bagian dari hari bersejarah Tori Amos tersebut. Emosional karena adanya rencana pembubaran orkestra yang berdiri sejak tahun 1945. Mereka adalah salah satu 'korban' dari rencana pemotongan anggaran pemerintahan Belanda untuk dana kesenian di tahun 2011.
Terlepas dari situasi yang cukup emosional, saya sangat beruntung bisa menikmati semua hal tersebut di hari yang bersamaan, di Heinneken Music Hall, Amsterdam. Hampir setengah dari kapasitas venue adalah non-Belanda. Mereka datang dari segala penjuru Eropa, bahkan dunia. Seperti yang ditulis dalam sebuah fan-site Tori Amos, undented, konser ini sudah ditunggu tunggu oleh para penggemarnya selama bertahun tahun. Tidak heran, tiket konser ini langsung habis dalam kurun waktu beberapa jam setelah diumumkan.
Sebagian lagu lagu yang dimainkan malam itu adalah lagu lagu yang ia tulis dengan membayangkan apabila lagu itu dimainkan dengan orkesrta besar yang hanya ada di dalam pikirannya saja. Lagu seperti "Yes, Anastacia" "Flying Dutchman" "Our New Year" serta "Precious Thing" dimainkan secara apik diantara konser yang berdurasi hampir 2 jam tersebut. Semua kekuatan lirik dan emosi yang terbangun dari musik Tori Amos menjadi semakin megah dan kaya akan dimensi oleh iringan orkestra yang dipimpin oleh Jules Buckley. -O-
Link foto klik di sini
Link video klik di sini
Beberapa video yang saya rekam malam itu:



Lagu Holy, Ivy, and Rose pun ia ubah sedikit liriknya untuk mengkritik pemerintah Belanda.


Ada juga link mp3 dari konser malam itu: Tori Amos - With Love (At Amsterdam)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Let's Paint Our New Life

This is a drawing made as a wedding present for my newly wed friends: Chika and Jaing. My good and creative friends. It was supposed to be finished before their D-day, to be displayed in the wedding party on October the 3rd. But due to my thesis and final defense presentation, I couldn't make it on time to hand it in.
It's a bit scruffy on the guy's hand and the girl's face.. as I always find trouble for making a girl's face.. I'm sorry Chika :)

FYI, they both met at the dancing animal's exhibition, Love Artually, and got together until they shouted their vow recently. So happy for them both, and may they have a good creative life together and forever.

Check out the couple's artwork at http://chesterdexterdancing.blogspot.com/

"Let's Paint Our New Life". Pencil on paper. Photoshop.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Notes from Todays Art 2010

Last weekend on 24-25 of September, the 6th edition of TodaysArt is held in The Hague. It is a festival that is focused on amplifying the forms and relationship between art, music, and technology.
This year's theme for the festival is 'Love the Real City', which implies that there is a city that is not real, which could be the abstract, administrative view of the city or The Hague's bid to become Cultural Capital 2018.

According to TodaysArt director/founder, Olof van Winden, The Real City is experiences, participation, engagement, daily routines, and a festival like TodaysArt.

This a series of notes based on what I saw during the two days festival in the heart of the city. Meanwhile, enjoy the teaser video of the festival.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Blonde Redhead gig at Melkweg, Amsterdam

After been listening to Blond Redhead for almost a decade now, finally I had the chance to see them live last Sunday (19 September 2010). It was one of the great live music experience that I had since a few times while living here in the Netherlands. Totally they played 13 songs for more than one and a half hour. Too bad that they didn't interact or even communicate with the audience throughout the entire show.
However, the sound and the music they played was superb. The stage design was amazing: they have many of this funny light bulbs that looks like a dancing fire; a few golden umbrella as part of the background, that also acts as a reflector for the light; amazing lighting visualization that can transform the dark soothing sound of their music to become something that can makes you dance to the moves that the singer, Kazu Makino, is making on stage; a big picture of unicorn, which part of Kazu's obsession with horses; also, a weird looking helmet that looked like a horse's ass with double tail.

Here's some of the picture and a video taken from the concert. Enjoy!










For more pictures, go to my facebook album page and youtube page for more videos.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Blonde Redhead's Not Getting There Video

The new album, Penny Sparkle, was just released three days ago. The sound are very promising. Some videos from the new album was just released by their label, 4AD. Kazu has never been so sexy in this video. Can't wait to see them live at Amsterdam this Sunday!













Monday, September 13, 2010

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

Just watched the documentary movie of the American journalist Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005) called "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson". This movie was directed by Academy Award winner, Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side).

The name "Gonzo" is a style in journalism that Thompson created during his political news coverage. The movie was released in 2008 with lots of interviews with many politicians, musicians, and also artists such as Ralph Steadman who collaborated with Thompson. One of Steadman's work is Gonzo Artworks and one of them is used as a poster for the film "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" starring Johnny Depp.
In the documentary, Johnny Depp narrated almost throughout the entire movie, taken from Thompson's last memoir.

After watching the movie, I had never realised that there could have so many rock and roll life in journalism. Thompson's obsession with drugs, guns, and woman is adequately portrayed in the movie side by side with his other side of a human being which is a loving husband, father, who wants to make a better place in this world.
This movie is good documentary to see, especially when you think of the political situation that Indonesia is facing with a lack of trust in the leaders (and it has always been). Maybe we can also can have our own Indonesian Gonzo Journalism that will make an honest man out of our leaders, by following the path that Thompson had created. Maybe.




Saturday, September 11, 2010

Happy Eid Mubarak

Happy Eid Mubarak. May there be peace amongst all of us.

Octa Ramayana