HELLOWEEN

HELLISH ROCK World Tour '07 '08
Tennis Outdoor Senayan
Friday, 22 February 2008

Helloween is a legend. In highschool, almost in every band I played in, the guitar-boy asked to cover 'I Want Out' in studio or simply play that tapping-intro when we hanged-out at one member's place. Back then, I was with Metallica and Faith No More, so I didn't really dig it. Most vocalist-boys back then rather sing Nirvana, so I guess they didn't dig it either.

So, when Helloween come to Jak-City for the second time after 2004, I didn't prepare anything other than browsed some info about the gig in the Net. Suddenly, that late-afternoon came a call from Harry B. about a chance for a free pass or ticket.

Harry is my metal-mania cousin who works at Ramako Radio Group and occassionally he gets free pass or ticket. He and I went to last year's Dragon Force gig and almost made it to Paul Gilbert gig a couple years earlier (not the sold out Megadeth gig, he only got one free pass for himself and I had an computer-emergency call from another one of my cousin).

So, at about 6pm I went to the venue and got there by 7. I wore black pants and black polo shirt, which is as black as I can recently. I was going to wear Utchink's over-sized-and-given-to-me Metallica shirt, but I switched at the last minute for two reasons: It's Metallica shirt but it's Helloween gig, and I went to Dragon Force gig with similar outfit (dark-blue pants instead). It turned out that I saw some Dragon Force shirt at the venue. Still no Metallica shirt, although maybe there's some at the festival (I didn't know how it was going on the festival I because ended up sitting at the tribune, surrounded with some rather clueless free-passers, just-out-of-the-office-still-wearing-office-shoes guys, and some pinky females).

Helloween was scheduled to play in Tennis Indoor (like the coming Incubus gig), but (Harry said) the mishap in Bandung underground gig (features thrash band 'Beside') with ten fatalities affects the permission to hold a rock concert in an indoor venue, so the promotor ('Solucite', the same promotor of Dragon Force gig) transfer the venue to Tennis Outdoor. Check out Hindari Rusuh, Helloween Konser di Ruang Terbuka @ okezone.com for a review on this matter. I think it's lucky that we have the choice of two indoor-outdoor venues side by side like here. It would be complicated to move a gig to a different venue that is located far from the original venue. I don't now whether Incubus gig will be transfered too, it has different promotor (Java Musikindo).

The opening act was already started, but we stayed out for two reasons: Harry don't really dig the opening act (thrashy growly kinda stuff) and the press-pass for me was still in his friend's (from KIS FM) hand somewhere outside the venue.

We went in at 8.30, with the last opening act still performing. Nice, the band featured a female vocalist in one song. Harry called it, "A kinda progressive song" (I think he calls it because the song was not in one tempo from start to end..).

We sat on the tribune, because the other guys wanted to for yet another two reasons: They just got out of work (one of them still wearing formal/work shoes) and wanted to sit down instead of standing at the festival area and, I eventually figured out, they didn't really dig Helloween either (apparently less then I am, and guess what, one of them only knew 'I Want Out'). The center tribune was already full, so we went to the side tribune.

Gatot Widayanto (or Fugaziyanto?) is the MC, again, and that old-metal-crack behave comically, again. Man, I respect you for being true to classic rock scene, but your way is so-not-rocker. Like his comical way is not enough, he was accompanied by three guys, each wearing a Helloween pumpkin on their head.. Ha! Applause to you anyway, citing that Helloween would record this gig and release it as a CD, if only the crowd would go crazier than Bangkok.. we'll see! He also posted a promotion-review, some pre-review (before the show and way before the show), and a post-review, with some more comical attitude and some photographs.

There was this rather long sound-check break, accompanied with a background of jazzy songs (Err.. excuse me sir, is this JavaJazz venue?) and one loud AC/DC song ('For Those About To Rock We Salute You').

Finally, the show started with 'Halloween'. Yeah, we're rocking!

I only recognise two older member: Markus Grosskopf and Michael Weikath.

The stage consisted of two main part: The standard right-on-the-crowd's-face with four mike-stands and the riser with the drum on the center of it and some space on both side with one mike-stand each. There's a stair on each side that connects the standard-stage and the riser. Other than the fact that both guitarists can come up to the riser on each side of the drum kit, the stage was plain and dark-colored. The Helloween logo below the drum-kit (stretched along the front-side of the riser) wasn't visible from the side tribune (I kinda see the pumpkin that is the letter 'O', but not the whole 'Helloween'). Later I figured out from the reviews that there's a full-image backdrop (I did see a glimpse of the mascot which is the guy with a pumpkin head.. Anybody knows his name?). But to make up with the plain stage, the lighting work was nice.

The 'S' and 'E' banners from 'Solucite' (the promotor) hangs on each side of the stage, where the speakers should be, but I swear there's no speaker behind it! In fact, I couldn't see (from the tribune I'm sitting in) where the speakers were! Well, there's got to be speakers, because the sound is rocking..

I don't know most of the song but, as always, I can't stay still with that kind of powerful sound! I bang my head, pound my feet to the tribune (which is already vibrating to the drum beat) and my hands to my thighs, yell, making symbols with my hands, and clapping enthusiastically (compared to some people around.. I know we're in the seated tribune but it's a g-damn rock show, c'mon!). Harry was the only one around me that also rocking. Of course, his the master of the genre. It's funny how everybody asked him, before the show, for some please-makes-us-less-clueless facts about Helloween.

Maybe it's caused by sitting in the side tribune instead on the center tribune or the festival, the sound I got is less powerful than Dragon Force (and Korn, because Arena PRJ was a kinda similar venue in term of sounding, I think). Festival is better, though I kinda like the way my seat vibrates with the bass drum (What? I better be joking..).

I got some chances to sing along: There was a crowd-choir part. I dunno the song, but the part that we sang was "I am the perfect gentleman" and then "Perfect!". And then there was another song (I think it's 'The Hells Of The 7 Bells') that sang "We are the people" and then a yelling-part "Hell!".

There was a drum solo at about mid-way through the show by Daniel Loble. Nice, nothing extraordinary. One part sounded like Mike Portnoy's part (and Portnoy said once, "I hate drum solo..").

There's a guitar solo part that was embedded in one of the song. Sascha Gerstner's solo was fast, while Grosskopf's was kinda mellow (the solos were embedded in a slow song).

Weikath's bass sound is so unclear from the side tribune. But come to think of it, the guitars' sound wasn't as clear as (I think) it supposed to be either. The bass-drum is so dominant, along with Andi Deris' vocal (of course). This was the same case with the Dragon Force gig (although I was on the festival then). Maybe Solucite had the same sound engineer? I dunno..

Some songs that I recognized was 'Dr. Stein', the awesome 'Power', and the inevitable 'I Want Out'.

I can't really slamming sitting down. But I got my chance to stand up freely at the encore. It was funny, because I was making a standing ovation when it went dark right before the encore and completely forgotten about it (I thought that's it), but I think that's what drives Harry (and eventually the other guys) to stands up at the second encore.

Yup, that's right, there was two encores. Just before the first one, everybody's making comment about how lousy an encore is and everybody knows that those mo-fo is going to come back for some more songs anyway. Well, there you have it you smarty-pants: Two encores!

The encore was awesome. Not only that I can slam and jump freely at the second one, there was 'Power' at the first one. Medley though (with 'I Can'), but it's the one song I dig that night (I got it recorded on my old Nokia, for 3 minutes, but I dunno how the hey am I going to transfer it to a more decent format).

The second encore contains, none other, 'I Want Out'. Well, what the hey, I slam anyway..

There was also some pumpkin-shaped ballons kicked around the stage during the encores and eventually to the festival crowd (I want it! But it was difficult to get, even if I was standing in the festival.. Anyway!).

Almost two hours Helloween rocked Jak City. Harry said, the setlist was not so different than Bangkok (the earlier gig on the Hellish Rock Tour). It also started with 'Helloween' and also ended with two encores.

The crowd was less attractive than Dragon Force or Megadeth (Harry said, "No moshing".. though I did saw one guy on the festival tried to mosh, and failed) but that's a comparison to a different genre (speed metal, fast-kicking bass-drum from start to end) and to a greater legend (someone around me commented about the rather-long sound-check break, "I didn't mind waiting for Dave Mustaine, this is too long.."). It's Helloween's second visit anyway, maybe the fan anxiety was lesser too.

Overall, it was nice for me. No matter how clueless I am, it was metal professionals at work and they awesomely rocking.
KEEP IT COMING!

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This is my personal review for the gig. For more standard review in Bahasa Indonesia, check out Konser HELLOWEEN: Hantu Buah Labu itu Masih 'Menakutkan' @ rileks.com that includes names of the songs played. A similar but shorter review can be found at Helloween Menyihir Penonton Bernostalgia @ okezone.com.