January 7, 2015

Hello again live music fans and welcome to another edition of Music Matters in your local Bali Advertiser. With New Year upon us this issue is all about re-birth and like a phoenix rising from the ashes that’s what new year brings us a fresh start, a clean slate and a chance to do what we set out to achieve the year before.

A couple of weeks back I was moved by an introduction. A friend of mine said I should come along to a one off event being held in Canggu at a bar called Mrs. Jones’s as it would be right up my street, so after a little consideration (as that particular night the sky was as black as the pit of hell and Canggu is a mean drive) I decided to see what he was on about. I arrived soaked through but curious. I couldn’t have prepared myself for what I saw next on stage was kids, children as young as 4-5 singing pop and Christmas songs!

The corner of the room was reserved for a lady who obviously orchestrated the event and was choreographing the whole thing from a tiny laptop computer. I had a drink sat down shut up and listened. These kids were amazing they really knew how to sing and belted out some great show tunes and Christmas numbers I had never even heard of! The question going through my befuddled mind at this point is why! Why here, why now, what does all this mean?

The answer like most things in life is pretty simple and a little tragic when you get down to it. The venue was hosting a one off concert for an amateur singing club which through no fault of their own were closing down. And this night was their last performance as the owner of the club an expat lady who did not wish to be named was leaving to go back to her country and was having to disband the club. It’s fair to say she had done an excellent job for these children and had taught them professional singing techniques and much like Stage Coach back home really seemed to have a very positive impact on these little guys’ lives.

The announcement came that the bar would be helping the children and allowing them to come and play / rehearse here free of charge once a month. The children were happy with this and I can see the future is bright for a lot of them. There were some very talented youngsters. All girls I might add, so look out Mariah Carey, as I am sure in future we will be seeing a lot more of these starlets.

Mrs. Jones bar is like a slice of New Orleans in Bali and I will come and do a gig review on this place very shortly, the owner Martin, has informed me they are interested in getting live blues bands and also rockabilly acts to play here as soon as possible as it is a new bar and still looking for acts. Anyone interested in playing here should e-mail :
Contact@MrsJonesBali.com or just visit the website :
www.MrsJonesBali.com for more information.

New Years Eve events will be going on all over Bali from the classic like Earth Wind and Fire with Al Mckay down to the simply crazy like Sky Gardens attempt to bring over 20 different DJ’s to the stage including the (very popular in Australia) Stanton Warriors to the stage. Just in the run up to the New Year I have seen many different weird and wacky things the strangest of which I witnessed two days ago on my commute home driving back from Sanur, I came to the U turn at the bottom of the road near Galleria shopping mall. To my surprise in the corner of the road junction (which was less than six feet wide) was a full band complete with drum kit and their own entourage of paparazzi photographers. It looked like an Indonesian pop band doing what pop bands do best which is creating a spectacle.

The Beatles, Michael Jackson, The Stones even (less pop more angry rap metal) Rage Against The Machine all knew how to create a spectacle to win publicity. I am not sure who they were trying to impress though as the traffic continued to get as frustrated as usual despite the music. There is a saying that goes something like, “Music soothes even the savage beast”, however when it comes to Bali traffic I guess it’s just not the case.

The other night in the run up to New Year I found myself in Surfers Bar Legian which as I have already mentioned in previous issues is a great place for bands. Tonight being a Saturday was no exception and the house band were kicking ass with some really good and different tracks. I need to mention the fact that these guys who call themselves Imperia have been playing for 3 years and their main influences are the Foo Fighters, Green Day and Pearl Jam, they cranked out a scorching rendition of Learn to Fly, which really pleased the crowd followed by Enter Sandman and also some usual Guns and Roses numbers but all in all a very skilled set up. One criticism was the sound levels as you won’t catch me saying this often but (it was too loud!) My ears are still ringing like I went to a festival and spent the whole night by a speaker!

2015 promises to be another great year for live music in Bali and beyond. One particular date for your diary a reader Colman Hopper told me about which is a little further afield is January 18th when newly minted rock sensations Avenged Sevenfold take on Jakarta and bring true metal to Indonesia’s capital city. I will be continuing my mission for live music, and sorting out the crowd funded CD I eluded to in the last issue. Whatever you get up to for the first keep it live, and have a rocking New Year.

If you enjoyed this article or have any questions, concerns, or if indeed you are the illusive Chris Curtis please don’t hesitate to drop me a line, here to the Bali Advertiser, or alternatively to my direct email address tobiasjbrown@rockfan.com