White Shoes and The Couples Company: Live in India 2013 Journal

While probably most local bands dream to conquer the West, White Shoes and the Couples Company (WSATCC) had gone past that: they flew East! Upon receiving an invitation from Indian Institute of Technology Madras in Chennai, India, they performed for Saarang Festival 2013 last January.

Now they are back, and as prolific as always, they shared the unforgettable journey. In collaboration with whiteboardjournal.com and dia.lo.gue artspace, WSATCC published a journal titled “White Shoes and the Couples Company, Live in India” in a form of tabloid+ CD. Along with the release, a mini concert was held on February 16th at dia.lo.gue artspace, Kemang.

Harlan Boer started the showcase with Sakit Generik and another 5 songs. One of them is a very recent song , Yang Bersangkutan, which he has just written. “Abis ini White Shoes ya, setlist mereka banyak banget nih,” said Harlan, elevating our anticipation of WSATCC performance.

The sky was getting dark as the clock showed 6.47pm when John, Ale, Rio, Ricky, Mela, and Sari greeted everyone with Nothing to Fear. The breeze, the twinkling lights, and the set of Bersandar, Senja, Today is No Sunday made a pleasant, lovely opening. Continued the show to Sans Titre and Runaway Song, John used the tabla, an Indian percussion instrument. Rio also used his phone for some Indian instrumental ambiance.

Now the beat has lifted, John moved back to his drum, Ricky left the cello, and Mela put the pianica down. Bang! There came Senja Menggila! The rest of the setlist was energetically entertaining and it was definitely a sin not to move your body. Among those 16 songs on the list, there were Indonesian folk song: Tjangkurileung from West Java, Teo Rendang O, and Lembe Lembe from Ambon. Talking about real action in preserving culture, We must say it was a very enchanting way.

The concert ended with the last track from their first album, Topstar. We bet all 400 guests who occupied dia.lo.gue backyard last night all went home feeling delighted.