Saturday (15/03) marked the 5th episode of Music Gallery, a local music festival which was organized by BSO Band FEUI. With significant improvements of quality in each year, Music Gallery –or known as Mugall, is gradually making its way as the local festival to look forward to. The tickets were selling out so fast at some point it became hard to find, all because of the enticingly hard-to-resist line of performers. The 5th Mugall invited Jirapah, MMS, Monkey To Millionaire, Ramayana Soul, Banda Neira, Payung Teduh, and NAIF. And beside the selection of incredible local talents, this year Mugall added an international act, the France-based indie-pop band Tahiti 80. Another intriguing part laid on the setlist that there were SORE, Mondo Gascaro, The Trees and the Wild, and BARASUARA. We couldn’t help but wonder how’s the reunion going in the backstage.

Shifting spot from the usual Upper Room Annex Building to a more southern part of Jakarta, the 5th Mugall took place in Gandaria City. Around 2pm the Bookstore Club, Selimut Cokelat, Circarama, and Jirapah warmed up the Pertamina Stage on Skeeno Hall, while Solace, Fourtwnty, Bageurs, and Monkey2Millionaire entertained passersby from the Piazza Stage. While we were around the Piazza, we could gaze and contemplate upon the art installations of Synaesthesia: Tasting Words, Seeing Sounds, Hearing Colors.

With the separated venues located on different levels –3rd floor and ground floor, one would have to choose the more desirable stage. Not really a pleasant options, then We decided to start at Pertamina Stage to see BARASUARA. Iga Massardi, the lead vocalist, shared the fact that he’s about to be a father before he continued to rock the stage. Within their 8 songs, the constant sing-a-long and the perfectly synchronized lighting boosted up their already powerful performance.

The huge venue was starting to feel packed around the time for The Trees and The Wild, and the entrance queue had just become really long. Whereas people who needed outdoor air would likely choose to hang out in Piazza Stage as Mondo Gascaro soothed the ambiance with “Our Day Will Come” and “Naked”. Along with Mian Tiara, they sang the rendition of Chrisye’s “Serasa”, followed by “Komorebi” which attracted the audience to come closer.

Banda Neira was scheduled to perform almost in time for Tahiti 80, but the audience in Piazza Stage grew larger. They brought melancholy to a historical level with the song “Mawar” –titled from the name of an army squad responsible for kidnapping activists in New Order era, and “Tini dan Yanti” which lyrics were adopted from writings on a prison wall. “La historia me absolvera, history will absolve me”, Rara Sekar (vocal) explained the excerpt of the song.

Upstairs at the Pertamina Stage, Xavier Boyer greetings of “Halo Jakarta, senang bisa bertemu kembali!” responded with loud cheering. It’s their third visit to Indonesia and they haven’t lost their charm. Boyer (vocal, keyboard), Pedro Resende (bass), Mederic Gontier (guitar), Raphael Leger (synth, percussion) and Sylvain Marchand (drum) were excited to be back. Though they were sweating because of the heat, that did not stop them from being energetic on stage. With songs from their latest album, Ballroom,  Boyer lead the audience to sing along. After about 12 songs, Tahiti 80 signed out without “Heartbeat”. Of course that’s a cue to request an encore. So they went back on stage and served the most awaited line: Can you feel my heartbeat when I’m close to you?

It’s almost midnight, but the audiences stayed for NAIF and Payung Teduh. NAIF songs never fails to please the crowd for a classic karaoke session, from “Air dan Api” to the classic hit “Piknik 72″. It is an admirable decision to put NAIF as closing act; a gesture of staying committed to Music Gallery’s main purpose of showcasing great local bands.

More photos: The 5th Music Gallery 2015 on Facebook

Saturday, Feb 22 marked the newborn festival in Bandung presented by Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis Universitas Padjajaran. Abbreviated from the title Padjajaran Music, Festival, and Culture, PASIFIC aimed to combine music festival and cultural awareness. The biggest temptation from this event came from the line-ups which consisted of several Indonesian most prominent artists. Up first was HiVi! While the weather might not be all sunshine when it started, HiVi! performance had successfully warmed up the drizzled afternoon. Dea and Ilham, the vocal duo, always eagerly inviting the crowd to sing along, such a signature gesture from HiVi! Of course it’s hard to refuse their catchy songs like Curi-Curi, Orang Ketiga, or Mata ke Hati. The quartet’s rendition of The Groove’s Khayalan was also a good throw for people who had just seen them for the first time.

Raindrops were still falling when Tulus stepped on stage. The pop jazz soloist who had just recently released his second album, “Gajah”, greeted the audience with his trademark greeting, “Halo, perkenalkan nama saya Tulus…” With some brief story-telling about each songs he’s about to perform, Tulus delivered Kisah Sebentar, Diorama, Sewindu, Teman Hidup, Jatuh Cinta, and few numbers from “Gajah” album: Sepatu and Bumerang. His baritone crooning never failed to melt ones heart. We just can tell, for most of the audience were girls looking smitten, singing along wholeheartedly.

After the first two performances, we were given down time to enjoy surroundings: trying out Bandung’s culinary from the food tenants, meeting friends, or lining-up for a toilet break. The venue was getting even more crowded by the evening as the rain finally had stopped. Filling your tummy may not be a problem; the food tenants varied from the good ol’ nasi goreng to the hipster-ish all kinds of tea. But in such a cold and damp weather, toilet is a necessity, which was kind of insufficient in number it might burst your bladder.

Around 4 pm we shifted to the main stage where Project Pop scheduled to perform. Dressed in red and white attire, the six of them energetically entertained the audience with their comedic bits. Sundanese jokes are well received; an advantage as a Bandung based group in their own hometown. Other than songs like Pacarku Superstar, Gara-Gara Kahitna, and Metal vs Dugem, they parodied a currently popular dangdut song, Kereta Malam. After all the fun, Ingatlah Hari Ini made a memorable closing.

Tulus and HiVi! had been a feast for the girls, now it’s time for the boys and their awaited garage-rock band lead by Rekti, The SIGIT! Too bad there was some technical problems with Rekti’s microphone for several songs including No Hook and Clove Dopper, quite a bummer. For the next performance, the crowd automatically switched; front rows were filled with girls who then went screaming for Afgan’s name. It goes wilder when Afgan finally showed up, being all charming when greeting the audience. Even if you don’t really listen to his songs, you might found yourselves mouthing the words as Afgan sings, because it’s just impossible not to recognize his hit singles like Sadis, Bawalah Cintaku, Jodoh Pasti Bertemu, and Bukan Cinta Biasa. Whenever he bow down closer to the audience, high pitch screams will fill the air. He is indeed a real charmer.

The hysterical screaming did not stop there, for the next perfomance was the most awaited band from Yogyakarta, Sheila on 7. Existing since 1996, most of the audience grew up with their songs since the year of “Sheila on 7″ self-titled album. They seemed to understand our expectation, so the song lists mostly included singles from their early years such as Seberapa Pantas, Saat Aku Lanjut Usia, and Pria Kesepian. Duta never sang alone as the crowd known every words and all singing loud. The best part, of course, was Melompat Lebih Tinggi. This single from OST 30 Hari Mencari Cinta shook the venue as the audience literally jumping higher in accordance to the lyrics.

It might be exhausting after all the jumping and singing, but NAIF was definitely not to be missed. Continuing our nostalgia to the 90’s, NAIF started off with Mobil Balap, Televisi, and Posesif. Then, David the vocalist allowed the audience to request the next songs. The requests fulfilled were Air dan Api, Karena Kamu Cuma Satu, Benci Untuk Mencinta, and the one with the longest title, Dia Adalah Pusaka Sejuta Umat Manusia Yang Ada di Seluruh Dunia. Before the show ended, David took off his clothes and threw it off, triggering more scream from the girls. “Thank you!” David said as he’s leaving the stage, with last strum and stomp from Jarwo the guitarist, Emil the bassist, and Pepeng the drummer. As for the final performance, we could finally chill down a bit with songs from Glenn Fredly. The festival ended romantically with songs like You’re My Everything and Malaikat Juga Tahu.

PASIFIC has compiled a fully-satisfying set of artists with generous setlists as well. They are really what made the ticket price worth it. If only the concept of music, festival, and culture had been more elaborated and implemented, it would have the chance to distinct itself from other festivals alike. There are still several rooms of improvement that need to be taken care of before it’s able to make its way as a festival to be remembered. We believe it’ll only get better from here!

Article by Annisa Karnesyia

Photos by Dinda Kharisha