BMTH live in Jakarta 2024

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This time around Ravel gets it right and BMTH (Bring Me The Horizon) are headlining the Nexfest festival in Jakarta which also features Babymetal. In this format there is no seating - which makes for a much more intimate experience - although you do have to arrive really early if you want to pick a spot right up close to the stage.  We arrived about six hours before BMTH were scheduled to start their performance and bought plenty of drinks to stay hydrated in the tropical afternoon heat (mind you, some of those were Iceland vodka mix!) This was a gig I had long been looking forward to - especially after the debacle last year. Not everyone likes BMTH of course. For deathcore fans the band sold out. For metal heads the band is not purist enough. And for the wider mainstream audience, the band is too heavy. You can't please everyone of course but there are few bands in the rock world which can match the sheer emotional velocity of BMTH. To bring metal and even aspects of metalcore t
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Indonesia vs. Malaysia, who would win in a celebrity deathmatch?

Indonesia is the big older brother who didn’t quite make it, living in a cheap rented house on the outskirts of the city, and twice divorced. His little brother Malaysia, in contrast, is nuevo-rich, stylish and confident, and owns a luxurious apartment uptown. No wonder they’re always squabbling. Sukarno didn’t like Malaysia much either and famously tried to “crush them” (Ganyang Malaysia) under his konfrontasi polices back in the 60’s. Read about that here. 

Some 40 odd years later and the Malaysians are taking revenge it seems. Cos in an extraordinary show of mindless brutality, a bunch of Malaysian cops decided to beat the hell out an Indonesian referee who was in Malaysia for the Asian Karate championships: 

 "I was helpless as I was hit and kicked in the pit of my stomach, chest and abdomen," Pieters Luther said when he arrived at Soekarno Hatta airport on Monday. 

He said that the incident began when he returned after attending a technical meeting of the Asian karate referees at Alison Kelana Hotel in the Nilai district, Malaysia, in the wee hours of Friday last week. 

Because there were no more taxis, he chose to return to his hotel on foot but on the way about 60 meters from Alison Kelana hotel, he was stopped and attacked by four Malaysian policemen in plainclothes. All in the celebrity deathmatch spirit of course. 

So who would win? Indonesia or Malaysia? 

Here’s the lowdown: 

Well there’s no contest here: Indonesia has a dynamic publishing and broadcasting industry while Malaysia persecutes bloggers and decides what things Malaysians read about and don’t read about (Indonesia *****, Malaysia no stars) 

Democracy. Malaysia’s political system is designed to keep the government in, while Indonesia shows them how it should be done (Indonesia ****, Malaysia no stars). 

Religious freedom. Still remember Lina Joy? Enough said. Again Indonesia is miles ahead even if some extremists do continue to pose a threat (Indonesia ***, Malaysia **) 

Chicks. Again a no brainer. Indonesian chicks are much hotter. Even the Malaysians will admit this – and some of ‘em are even coming over to Indonesia to find a hot Indonesian girlfriend like the lovely Bunga Citra Lestari. (Indonesia *****, Malaysia **) 

Norman Tebbit’s cricket test. Malaysians can play cricket and Indonesians can’t. Malaysia wins this one (Indonesia no stars, Malaysia ***) 

 So all in all, a clear victory for Indonesia then. Malaysia is trailing way behind on nearly every measure. Even if they can play cricket!

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