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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The Jaya Pub: stuck in a timewarp

Back in the seventies, Jakarta’s first real pub opened its doors. It was the start of the oil boom and while most oil companies were reporting huge profits, Indonesia’s state owned oil company Pertamina was close to bankruptcy. Bell bottoms were in and so was facial hair. Koes Plus had just released their 13th album. And the invasion of East Timor was underway…


Some 30 odd years on (and 12,832 shopping malls later) and the Jaya Pub is still standing defiant. Yet the years have clearly taken their toll. The building is noticeably tatty and the stairs leading up to the bar creak like those in a horror film. Old dusty pictures hang on the cracked walls.



But a winning formula is a winning formula. So why change it? The bar has a special theme for each night. Tuesday’s is cocktails night and Wednesday’s is Ladies Night. Yet most of the emphasis is on drinking beer and, of course, the live music for which the pub is famous.



Jaya Pub schedule: click on pic to see it full size

So have a beer, play a game of pool. And even discuss the latest political intrigues. Did I ever tell you what Harmoko stood for? Hari hari omong kosong! Hahaha!

The Jaya Pub
Jl. M.H. Thamrin 12
Telp (021) 31925633 or 3909249
Opening hours 6pm-1am

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