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 Thinker, Singapore

I invent nothing, I rediscover.
~Auguste Rodin

On my last visa run to Singapore, I found myself with time to kill and so, as I usually do, I explored the island city on foot. It’s hot work and always incredibly humid in Singapore – albeit mercifully free of pollution – and I was quickly sweating buckets. To get some respite from the heat, I entered one of the typical modern office buildings – located across from Marina Bay – and there in front of me was Rodin’s famous sculpture, The Thinker.

The Thinker

Singapore is known for the tight control of its citizens, of course, and the statue seemed very much out of place. The Thinker? But that’s exactly what the Singapore government doesn’t want its citizens to do – to actually think. Adding to the irony is the fact that the Thinker is completely starkers whilst Singapore is known for its socially conservative mores – until only fairly recently oral sex between heterosexual couples was actually considered a crime – and homosexuality still is illegal.

Yes, you can construct an ultra modern city and pay homage to great western artists and thinkers. But that doesn't mean you are free to think your mind. And I’m sure Rodin would agree with that!

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