The 2023 Joyland Festival in Jakarta

In my recent post I wrote about the cancelled Bring Me The Horizon (BMTH) gig in Jakarta and how that disgracefully organized event could have had some very unwelcome consequences indeed.  

Yet despite this disappointment, at least I still had the 2023 Joyland Festival to look forward to.  Held annually in Jakarta (and in Bali as well), Joyland is professionally managed all the way from the ticketing process to the security and stage set-up with decent facilities also provided such as a beer tent (sponsored by Guinness!) and food stalls, etc. A particularly nice touch given that temperatures can soar in the tropics was the provision of free drinking water not far from the main stage.    

I had tickets for day two of the 3-day event and was thrilled to see that the promoters had had the vision to line up some really top-notch bands - namely Glass Beams, Mildlife, and Squid - in addition to the main acts Bloc Party and Fleet Foxes.    

By the time Glass Beams took to the stage, it was absolutely pissing it down. This didn't dampen people's spirits, however, as we were treated to a quite brilliant performance that was almost transcendental at times. So far, the band have only released one EP with four songs on it, including this one Rattlesnake:   

I also really enjoyed the performance by Mildlife, an Aussie rock/jazz/psychedelic band so brilliant and understated that they once did a gig on a small island called South Channel Island with noone watching bar the film crew! Check it out on Youtube. 

While madcap Jakarta is admittedly a far cry from an isolated island, the band were equally

impressive at the 2023 Joyland festival - the first time they have performed in the country.

 After Mildlife, the festival was really buzzing in anticipation of Squid - one of the UK's most exciting bands to have emerged in recent years.  Trailblazing a new pathway in the UK's music scene, they have a unique post punk sound yet hint of long-gone bands such as Talking Heads and the Fall.  

It was dark when Squid came onto the stage and the tension was palpable. Then they let loose. This is music that hits you hard and leaves a mark. At times they reached ecstatic, orgasmic highs. Somehow, the lead singer Ollie Judge is able to play drums and sing at the same time. How he manages that I’ll never know!

As for Bloc Party, they seem to have lost some of their former powers, but it was still great to hear classic songs from their 2005 debut album Silent Alarm, including this one, Helicopter:

By the time Fleet Foxes took to the stage I was too knackered to stand anymore and headed home.  

It had been a great day’s music and I’ll be back for more next year….