Better Not to Miss That Cute Tarzan

I was sceptical when I entered the tent. I was really not quite into animal thingies, as I had expections on some acrobatic show. Sure, those tigers were graceful (and they brought my fear to a new level seeing that one of them could actually climb THAT high!), those puddles were beyond cuteness, those dancing elephants moved so awesomely ignorant with their lazy eyes and enormous size (I wondered why there was no safety barriers/cage at all on the elephant show. Didn't they know that a moody elephant could throw a dangerous tantrum and flatten people to the ground with one step of their huge foot?).

This show had a storyline of Tarzan. (For more information, please click on the above picture). And when it was about Tarzan, amidst the jungle of Africa, yes, there were plenty of ethnic music and dance, acrobatic stunts and aerial dances. With no safety wires. Yihaaaaaaa!!!

** Tarzan swinging around. His curly hair was way cuter than the puddles.
** Tarzan's mom playing hula hoops. Hoops were not that simple, my friends, not that simple. (Vids from YouTube)
** Tarzan's dad playing the "German Wheel". I could only capture a short moment. Wow. Just wow.
** Tarzan and Jane. I lost the recorded file .. frown .. Let's see if I could steal from YouTube.
** Tarzan's mom dancing the "Aerial Cube". This one was so stunning .. and I lost the file too. Double frowns! (Got it from YouTube, it's dark, but you can get the picture)
** The Pole Climbers. This was worth mentioning. I didn't record it because it was hard to take my eyes off it. They climbed the poles, literally in styles that could put monkeys to deepest shame.
** Tarzan and Jane, Reunited. The bravest aerial dance in pair I'd ever seen. No wires, I recalled.
** The closing. I got it when one kid audience entered the stage and danced together with all the casts. This kid would be a star one day.

In general, this circus would catch more adults' than kids' attention, because there were less animal acts and more human acts. They performed more acrobatics with exhilarating background music (including the relentless drum player). This is why I love it .. and I love Tarzan.

Westlife Gravity - Drama Epik di Kelas Festival

Begini percakapan antara gue dengan Ema lewat BBM sehari sebelum konser. Ema dan anaknya (Monita) rencana dateng ke Tennis Indoor Senayan jam 4 sore. Padahal konser baru dimulai jam 7-8 malam.

Gue: Kita masuk ga usah rebutan. Tennis Indoor kecil ko.
Ema: Teteup maunya paling depan hehe.
Gue: Kalau festivalnya berdiri, paling depan itu bahaya.
Ema: Oh kenapa bahaya?
Gue: Kejepit! Konser di Indo ga kayak konser di luar. Penontonnya barbar.
Ema: Ga seru ah kalo ga di depan, sama2 kejepit juga.
Gue: Kalo kita berdua sih gpp. Body sekel. Kasian Monita.

Jadi Ema berbicara atas dasar pengalaman nonton konser di luar negeri yang tertib biarpun kejepit. Sedangkan gue berbicara atas dasar pengalaman nonton konser Westlife "Where Dreams Come True" tahun 2001 yang digelar di lapangan sepak bola GOR Soemantri Brojonegoro Kuningan, konser yang dipadati belasan ribu penonton di siang hari yang terik, dimana banyak remaja barisan depan yang sukses tumbang satu per satu. Sampai semburan water jet yang sudah disiapkan oleh para tentara pun ga efektif menolong mereka yang dehidrasinya poll.

Gue sempet heran. Konser East Meets Westlife (2000) di Istora Senayan, banyak yang pingsan. Konser yang kedua di lapangan bola terbuka, lebih banyak lagi yang pingsan. Konser yang ketiga, Face to Face (2006) di Tennis Indoor katanya ga terlalu rame. Apakah karena itu sekarang Westlife konser lagi di tempat yang sama? Apakah dipikir penonton/fans tambah sedikit lagi dibanding lima tahun yang lalu? Tapi kok jauh-jauh hari nyari tiket kelas tribun ga dapet, entah udah sold out ato ga dijual di ticket box. Anyway gue ga khawatir berdiri di kelas festival Tennis Indoor, mengingat terakhir kali gue di sini waktu nonton konser Michael Learns to Rock yang nyaman dan bisa diliat dari sudut manapun.

Ternyata itu semua tinggal teori.

Di hari yang bersejarah itu, dari jam 4 sore BB gue dah ribut berbunyi.

PING!
Ternyata udah rame.. Banyak juga die die fans ahaha.
PING!
U better be here now. Udh ngantri.

Omigod, omigod. Grabak, grubuk, jebret, bziiinggg, zaaaaaappp, woooooooshhh, secepat mungkin gue nyelesain kerjaan ditemani oleh "pinging pinging, BBku berbunyi, pinging pinging, begitu bunyinyaaaaaa .." lalu meluncur ke Senayan.

Memang!! Rame!! Banget!!

Fans berbagai usia dan kalangan numplek blek di luar gerbang stadium. Ya buset dah. Trus pake acara berebutan pula masuk ke lapangan sebelah dalam buat nunggu pintu stadium dibuka. Ngantrinya nih ya, gue kasih tau, kayak yang lagi di dalam metromini abis pada pulang kerja. Merapat, merapat! Ga diatur, ga ada tali ato rantai antrian, seenaknya mau berdiri di mana. Rombongan tentara cuma berdiri petantang-petenteng. Ga keliatan ada security ato panitia yang ngatur. Screening gate di depan cuma ada dua, tapi yang antri mau masuk udah 5-6 jalur. Wow.

Udah gitu lagi tengah-tengah antri, MC sponsor yang dari tadi berkoar-koar melempar game bilang gini: "Yang pegang tiket tribun atau festival yang ada cap Telkomsel/Simpati tidak perlu antri. Bisa langsung masuk lewat sini!" WTF??!! Gue pengguna Telkomsel HALO sejak tahun 1997 (masih inget getoo). How come I didn't get any information of such promo??!! Darimana dan gimana?? Dan seperti mengejek kita yang udah capek nunggu, itu MC berulang-ulang tanpa perasaan empati bikin pengumuman kalo yang punya tiket itu udah pada masuk semua dan GA PAKE ANTRI!!! They had taken the best spots. Padahal kita yang bayar lebih mahal. Grrrraaaaaahhh!!! NEPOTISME!! DIMANA LETAK KEADILAN???!! Teriaklah para pemegang tiket festival yang frustrasi: "BUKA!! BUKA!! BUKA!!!!!"

Antrian semakin merapat. Aliran oksigen di antara kita semua mulai kerasa terhambat. Hih. Sempat tercetus kekhawatiran gue, jangan sampe di dalam sana over-kapasitas. Terdesak di ruangan terbuka masih bisa dapet udara, tapi terdesak di ruangan tertutup .. bisa mateeee kita niiiii .. Gue sama Ema udah kasih petunjuk ke Monita. Kalo sampe ada yang dorong or menjepit, sikut aja. Injek aja kakinya. Jangan ragu-ragu. Daripada kita yang kejepit or kedorong, mendingan kita yang duluan nyikut.

(Kids, do not try this at home without adult's supervision, ok?)

Pintu akhirnya dibuka, dan kita masuk sekelompok-kelompok lewat mulut botol - if you know what I mean. Kita bertiga sampe mundur ke barisan yang paling belakang karena ga guna didesak dari arah depan dan belakang. Eh malah disuruh ikut merapat ke depan sama satu sekuriti karena katanya bentar lagi kelompok yang di belakang udah mau maju. Heh! Lo ga liat apa di depan itu masih bertumpuk?? And it was sooooooo slooooowwww .. Pas giliran gue di-screening, saking keselnya, gue iseng nanya ke yang robek tiket gue: "Tiketnya dirobek, ada door prizenya ga?" Sukses dijawab hanya dengan senyum simpul. Mungkin dipikir gue salah beli tiket kale, ini mau nonton Westlife ato nonton acara tujuhbelasan, pake door prize segala. (Tujuhbelasan aja kalo mau dapet hadiah mesti ikut lomba balap karung dulu, bukan yak?).

Masuk ke dalam stadium .. Wuih legaaaaa. Adeeem!! Gue perhatiin situasi festival depan panggung udah padat. Mereka menempati area dalam dua barikade, yang satu dipasang untuk membatasi area panggung dengan area penonton, yang satu lagi dipasang untuk membatasi penonton di barisan depan dengan .. er .. Not really sure. Buat apa sih dipasang barikade di tengah-tengah?

I assumed the people occupying the front rows, were mostly the promo-ticket holders. *shrug*.

But standing there, in between two barricades, inside a small stadium, to watch a boyband concert, whose members were absolutely gorgeous .. Really, guys?? It's like joining in the death row. Kalo terjadi sesuatu di area situ .. bisa pada minggir kemanaaaaa????

Tidakkah ada yang cukup pintar untuk belajar dari pengalaman-pengalaman sebelumnya? Panitia? Penonton? Security?? Helllooooo???

Belum lagi ditambah adanya indikasi penonton yang terlalu antusias, ada yang lari memasuki kelas festival, mungkin takut keabisan spot bagus padahal hall bagian tengah ke belakang masih lengang .. dan .. GEDEBUG!! Jatuh!! Entah kesandung atau kepeleset .. but that was a nasty fall. She laid down on the floor for some minutes, kita udah takut tangan or kakinya ada yang patah, or gegar otak gitu .. untung akhirnya dia bisa bangun dan jalan pelan-pelan nyari tempat.

Jadi .. kita bertiga berdiri jauh-jauh agak ke belakang. Begini layout-nya.

Nunggu konser dimulai sambil duduk-duduk di lantai stadium, menghemat tenaga. (Kayaknya seru juga nonton konser kalo semua penontonnya duduk di bawah, kayak anak-anak di mal yang lagi nonton Barney show .. hihihihi .. Tar Westlife bingung, ini kok penontonnya lesehan .. apakah ini trend baru penonton di Indonesia?). Ngukur-ngukur jarak pandang ke panggung. Mengawasi kelakuan penghuni stadium. Ada banner bertuliskan "Garuda di Dadaku dan Westlife di Hatiku". Ada pula cewek yang pegang banner bertuliskan "Pick Me Up. I'm Beautiful Tonight."

Dipotret dan memotret .. aaaa, crap .. gue ga bawa kamera .. I'd go old-school then.

Jam 7.30 lampu-lampu mendadak dimatikan. Yang duduk langsung berdiri, yang berdiri langsung merangsek lebih ke depan. Ternyata yang muncul sebagai pembuka adalah XO-IX, boyband lokal yang beranggotakan 9 orang. Terus terang, mereka ini berani mati tampil di hadapan ribuan fans setia Westlife. Diteriakin "BOOOOO!! TURUN!!" dan diacungin jempol ke bawah .. Kejam! Tapi XO-IX nyanyi terus pantang mundur. Di lagu mereka yang pertama suasana masih penuh aura skeptis dan praduga, lagunya gue ga tau. Lalu mereka menyanyikan lagu Cinta 'kan Membawamu, nah kalo yang ini mah gue tauuuu. Baru kedengeran jelas kalo vokal mereka itu not bad lhoo. Cuma gayanya aja yang gak nahan. Korea bangeeeeett!! Penonton mulai terbawa. Apalagi dilanjutkan dengan medley lagu-lagu Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block (i.e. I Want It That Way, Larger than Life, I'll Never Break Your Heart, The Right Stuff, Please Don't Go Girl, etc.) .. mm .. was there any Boyzone n N'Sync? Ga tau lagi deh. All I could say, they made a very smart choices. Most of us grew up with those boybands and songs. Oh, dan satu lagi: Lightingnya cantik! I loved it. Loved it.

Selesai pembuka, masih ada jeda beberapa waktu. Festival area tengah ke belakang juga mulai padat. Ternyata aliran penonton masih banyak yang masuk dan menempati setiap celah. Ga kebayang situasi penonton di depan sana. Gue liat ke arah tribun, lho, malah masih banyak tempat duduk yang kosong. Ga imbang banget. Tsk.

(Note: To my surprise, gue nemuin beberapa clips rekaman konser Gravity di Jakarta di YouTube dengan kualitas yang bagus. Yang lainnya gue ambil dari berbagai sumber. I put it for bookmarking purposes. You may open at your own risk ^_^. Credits to all video owners/uploaders. Thank you so much).

Jam 8 lewat dikit .. jreng .. Fosfor sticks dan lampu headpieces menyala. Berbagai jenis gadget mengacung di udara. You name it, we had it: pocket/professional cameras, video cameras, mobile phones, Blackberrys, iPhones, Samsung Galaxy Tabs .. and it was just a matter of time before I really caught an iPad in action. Semuanya bersinar dalam kegelapan hall. Pemandangan yang spektakuler. Seandainya gue seorang fotografer yang canggih *sigh*.

Dan Shane, Mark, Kian dan Nicky muncul, menghentak dengan When You're Looking Like That ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} dari album "Coast to Coast (2000)". This was the opening song, I really couldn't put that in words. So I just had to insert all the videos I could find .. and you got the picture, right? Penonton festival-nya .. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! I got goosebumps all the way hearing that.

(This song is one of Mat's favorite. I usually sing this while he's jumping along with a microphone in his hands. This time, it was Westlife who sang, and I was the one who jumped along. No microphone in my hands. I couldn't even hear my own voice. The crowd was INSANE!!).

Lanjut dengan World of Our Own ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} dari album "World of Our Own (2001)". SING IT, INDONESIA!! We got a little world of our own, I'll tell you things that no one else knows, I let you in where no one else goes, what am I doing without you ..

Dan aliran penonton kelas festival terus bertambah. Di sekitar gue banyak yang berseliweran sampe gue kesel, sebentar lewat di depan gue, sebentar lewat di belakang gue. Ini orang-orang pada mau ngapain sih .. couldn't they just stand still and watch the concert??

I thought Westlife did their homework from their previous concerts. And they knew their Indonesian fans quite well since the beginning.

@KianEganWL

Indonesia here we come!!! It's one of Westlife's favourite places to play a concert! Fan's are the craziest in the world! Bring it on!!!

Indonesia tonight. Can't wait. It's normally the highlight of the Asia tour. Crazy crazy fans!!!!

@nickybyrneoffic

Indonesia welcome at airport as crazy as always ... Mental !

Nicky pula yang pertama kali menghimbau penonton supaya ga saling mendorong.

Lalu Westlife menenangkan suasana dengan What Makes a Man ^{[1] [2] [3]} dari album "Coast to Coast (2000)" dan Safe ^{[1] [2] [3]} dari album "Gravity (2010)". Di antara lagu, kembali mereka bergantian untuk mengingatkan penonton supaya mundur sedikit dan ga mendesak yang di depan.

But it's in our nature to try to get closer to our idols, right? Gue rasa penonton di depan juga ga murni saling mendorong. They're having fun, they're too excited, they forgot to watch their distance. Mereka terus bergerak, diperburuk dengan ruang yang sempit, ditambah dengan stamina yang sudah habis karena mengantri masuk stadium sejak siang harinya. Dan ga boleh bawa masuk minuman pula. Jadilah yang kurang tanggap mengantisipasi hal-hal ini pada tumbang.

Westlife melanjutkan dengan Home ^{[1] [2] [3]} dari album "Back Home (2007)". Lagu ini aslinya ditulis dan dipopulerkan oleh Michael Bublé. Setelah lagu selesai, Mark meminta satu panitia untuk naik ke atas panggung dan meminta penonton mendengarkan apa yang hendak disampaikan oleh si panitia.

Uh-oh. Not good.

Bener aja. Si panitia meminta penonton yang di kelas festival buat mundur dua langkah. Semuanya. Karena kalo ga pada mau mundur, Westlife akan menghentikan konser.

Mari, Pak, Bu, Mbak, Mas .. sini gue kasih gambarannya.

Kita mau disuruh mundur kemana lagi?? Terutama yang menempati danger zone di depan. Sampe ada cewek yang naik ke atas barikade tengah dan melempar protes keras ke arah panggung. Udah sama sekali ga ada jalan keluar. Akhirnya disuruh menyebar ke samping. Ke samping mana?? Seriously, guys. Yang di tengah udah mundur-mundur, sampe kita yang di barisan belakang pun mendadak jadi sulit bergerak. Satu baris lagi posisi gue pasti mentok ke box tempat operator sound system dan lighting. Ga mau sampe gue yang kejepit di sana dooooongg!!! Udah gitu dengan bodohnya, atau saking ga tau lagi mesti digimanain, kita semua yang di kelas festival disuruh duduk dulu. Yeeeee .. kalo suasananya lengang seperti waktu konser belom dimulai sih oke aja. Lah, sekarang? Berdiri aja sempit, mau duduk lagi? Kakinya mau dilipet di mana coba? Gue coba duduk ga bisa, cuma dapet jongkok setengah kaki. Er .. ya, begitulah .. Akhirnya gue berdiri lagi.

Beberapa penonton dari arah depan dengan susah payah mencari jalan keluar. Mereka udah basah kuyup oleh keringat dan mukanya pucat-pucat. Ada yang bilang, "Aduh, udah ga kuat lagi deh. Mau pindah ke tribun aja. Bisa ga ya? Lewat mana dong?" Kita yang di belakang juga udah ngomel-ngomel ga karuan. "Panitia goblok! Promotor tolol! Makanya jangan maruk jualan tiket festival! Mana sekuritinya?? Manaaa?? Itu kelas tribun masih kosong, atur dong sebagian buat pindah ke atas!!" Rugi, rugi deh, daripada Westlife beneran ga mau nyanyi lagi.

Panitia di atas panggung masih terus meminta penonton buat mundur ato minggir. Kesannya penonton festival keras kepala ga mau bergerak. Mungkin yang duduk di kelas tribun atau media atau siapapun yang ga berada di bawah sini berpikiran seperti itu. Coba, nyemplung lah ke festival dan rasakan sendiri situasinya. Tennis Indoor berkapasitas 4500 orang, dan denger-denger penonton yang memadati stadium sejumlah 6000 orang. Namanya over kapasitas, disuruh minggir kemana juga ga bakalan muat. Hmmmfff!! Di samping gue ada kameramen dan reporter TV One. Di belakang gue ada beberapa crew radio Oz. Tanyakanlah kepada mereka kita ngoceh apa aja di belakang.

Crew/staff Westlife pun masuk ke panggung dengan membawa beberapa kardus air minum dalam botol ukuran 600ml. Dilempar satu per satu ke arah penonton. Gue hargai pertolongannya, tapi .. kasian ya yang kena lempar botol, itu kan lumayan berat =D.

Di belakang Ema ada pasangan cewek orang Indonesia dan cowoknya orang bule. Nah si bule ini kocak lho. Begitu liat botol-botol minuman dilempar di depan, dia teriak dalam bahasa Indonesia, "Saya juga haus dooong!! Saya mau pingsan!!" Kita yang dari kesel sampe ngikik-ngikik dengernya. Terus Ema ngelanjutin teriak, "Saya mau minuman yang berwarna!!" Gue ikutan juga, "Saya minta Coca-Cola doooongg!! Ato Pocari, Pocari!!" Ga bakalan kedengeran sih, tapi lumayan lah daripada gondok karena konser terhenti cukup lama tanpa ada solusi.

Terus Westlife pun muncul kembali ke panggung. Mereka juga keliatannya nyoba bantuin cari cara buat ngurangi kepadatan massa. Dan akhirnya .. taraaaa .. disuruh pindah ke tribun!! Sambil berulangkali bilang kalo mereka itu cuma ga mau ada yang terluka. Gue rasa kalo ada kejadian kenapa-napa, Westlife juga ga mau sampe dituntut. Dah gitu, Nicky masih sempet-sempetnya merekam situasi ini dengan kamera sakunya. Halaaaah ..

Berbondong-bondong deh sebagian penonton naik ke tribun. See? Nurut kan? Kita bertiga sih karena sejak tadi memang udah mentok posisinya, masih bertahan sambil liat situasi. Ratusan penonton mulai memenuhi area tribun. Dan ternyata .. masih ga muat jugaaaa! Kyaaaaa!! Si cewek Indonesia pasangan bule itu sampe balik badan ke arah box operator sound system sambil menuding, "Mana panitianya? Kamu ya??" Terus menuding ke arah crew radio Oz, "Kamu panitianya bukan?" Langsung yang dituding geleng-geleng kepala, "Bukan, bukan saya!" Si cewek ga gentar, "Tapi kamu semua nih, yang pake kaos seragam, pasti kenal panitianya kan? Ngaku ga kalo kalian semua jualan tiket terlalu banyak? Ayo ngaku!" *lol*.

Gerakan penonton yang berjalan menaiki tribun pun ga luput dari sasaran kamera TV One di sebelah gue. Sementara karena diliat kelas festival masih penuh aja, kita masih tetap diancam dengan pemberhentian konser. Shit. Ga ketahan gue teriak minta refund ticket, "BALIKIN!! BALIKIN!!" Biarin deh Westlife batal konser, biar lagu Home beneran menjadi lagu penutup .. let me go hoooooome .. Beberapa orang, termasuk Ema juga ikutan, "BALIKIN!! BALIKIN!! BALIKIN!!". Jangan disangka gue suka jadi provokator ya. Tapi ini gila lhoo .. mereka ga liat apa kalo kita udah ngalah. Udah ada yang rela pindah ke tribun yang notabene harga tiketnya lebih murah, udah kejepit-jepit, masih juga diancam dan dipersalahkan?? Udah ga ada lagi yang bisa diperbuat. Di satu titik kerasa banget kalo kita semua tuh (baik yang di atas panggung dan yang di bawah panggung) udah bener-bener frustrasi. Sampe akhirnya entah siapa yang mulai, teriakan "INDONESIA!!" pun membahana berulang-ulang memenuhi stadium. Ini serasa lagi nonton pertandingan tenis Indonesia melawan Irlandia. Geram, tapi seru eyyyy.

Gue masih nyumpah-nyumpah, 20 menit terbuang begitu aja. Dan gue nengok ke arah kameramen TV One, "Panitia goblok!! Catet ya, Mas. CATET!" Si Mas Kameramen nunjuk ke arah lensa kameranya, "Udah kok, kita udah catet lewat kamera." Hahaha.

Akhirnya Westlife, melalui panitia, bilang mereka mau trial satu lagu sambil liat kondisi. Kalo kita-kita bisa tertib, konser akan diteruskan. Kalo ga, ya mereka pulang. Oceeeh! Dan My Love ^{[1] [2] [3]} dari album "Coast to Coast (2000)" pun mengalun.

Siapa yang bisa mengalahkan fans Indonesia dalam hal menyanyi bareng idola? Siapa?? Lepas dari tertib atau tidak, this was really a-w-e-s-o-m-e. I bet with all my heart, Westlife wouldn't want to leave us in the middle of this concert.

Setelah lagu ini, panggung kembali kosong selama beberapa saat. Ngkali di belakang sana Westlife dan panitia lagi ngadain voting, mau terus ato cukup sudah.

And .. we had joy, we had fun .. on and off. Pastinya .. lanjut terus, Mang! Seasons in the Sun ^{[1] [2] [3]} dari album "Westlife (1999)" dilempar. Lagu ini kalo ditelurusi sejarahnya sudah terkenal sejak jamannya ortu gue. Dan gue yang biasanya kalem (kaya lembu) kalo nonton konser, masih menyimpan sedikit dendam gara-gara pemogokan sementara tadi .. jadi begitu Kian mulai nyanyi, gue teriakin, "KIAAAAAN!!!", sampe penonton yang di depan gue nengok ke gue sambil senyum-senyum. Terus, "NICCKKKYYY!!" Terus, "SHANEEEE!!!" Terus, "MAAARKKKK, I LOVE YOUUUU!!!" Sambil ditingkahi sahutan ribut ala Indian. Heh. Pecahkan saja gelasnya sekalian biar ramai.

(For the record, sebenernya Shane-lah andalan gue. But anyway. It did sound so good to shout that "I love you" after Mark's name).

Paduan suara nasional berlanjut mengikuti You Raise Me Up ^{[1] [2] [3]} dari album "Face to Face (2005)". Awalnya lagu ini diciptakan dalam bentuk instrumentalia dengan ciri musik tradisional Irlandia, lalu disadur dan terkenal baik sebagai lagu gospel, maupun pop ballad. Amazing. Sumpah gue terharu. It was so cool. And the choir was so surreal.

Lalu Westlife memperkenalkan I'm Already There ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} dari album "Back Home (2007)". Lagu ini aslinya ditulis dan dipopulerkan oleh kelompok band asal Amerika, Lonestar, yang menceritakan kerinduan seorang pria terhadap anak istrinya. Ini lagu bagus banget, liriknya menyentuh. Sayang gue ga apal. Shane's vocal was great at this piece. I'm already there, take a look around .. I'm the sunshine in your hair .. I'm the shadow on the ground .. I'm the whisper in the wind .. I'm your imaginary friend .. And I know I'm in your prayers .. Oh I'm already there .. and I'm meltiiiiingggg ..

Dilanjutkan dengan I Will Reach You ^{[1] [2]} dari album "Gravity (2010)". Psst. Did you know that Mark was one of the writers? Pantesan canggih ya nyanyinya.

Dan satu lagu yang ga boleh ketinggalan di setiap konser Westlife, lagu kebangsaan mereka .. admit it, who couldn't identify Flying Without Wings ^{[1] [2]} from album "Westlife (1999)"? Nicky membawa bendera Irlandia ke atas panggung, dan dia sibuk merekam penonton dengan kameranya. Raaa .. Nicky .. stop recording and start singing, will ya? Mengingat sebelumnya Nicky bilang ke penonton kalo dia mau upload video yang dia ambil malam ini, dan kita diminta buat follow official twitternya Westlife .. Ema nyeletuk, "Nicky bawa BB ya? Boleh bagi PIN-nya gaaaa?" Wakaaakakakak. Needless to say, semua penonton nyanyi dari awal sampe akhir, termasuk si cowok bule kocak yang nyaris pingsan tadi itu. Best fans in the world, yeaaaahh!

Selesai lagu ini, Westlife pamit. Lho kok, lho kok? Gue lirik jam, udah hampir jam 10 sih. Tapi ga rela kalo konser udahan. Pasti ada encore. Pasti. Dua lagu lagi. Gue ga tau kenapa, feeling gue semalaman itu hampir semua terbukti. Dan gue masih nunggu kemunculan lagu-lagu favorit gue .. yang rasanya ga mungkin ga dinyanyiin ..

Westlife muncul lagi dengan mengenakan jas formal, membawakan What About Now ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} dari album "Where We Are (2009)". Lagu ini dipopulerkan oleh kelompok band Daughtry - dengan pentolannya Chris Daughtry yang merupakan jebolan American Idol Season 5. Yay. One down.

Disusul Uptown Girl ^{[1] [2] [3]} dari album "World of Our Own (2001)", lagu yang aslinya ditulis dan dipopulerkan oleh Billy Joel, tapi Westlife yang membuatnya tambah meledak dan menjangkau lompatan generasi. Gayanya Westlife kalo nyanyi lagu ini selalu lucu. Two down.

(Another Mat's favorite. So he got the opening song and the closing song).

Akhirnya konser beneran berakhir. Jam 10 malam. That's it. Is that it?? 13 lagu keliatannya terlalu singkat buat sebuah konser. Ema membandingkan dengan konser lain yang menampilkan 28 lagu. But yeah. Sempet curiga juga, karena waktu di awal konser katanya ini akan memakan waktu dua jam. Lah, tadi kepotong 20 menit .. ga diganti ya?

Not until later I knew they cancelled 5 songs from the list:
Beautiful Tonight ^{[1] [2]} dari album "Gravity (2010)".
Viva La Vida ^{[1] [2]} yang dipopulerkan oleh kelompok band Coldplay.
Only Girl (In the World) yang dipopulerkan oleh Rihanna
Time of My Life / Bad Romance yang dipopulerkan oleh The Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga.

Beautiful Tonight? Mereka membatalkan lagu Beautiful Tonight??? NOOOOOOO!!!

Lewat BBM:

Gue: You're right. It should be a longer concert. They cancelled 5 songs. And one of the songs, is my favourite =(.
Ema: Mestinya gue minta balikin duit gue.

Buat kita, 5 lagu itu sangat berharga.

Belum lagi ditambah ngebaca pemberitaan media yang menyudutkan penonton di kelas festival. Plus tuduhan-tuduhan ga lucu lainnya, yang gue yakin banget berasal dari orang-orang yang ga ikutan nonton konser. Tapi ada beberapa pula komentar pedas yang datang dari penonton kelas tribun.

So I put this on my Facebook status right away:
From my point of view, who stood at the back of festival class amoung thousands, the 20-minute chaos happened was not our fault, nor was Westlife's fault. It was the promoter's fault. So, people sitting at tribune class, who got most of the tickets free of charge, who didn't know the exact situation, STOP JUDGING US!!!

Penonton/fans Indonesia memang terkenal ganas, dan kadang-kadang ada yang ga berpikir panjang. Tapi yang terjadi di Tennis Indoor Senayan malam itu bukanlah dipicu oleh kelakuan barbar dari penonton. Semuanya terjadi karena sikon yang memang sudah ga memadai sejak awal. Kurang kontrol, kurang pengamanan, kurang antisipasi, kurang tanggap. Bzzzzttt!

Tweets dari Westlife berbunyi:

@nickybyrneoffic
Video from show,Which we had to stop for 30mins tonite due to overcrowding, Scary but everyone ok we're informed.. http://twitvid.com/KRCBB

@KianEganWL

We had to stop our show in Indonesia for 30 min for the safety of out fans. We feared some one would die. Thankfully no one did.

Westlife will never give up on our Indonesia fans. Sorry the concert was dangerous. We will come back. Thank you for all your love. Xxx

Sorry Indonesia fans for what happened. We couldn't perform the medley for safety reasons. Next time we will make sure it dose not happen xx

@MarkusFeehily

The the fans in Jakarta,miss u already you guys were so amazing and full of energy.Don't worry we will always love you,big kiss xxxxx

(after he thanked all countries for the tour, except Indonesia, and one fan sent a protest to him) Haha Jakarta Indonesia u deserve a massive THANK YOU too!! I typed it out but must have deleted by mistake,you guys were awesome as usual! X

@ShaneFilan79

Love to all the Indonesian fans .. Thankyou and see u next time!!

Dan tweets dari promotor berbunyi:

@marygopsstudios

Untuk semua pengunjung #westlifeJKT, kami mohon maaf atas segala kesalahan yg terjadi dan semua ketidak nyamanan selama konser @WestlifeIndo

Sekali lagi kami mohon maaf atas kekecewaan yang dirasakan penonton #westlifeJKT kami harap dapat memeberikan lebih baik untuk nantinya

*sigh*

Epic drama. Epic evening. Epic Westlife!! Ga sia-sia dulu gue sampe berbusa-busa membela Westlife yang disebut hanya sebagai boyband yang jual tampang. Yang di konser pertamanya nyanyi masih pada fals sana-sini. Yang disangka ga bakalan bertahan lama karena cuma ngikutin trend boyband semata. You see, it's been 12 years since they launched their first album. Sewaktu gue mengutarakan mau nonton konser "Gravity" pun, satu dua temen gue masih membelalakkan matanya, "Ya ampun, Jul! Westlife?? Masih??"

Yeap. Pembelaan gue singkat aja. "They're not just a boyband anymore. They're already beyond that". Dan seperti itulah yang gue liat. Mereka sudah dewasa, vokalnya sangat mantap, gayanya classy, lagu-lagunya everlasting. And they still care for us, their fans.

Sopir taksi yang mengantar kita bertiga pulang sempat bertanya, "Westlife itu, yang disuka karena apanya? Tampangnya? Suaranya? Lagunya?". Jawaban kita sama, "Ya tampangnya, ya suaranya, ya lagunya. Semuanya."

You lads rock! Totally! I miss y'all already too.

*add
After begging, pushing, forcing, bombarding Ema through Blogger and Facebook, her review's finally up on her blog .. here.

Musikal Laskar Pelangi: Bits & Pieces

Once upon a time .. I saw this ..

Sunday, January 9, 2011
Matinee Show – 02.00 p.m.
Last day

Casts:
Muslimah ............... Eka Deli
Ikal ......................... Ivant Septiawarman
Lintang .................. Patton Otlivio L.
Mahar .................... Teuku Rizki
Sahara .................... Louise Ayu Cecilia
Kucai ...................... Alvaro Maldini
Borek ..................... Denu S.W. Prasetyo
Syahdan ................. Willy Jackson
Trapani .................. Diaz Favian C.W.
Akiong .................... Steven Jansen B.S.
Harun ..................... David Samuel P.
Pak Harfan ............ Iyoq Kusdini
Pak Bakri ............... Haikal
Ikal Dewasa ........... Tanta Ginting

Soundtracks:
1. Nasib Tak Akan Berubah (Lea Simanjuntak & Ensemble Theater Company Musikal Laskar Pelangi)
2. Anak Pelangi (Ensemble Anak Anak Laskar Pelangi)
3. Jari-jari Cantik (Christoffer Nelwan)
4. Sekolah Miring (Gabriel B. Harviano, Lea Simanjuntak, Iyoq Kusdini)
5. Sahabat ALam (Eka Deli & Anak Anak Laskar Pelangi)
6. Mahar & Alam (Teuku Rizki & Anak Anak Laskar Pelangi)
7. Blues Nasib Tak Akan Berubah (Ensemble Theater Company Musikal Laskar Pelangi)
8. Hilangnya Harapan (Dira Sugandi)
9. Menanti Ayah, Menanti Lintang (Hilmi Faturrahman & Ivant Septiawarman)
10. Salam Perpisahan (Hilmi Faturrahman)
11. Nasib Telah Berubah (Ensemble Theater Company Musikal Laskar Pelangi)

.. and now six months later .. I'm not gonna post something that people have already raved about Musikal Laskar Pelangi. I'd just like to write some pieces of it:

Do come on time, if you can't come early. The show will be ridiculously crowded. That means, you have to spare extra time to get into Taman Ismail Marzuki, searching for empty parking spaces and rush to Teater Jakarta. Me, I ran .. with Mathieu tagging closely by my side (poor little feet) .. we literally sprinted our way to the theater.

Beware of any show-starting announcement. Once the door is closed, people will have to wait until stage break to get inside. Believe me when I say, you do not want to miss any seconds of the show. Let alone missing one whole act just because you can't manage to sneak in through closing doors.

Do not forget to ask for the program books. It's free, by the way. It's very informative and is not overload by sponsors or advertisements. If you're a first-timer and blind audience, you'll be surprised to find out the who and what's behind the show.

Once you're inside the theater, please respect other audiences. It's a very closed spaces between seats, so lower your voice down if you feel the need to speak to your companions .. and do not act as if your seat is on fire, you'll be blocking others' view toward the stage. Clap, smile, laugh, cry, gasp in awe .. no crime in doing that, but do that while you sit back and sit still.

Be amazed. You don't have to be an expert of musicals to see that this is one hell of a very well-executed show. From the stage/art setting, costume, make-up, music, choreography, acting .. everything is live, superb, smooth and impeccable. Brilliant.

You just gotta love those kids in their innocence and modesty. They were dirty, raw, yet so adorable like no cares in the world. My personal favorite were Teuku Rizki's Mahar and Alvaro Maldini's Kucai. Their style were almost unbearably cute. And of course, Lintang. I guess I was lucky it was Patton Otlivio, the runner-up of Idola Cilik 2. I like his husky singing voice.

The songs are catchy. Especially the opening song "Nasib Tak Kan Berubah", I had to endure Mathieu repeating that hoy-hoy-hoy-hoy-hoy-hoy-hoy for quite some times. As much as I love Christoffer Nelwan's "Jari-Jari Cantik", I wasn't disappointed when I heard Ivant singing it on stage. The song had spoken for itself, no matter who's singing. I also love Rizki's "Mahar dan Alam". One of the outstanding points of the show, and of the musical soundtracks.

Eka Deli was there as Ibu Muslimah, the teacher. It's been a while since I saw her singing on stage (read more in here and here). That afternoon, she was excellent. Her performance was gripping. Her vocal was matured and haunting. She carried Part 2 Act 4 "Muslimah - Hilangnya Harapan" alone, and she served it in total perfection. Not a single dry eyes in the house. Well, if there were any dry eyes, probably that person had gone numb in all senses. I didn't get a chance to see other Muslimahs, but boy, I was so glad she was Eka.

O yeah. As mentioned above, I'd like to suggest you bringing tissues. Cause basically, Part 2 of the show will drain you emotionally.

Use intermission time effectively. If you can control your bladder, don't head directly to restrooms. There will be a long queue, and you will end up wasting your time for nothing but a full bladder and a ruined mood. You can go to restrooms near the end of intermission time when the queue has loosen up. It's a gamble, I know. But it works better. Don't go straight to the packed merchandise store as well. Mark my word: the merchandise is standard (t-shirts, caps, key-chains, CDs, etc.). Perhaps the CD is the most worthy thing, but you can easily find it at Gramedia Group and CD outlets. You don't need to get it right there on the spot. I'm not saying that I forbid you from buying merchandise. I'm saying that the merchandise store is not going anywhere. You can get it before the show or after the show when time allows you. Impulsive shopping in a rush, competing with so many people, is rarely a good thing. You might picked wrong sizes, imperfect things. Use your time to relax, straighten up, clear your mind, looking around for some interesting things at the lobby. If you're hungry/thirsty, find something practical and fast to eat/drink while standing. Get it from the simplest food stall to avoid long ordering and paying process. I got a pack of two doughnuts, for Mat and I. And a bottle of water. That's it. We ate it fast while standing at the spot near theater door and restroom. Studying the situation around, alert on any show announcement .. and once we finished, we went to empty restroom conveniently and then went back inside the theater ahead from others. Piece of cake.

The most interesting part of the show, apart from the show itself, it's the curtain call. It's where you see all casts and crews without any pretention and just being their very own-self. They're very creative though. And when you're among the audience in standing ovation, you may feel you're in a one big happy family. No boundaries. Their joy is your joy. Their pride is your pride. Their tears are yours. Their success is what you will call a lasting memory, that you have ever got a chance to see a show like this in your life.

When the show's finally over, now it's your time to hunt. Get your camera ready. Casts and crews will be lingering around the lobby for a short period. Find those kids. You may see them posing in group for picture-taking. Or you might get an encore from them (and may you be convinced once again that their pipes are real and not a lip-sync). Crews maybe over-protective to the kids, but do not lose courage. Just go and ask them nicely. But be sure you're quick to snap on the shutter. I managed to stop Patton on his way to the changing room. He held Mat's shoulder and slightly bent his body to match the height .. and CLICK! CLICK! Eka Deli was also very open for pics. She was like a motherly-teacher when she held Mat closer and posed. We also got Iyoq Kusdini's Pak Harfan. Still in his artificial wrinkles and safari shirt. Went outside and caught Mira Lesmana. CLICK! CLICK! Mission's accomplished.

Happy? Satisfied? Very.

Now. People had been begging the producer to extend the show, because there were still many who failed in getting any tickets till the very last day. So when the crews appeared on the curtain call, bringing signs that stated they would be back in July 2011 .. even the casts looked so surprised and thrilled. You can imagine how the audience reacted on this. Teater Jakarta exploded. And it came from the people, who had JUST seen the show. Meaning, there'll be repeaters. Big time.

Musikal Laskar Pelangi is really coming back. A new door has opened. It's your chance. Grab it!

And good luck for the ticket-hunting ^_^.



Thanks to Maria Josephine & Ling Tan

Christmas through Kids' Eyes

Delon
"The Sweetest Christmas" Performance
Mal Kelapa Gading 3
25 December 2010, 7.15pm-8.30pm

When I found out that Delon was gonna perform for the Christmas event in the mall, I'd never had a doubt in my mind. See, Christmas is my thing. And since the location was reachable, the show timing was good, and it's Delon, why wouldn't I go there? I took Mat, Karen, my sister and my mom with me. Knowing the place would be packed, I only worried about the kids' convenience. Based on my experience watching public shows like this, the view from center side was always the best, but it was also the worse. Eventually audiences would lose control and started pushing people forward just to get nearer to the stage. That's why all securities were allocated there. So we managed to get a loose spot at rear side. The only spot without securities around.

This was how it looked like to watch Delon from the kids point of view:

~ I wanna see Christmas through your eyes. Want everything to be the way it used to be. Back to being a child again, thinking the world was kind. I wanna see Christmas .. Christmas through your eyes ~
by Gloria Estefan

That's right. That tiny figure wearing Santa's hat was Delon. Kids didn't complain, though. They enjoyed his performance as much as we, the adults, did. Considering I had to keep my eyes on Mat and Karen, I let go of my plan recording the songs. Back to the old days, when I could see his shows without any camera on.

Delon sang 8 songs. Or was it 7? I lost my counting since he started his first one. First, the acoustic of the atrium was pretty bad. Second, I couldn't concentrate on what's happening on the stage. I was more amazed by what's happening around the stage. It was alive. A fact that Delon was still loved by many, many people. Young and old. A fellow audience at my right side, brought her daughter. I heard she said to her little one, that the man on the stage was "Koko Delon". Then in her conscience, she corrected herself and telling her daughter to call him "Oom Delon" instead, since she was still a baby when Oom Delon held her and took photo together.

W-O-W. Talking about the leap of generations.

Chances of Delon to go to our spot was quite slim, since most of the enthusiasts were at the center. I also noted, maybe one of the reasons was also because there would be no security to help him, in case the rear audience dragged him to the dark side of irresponsible fans action. But hey! We got two, no, three potential young fans in here. I told Karen and Mat to raise their hands and wave to Delon whenever he looked at our spot. Thus, together with the little girl mentioned above, the choir had started: "Oom Delon! OOM DELON!! OOM DELOOOOOONNNN!!!!!!!"

It worked. I got a really good hunch when he was about to start singing one song. One particular song that kept swimming in my head whenever Christmas came around. A timeless, beautiful song written by David Foster and Linda Thompson-Jenner, originally performed by Natalie Cole. One of the best song that was also included in "The Sweetest Gift from Delon" album. Instinctively I turned on my camera.

And there it went ..

"Grown-Up Christmas List":
Natalie Cole (with David Foster), Natalie Cole (with London Symphony Orchestra), Amy Grant, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Anthony Callea & Sylvie Paldino, Charice (with David Foster), Jane Monheit, Michael Buble

That's the only video I captured. The one with "Grown-Up Christmas List". The one when Delon finally acknowledged the kids calling and he approached us to say Merry Christmas. Mat got his handshakes.

Then near the end of the song, the kids got Delon's Christmas pins, privately distributed by Vena. These limited number of pins, were also distributed to the crowd by Delon and the MC. Only the lucky ones at the front row could grab it. Many others were left drooling over it. At one point, Mat dropped his pin. It flew over the railing and dropped near the stage. I couldn't reach it. Some audience around us had already locked their hungry eyes on that lonely pin on the floor. Oh no. Mayday! Mayday! Luckily, Wawan was around. I called him out and asked his help to pick that pin up stat. He returned the pin to us, thank you, and I immediately pin it to Mat's t-shirt. Ha-Ha. Now it couldn't leave anywhere.

So the rest of the evening was enjoyable. No one pushed us forward, nor stepped on our feet. When the kids were tired standing, they sat on the floor. Really. Like Mother, Like Son. (If I could sit on the floor, I wouldn't hesitate as well). I recalled some songs: "Hai, Mari Berhimpun", "O Holy Night", "Grown-Up Christmas List", "Negeri di Awan" (his new single, originally by Katon Bagaskara) and "Mary's Boy Child" as the closing song. Three other songs I couldn't remember, one of them I suspected written by Delon himself (gosh, I was such a lousy fan).

I could say Delon and Christmas were a perfect match.

This was Mat's first public Christmas show to see. I knew kids wouldn't care for details, and perhaps what he saw was different than what I saw. Or maybe it was the same. Seeing he could stay nicely among the crowd and the noise, eyes on the stage, I thought it caught his attention very well indeed. I was happy I took him along with me.


Thanks to Vena Kresnan, Delon and Yeslin Wang.

The Way Kids Celebrating Christmas .. by Dancing

There's always something to tell about kids' performances. They're so eager, so naive. Whether or not they have talents in art (i.e. singing, dancing), you can be certain you'll have delightful experience watching them on the stage. Anything could happen. And they were never the same. In practice, general rehearsal or in the performance, they could switch partners, standing outside their designated spots, throwing last minute tantrum on stage, falling down, shoes flying off .. anything. All in all, adorable.

Christmas Celebration
Global Montessori School
17 December 2010 @ 4pm-6pm
Lippo Supermal Karawaci
(photo and video exclusively on Facebook)

"Winter Cheer", Toddler - GMS Lippo Karawaci

Seven kids were planned to perform, one backed away crying as hard as she could. And she was not even the youngest one. The youngest one, was the best dancer in the group. Some teachers had to stand by very close to the stage cause she barely aware of the stage end.

"Shout to the Lord", Toddler - GMS Lippo Karawaci

The same six kids (one was still very much reluctant being a star on stage), doing some afternoon exercise. Up, down, up, down, move your legs, wave your hands .. they were just like a bunch of flowers, with one or two bended toward the opposite direction.

To the Sky", Pre Elementary - GMS Lippo Karawaci

Mat was in this group, along with his seven friends. In four pairs. The boys wore tux and raindeers headpiece. The girls were in white dresses, with white ribbons on their hair and wrists. The only non-Christmas song, but I admit, this one kinda grew on me (click here to see the original MV). This was a perfect example of how various the kids gave us their performance. From the school practice to the stage, not one was the same. Mat and his partner looked like they both were having a fight with each other. I kept signaling Mat to move closer to her, but instead, he moved even farther apart. He might have trouble understanding the concept of "left" and "right", or maybe it was me who didn't know how to do a sign language. I ended up getting Mat confused till he stopped dancing for a moment. "Where do you want me to go, Mom? Speak clearly!!" Uh-oh! So I left him alone. Turned out all was fine and cute. Kids gotta work on their chemistry. And there should be big Xs that mark the spots. But I was very entertained seeing this dance.

"Christmas Eve (Poem)", Pre Elementary - GMS Lippo Karawaci
12 kids performing a poem. Each of them wore different animal or flower costume, and a letter sign hanging by the neck. Mat was the Icicle and he was the only male flower among his friends. At the end of the performance, when the kids were jumping, his flower headpiece refused to stay put. Mat was obviously upset by the headpiece betrayal.

Now, repeat after me:
C is for the Christ
H is for the Heaven
R is for Remembering
I is for Icicle
S is for Stocking Stuffs
T is for Tinsel
M is for Misletoe
A is for Advent-calendar
S is for Santa Ho-Ho-Ho
E is for Eggnog
V is for Visiting
E is for Everyone

"Jingle Bells", Pre Elementary - GMS Serpong
An honorary mention from the sister school. A very cool choice of song, a neat choreography, executed very well by the kids. I only managed to capture the last couple of minutes, because I'd been busy chasing a clown with Mat (yea, he's still upset by the headpiece, so he intended to make his revenge on the ugly clown).

"Christmas Tree", Pre Elementary - GMS Lippo Karawaci
By far, the best performance from Mat's school. Or I could say, the best of all performances. The pom-poms were cheery, the song was uplifting, the choreography was tricky, but those six kids were INCREDIBLE! God, I'd seen other performances by the kids at their age (maybe older), and they were never this good. Kids were very loose, enjoying their time on stage. And it was contagious, parents (and audience) couldn't help cheering. I sensed pride. Big time. It was heart-warming.

All kids closed the performances by singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" on stage. And Santa Claus finally came for giving out presents.

I'm taking this moment to thank all teachers. For their wonderful efforts in preparing the event. For the song choices, the choreographs, the costumes, those little details that might go unnoticed. But the most of all, for their patience in working with the kids, acknowledging their talents, full-fulling their hopes.

Merry Christmas.

Idol's Birthday: Kids, Invited!

Delon's Birthday Show
Atrium Laguna, Central Park
23 May 2010 @ 5.30 pm - 7.20 pm

Before the show:
Satu buket bunga mawar merah (10 tangkai) sudah siap buat dibawa sama anak-anak yang nantinya naik panggung, dah confirm: Karen, Mathieu & Karel. Gue persiapin Mat sebelumnya, supaya nanti ga mogok naik panggung: "Nanti Dede Karen bawa bunga buat Oom Delon, terus Mathieu yang gandeng tangan Dede naik ke panggung ya. Jangan sampe dilepas ya tangannya." Trus gue kepikiran, kalo Karen bawa bunga, rasanya lebih fun lagi kalo Mat juga bawa sesuatu. Pikir-pikir, apa ya .. harus yang lucu dan imut karena nanti yang bawa juga anak-anak. I found this farm collection. Boneka-boneka binatang dari Russ Berrie - Luvvies Series yang cuma setinggi 6 inci, bahannya plush yang sangat lembut dan isinya beans. And every kind of animal has a name. So cute I'd been thinking to get one for myself, that Karyn the Pug =D. Next question: which animal? Had to be related to something. Gue tanya aja sama Vena, "Shio Delon apa?" Voila, I got Wendy the Horse. Quite surprised karena biasanya boneka kuda itu jarang ada yang bagus. But this one, was just as lovable as the others. Sampe rumah, gue ganti Russ tag-nya dengan gift tag.

Wendy diperkenalkan kepada Mat ("Nanti Mathieu bawa boneka ini ya buat Oom Delon, sambil gandeng tangan Dede Karen ya"). And with these gifts, we headed off to Central Park. The Lippo Karawaci Group was my husband, kid, mom and I. The Kelapa Gading Group was my sister, her husband and kids.

The show:
Sampe Central Park udah lewat dari jam lima. Keburu-buru karena takut ga kebagian spot, ternyata masih sepi. Dan di kursi barisan terdepan masih kosong setengahnya. Perfect! Langsung kita dudukin dengan manisnya. Salah seorang Deloners yang megang rundown acara (siapa ya namanya, Jovita?) kasih brief sebentar urutan acara dan waktu kids diminta naik panggung. Gue sempet nyaranin supaya nanti MC bisa mancing kids buat ucapin personal birthday wishes or apalah gitu di panggung. Trus duduk deh nungguin acara mulai. Gue, Andri and Mat di kolom tengah. Nyokap en Maria sekeluarga di kolom kanan. Di depan gue dipasang tiga kursi VIP, diantaranya buat Boss Central Park.

Band mulai main musik sekitar jam 5.20. Penonton mulai unjuk gigi berkerumun di sekitar area panggung. Untung ga ada yang nekad ke depan, karena si Boss CP minta security buat barikade di sisi panggung. Mendadak Delon muncul di panggung nyanyi "Bunga Terakhir" (originally by Bebi Romeo). Wuaduh, gue telaaaaat nyalain kamera. Langsung gue nangkring di samping si Boss CP dan mulai merekam. Ga bisa berdirilah, tar penonton di belakang gue ketutupan. Ga peduli kalo ada kamera infotainment yang nangkep gue lagi jongkok begitu. Abisnya di depan kayaknya cuma gue tuh yang punya posisi seru .. huaaaa .. sebodo. Yang penting gue tidak mengganggu dan tidak diganggu. Lagu ini merupakan lagu yang membawa Delon ke babak Spektakuler Indonesian Idol 1. Masih dinyanyiin dengan sama kerennya. (Click here to view video, exclusive on Facebook).

Setelah itu, MC yang punya style flamboyan .. yea, seriously .. muncul di panggung dan ngobrol bentar dengan Delon. Lagu kedua pun dimulai. "Rahasia Perempuan" (originally by Ari Lasso). Told ya', biarpun lagunya so-so, gue lebih suka versi Delon. (Click here to view video, exlusive on Facebook. My family's in this video. You can see Mat enjoying the song).

Lagu ketiga, "Angel" (originally by Robbie Williams). This was the 2nd time I heard him singing this song. To be frank, gue malah belom pernah denger versi originalnya secara utuh. Delon yang "memperkenalkan" lagu ini ke gue. (Click here to view video, exclusive on Facebook).

Trus Delon balik ke backstage dan MC mengambil alih acara. Ada beberapa quiz, salah satunya pengunjung diminta nyanyi "Karena Cinta". Jadilah ada satu cowok yang nyanyi refrein-nya, gantian sama si MC yang ternyata .. nyanyinya not bad lhooooo.

Musik mulai main lagi .. agak lama sampe Mat nanya, "Mana Oom Delon?". Hehe, ini si Oom kok ga muncul-muncul. Tapi trus muncul juga, nyanyi "Fly Me to the Moon" (originally by .. er .. there's so many .. Frank Sinatra, perhaps). Versinya .. er .. jazz?? Blues?? Ha. Whatever. Di lagu ini gue ga bisa dengerin karena udah saatnya ngumpulin anak-anak buat acara kasih bunga. Kamera langsung gue serahin ke Maria, yang sempet bengong ini maksudnya disuruh ngapain to?? Maksudnya minta diterusin rekamin, gitu lho, Sista. Ternyata susah juga lho narikin anak-anak pengunjung. Biarpun ada iming-iming bisa hadapan muka sama seleb, tetep aja gue dengan sukses ditolak para orangtua yang takut anaknya nanti nangis di atas panggung. Ketemu Elny dan Yvonne .. mau narik Pei-Pei, keponakan Elny pun, dia ga mau. Kyaaa. Akhirnya gue seperti kids-hunter, keliling-keliling .. dapet juga dua anak. Jadi total berlima sama Mat, Karen dan Karel. Stand-by lah kita di samping kiri sampe lagu selesai. Mendengar Delon nyanyi dari hasil rekaman, tadinya gue ga terbiasa dengan versinya. Tapi pas udah diputer ulang, lama-lama asik juga lhooo. Groove-nya ada. And man, that saxophone girl .. she rocked!! (Click here to view video, exclusive on Facebook).

Di panggung muncul Mike dan Lucky Idol bawa kue ulang tahun. Nyanyi "Happy Birthday". Dikasih info kalo Judika ga bisa hadir karena lagi ada di luar kota. Ada tembakan confetti yang bikin kaget kids, untung ga ada yang nangis. Terus ada satu perwakilan Deloners (Sya Sya) yang diminta naik ke atas panggung buat nyampein kesan dan pesan, juga buat nerima potongan kue. Nyanyi lagi .. "potong kuenya, potong kuenya, potong kuenya sekarang juga .." Kali ini, anak-anak yang masih dengan sabarnya nunggu giliran, ikutan nyanyi. Whoa, so adorable! Unfortunately I didn't have my camera to record them. Trus waktu selesai potong kue, Delon belagak mau nyicipin pisau kuenya. Penonton kan ketawa tuh .. Mat nanya "Kenapa, Ma?" Gue jawab "Oom Delon jorok, masa kue-nya mau dimakan langsung dari piso-nya". Mat giggled, dan terus diulang " Hihihi .. Oom Delon jolok ya, Ma .." Huauaahahah. Abis dapet kue, Sya Sya dapet kiss pipi kiri-kanan pula. (Click here to view video, exclusive on Facebook).

Nah. Inilah saatnya kids naik panggung. Tadinya kan rencana mau naik dari anak tangga sebelah kiri. Tapi katanya ga usah karena nanti Delon yang mau turun panggung nyamperin mereka. Ternyata nggak. MC minta mereka naik panggung, dan jadilah mereka diangkat satu-satu ke atas. Salah satu VIP pun sampe berdiri nyamperin mau bantu, tapi berhubung situasi sudah aman terkendali, akhirnya dia balik lagi ke tempat duduknya. Gue liat Mat gandeng Karen ga dilepas lhoo .. dia patuh sama pesan gue hehehe. Urutannya Mat n Karen di depan, sepasang anak pengunjung di tengah, Karel yang paling tinggi di belakang. Karen ditanya namanya sama MC, tapi kedengerannya jadi "Sheren". Ya sutralala, ga bisa dikoreksi. Bunga dikasih ke Oom Delon, Karen dapat kiss pipi kiri-kanan. Trus Mat nyodorin boneka kudanya (yang dipegang secara "dicekik" di lehernya) .. "Nih, Oom!" gitu kalee .. heheh .. dapet kiss pipi juga. Trus diajak hi-five .. n saling dadah-dadahan. Aaaaaa .. I really loved seeing what's happening on the stage. Sayang MC ga bisa ngatur blocking anak-anak di panggung supaya keliatan semua (Karen ketutupan Mat), dan juga setelah itu langsung minta anak-anak kembali ke tempat (no photo???). Band pun mulai memainkan intro lagu. (Click here to view video, exclusive on Facebook).

(Photo by Rudy Subagyo)

"I Believe I Can Fly" dinyanyikan oleh Idol Divo (originally by R. Kelly). Gue kembali ambil alih kamera, agak terlambat juga. Kali ini gue ditemenin sama Elny yang juga ikutan berlutut di barisan terdepan. Hahahah. Idol Divo bagus banget. Love, love it! Masing-masing punya karakter tersendiri. (Click here to view video, exclusive on Facebook).

Setelah itu, kids kembali diminta buat siap-siap naik ke panggung nemenin Delon nyanyi. Gue serahkan kamera ke Andri buat merekam Idol Divo nyanyi "Sempurna" (originally by Andra and the Backbone). Jadilah sepanjang lagu gue sama beberapa Deloners ngumpul di sisi kiri, ngebagiin balon ke anak-anak yang jumlahnya bukan lima lagi .. tapi jadi buanyaaak. (The Power of Balloons, no child could resist. Hiyahahah). Susahnya ngatur anak-anak. Begitu dikasih balon, pada maunya lari sana-sini, becanda pukul-pukulan balon .. padahal udah diminta diam di tempat aja bikin lingkaran. Ada yang begitu dapet balon malah langsung ngacir menjauhi area show. (Hey!! You steal our balloon!! Help!! Somebody get that kid!!). Dari hasil rekaman Andri, lagu "Sempurna" memang sempurna. (Click here to view video, exclusive on Facebook).

Pas Idol Divo masuk ke belakang panggung, ada jeda sedikit waktu MC ngambil alih acara. Ada pengunjung yang diminta tebak satu lagu yang ada di dalam film Vina Bilang Cinta. Dijawabnya "Aku Makin Cinta". Hmm. Ada ya? Gue pikir bakalan dijawab "Dunia Tanpa Lagu" =D. Ternyata bener, dan waktu diminta nyanyi, tu pengunjung oke juga lho.

Barulah kemudian Delon muncul nyanyiin "Kumpul Bocah" (originally by Vina Panduwinata). Anak yang pertama kali diangkat naik ke atas panggung .. Mathieu. Bawa balon kuning di tangan kanan, tangan kirinya digandeng sama Delon. Gue masih stuck di sisi kiri saking ramenya tu anak-anak, jadi ga ngeliat Karen ga ada yang bantuin naik panggung. Dari video gue ngeliat Mat berhenti dan ngeliat Karen di bawah panggung, trus gesturenya yang kayak mau bantuin sepupunya itu naik (emangnya Mat kuat angkat Karen gitu? heheh), sampe akhirnya Maria nyamperin buat naikin Karen ke panggung. Terus deh Mat gandeng Karen jalan berduaan ke tengah panggung (halaah, ternyata pesen gue buat Mat gandeng Dede Karen masih diberlakukan dengan patuh =)). Mat sempet mandek ngeliatin Delon yang lagi nyanyi, diajak lagi sama Delon makin ke tengah. Dan tambah serulah acara kumpul bocah di atas panggung. Seperti di taman kanak-kanak. Delonnya nyanyi, kids ada yang bengong-bengong, ada yang rajin mungutin confetti, ada yang joget-joget .. disuruh lompat-lompat pula sama Oom Delon. Gue juga langsung balik ke tempat duduk gue, biar lebih gampang liatin anak-anak. Eh, dapet laporan dari Andri kalo memory card full .. Alert! Alert! Jadilah setengah lagu gue pindah rekam pake hp .. yaaah .. apa boleh buat, keadaan darurat! Gue sama Elny berdua-duaan berlutut di karpet sambil ngangkat recorder .. hehehehe .. bener-bener ga peduli sama sekitar. (Click here to view video, exclusive on Facebook).

(Photo by Rudy Subagyo)

Anak-anak diturunin dari panggung, dan selama Delon nyanyi lagu "Indah Pada Waktunya", mereka masih main-main di area depan panggung. Entah siapa yang mulai, seperti ada lomba Memukul Confetti di Lantai dengan Balon. (Salah apa sih para confetti itu, sampe dipukulin??). About the song, this was one of my favorite among all Delon's songs. Biarpun mestinya dibawakan secara duet, versi solo pun bagus. Gue masih tetep merekam dengan hp. Begitu lagu kelar, gilee baru berasa tangan dan lutut pegel banget. Akhirnya gue sama Elny beneran duduk-duduk selonjoran di lantai .. bwahahahah. (Click here to view video, exclusive on Facebook).

Lagu terakhir, "Welcome to My Paradise" (originally by Steven & The Coconut Treez). Gue terpaksa membatalkan rekaman gue karena .. bermula dari beberapa penonton yang mulai berani mendekati panggung buat foto Delon, semakin lama semakin banyak .. sementara anak-anak masih ada di sana. Gue langsung lari ke depan. Anak-anak yang udah rada gede bisa naik ke atas panggung sendiri. Tapi yang kecil-kecil?? Gue angkat deh Karen & Mat, sekaligus sama beberapa anak lainnya. Daripada nanti kejepit. Karel juga udah naik. Biarin Delon nyanyi kembali ditemenin sama anak-anak yang asik main sana-sini sambil mukulin confetti di atas panggung. Di area hingar-bingar ini gue ketemu sama Luci Kanti. Hello! =D. Say hi sebentar, trus fokus lagi ke panggung liatin anak-anak. Sementara penonton di kiri-kanan gue pada julurin tangan buat salam-salaman sama Delon. Heboh! Gue ga tau gimana situasi penonton di belakang .. para VIP yang jelas ketutupan .. =D. Yah, namanya juga lagu terakhir. Jaim-nya penonton dah luntur.

After the show:

Ada pemeran pengganti Tante Agin (Mamanya Delon) .. yaitu .. My Mom!! Dapet laporan kalo nyokap disamperin sama anak muda, terus disalamin sambil bilang "Tante, saya penggemar Delon". *gubrak*. Mungkin karena tadi nyokap yang pegang buket bunga, trus duduk di deretan depan pula .. ato katanya MC sempet nunjuk nyokap sambil ngomong apa gitu, buntutnya bilang "Ya kan, Mami?" Huaaaaa ha. Ha. Ha. Terus lagi, ada yang minta foto bareng pula, sampe akhirnya nyokap bilang "Bukan, saya bukan Mamanya Delon!" *gedebug klunung klunung*. Belakangan, gue tunjuk Tante Agin yang asli, dan langsung disamperin sama nyokap. Berdua-duaan deh duduk, ga tau apa yang diomongin .. trus dipotret sama Yvonne buat bisa dicari perbedaan di antara kedua Mama ini. *rotfl*.

Gue nyari kesempatan buat Maria dan anak-anak supaya foto bareng Delon. Ternyata di pintu ruang tunggu udah berkerumun para penggemar yang juga berharap dapet foto. Gue ga mau ikutan di antara mereka, ga bakalan bisa menang kalee. Beda umur ^_^. SMS Vena buat minta waktu foto, tapi kayaknya ga kekirim karena sinyal jelek. Akhirnya pas ada Wawan di anak tangga stage, gue minta aja. Tapi Wawan juga ga bisa kasih karena liat itu yang rame-rame ngumpul. Disaranin supaya tunggu sepi dulu. Okelah. Tunggu. Baru juga berapa menit, ternyata dari pintu yang lain Delon udah keluar digandeng security. Yaaaah. Gue sih mungkin bisa dapet kesempatan lain .. tapi Maria n kids? Kejar, nggak, kejar, nggak .. kejaaaarr!! Gue gendong Mat .. sambil ngasih tau Maria buat ngejar juga, gue lari nyamperin Delon yang juga lagi dicegat sama fans buat foto di koridor mall. Begitu udah deket dan Delon pas berenti foto sama fans, gue nengok ke belakang, ternyata Maria n kids masih jauh di belakang. Yaaa .. ketinggalan kereta deh. Delonnya udah keburu ditarik security buat jalan lagi sambil masih dikerubutin sama beberapa fans. Gue lari lagi sambil manggil "D! D! Tunggu, ya?" Kayaknya ga gitu kedengeran sama Delon. Sampe akhirnya .. Mat yang teriak manggil "OOM DELON! OOM DELON!" sambil tangan kecilnya nyoba nyolek-nyolek bahu Delon .. kayaknya trus sukses kecolek .. Delon nengok ke arah Mat, dijawab "Ya?" Hahahahahah. "D! Boleh foto bentar ga?" Delon jawab "Ayo, cepet". Gue nengok lagi ke belakang, ya ampyuuuuun .. Maria-nya masih di belakang juga .. laaaahhh .. "HOI!! CEPETAN!! JADI MAU FOTO GA?!", gue teriak ke belakang gitu .. baru deh pada gerak cepat lari-lari .. Delonnya sambil jalan lagi. Sampe di deket lift, baru deh gue liat Vena, en Vena juga liat gue. Vena sempet bilang ke Delon "Ini Julia!". Pas Maria juga akhirnya berhasil nyusul dan kita bisa foto sekali jepret. Hasilnya: Mat lagi ngeliat HT-nya Pak Satpam, Karen lagi merem, Karel lagi meringis, cuma Delon dan para Mommy aja yang senyum. Buseeeet. Selama enam tahun gue ngikutin show-nya Delon .. gue ga pernah ngejar foto sampe lari-lari .. aaaaaahh .. sambil gendong Mat yang beratnya 15 kilo pula. Pake sendal hak tinggi pula. Lari di lantai mall yang licin pula. Udahannya sampe beberapa hari kemudian, kaki-tangan-pinggang rasanya kenceng semua, kayak abis nge-gym angkat beban. Kyaaaaaa.

Catatan gue tentang keseluruhan acara, mengingat persiapan dari Vena dan panitia yang cuma empat hari, ini udah bagus banget. It's very nice. Delon, Mike dan Lucky tampil tanpa beban. Band-nya bagus. MC juga cukup menghibur. Ada sedikit kecewa sama MC yang ga ngasih waktu lebih banyak untuk anak-anak di atas panggung, menyesal karena ga bisa dapet dokumentasi yang bagus pas anak-anak ngasih bunga dan gift ke Delon .. sebel karena memory card kamera full di tengah lagu .. gregetan karena ga bisa foto bareng Delon dengan tenang (padahal kesempatan kali ini lagi bagus, and I came with my whole family) ..

.. tapi gue seneng karena gue masih punya memori. Gue masih bisa mengingat hampir semua detail dari show seminggu yang lalu. Bahwa walaupun hasil foto dan video nggak cukup buat menangkap beberapa moment penting, gue masih bisa melengkapinya di dalam bentuk tulisan. (Mengingat kembali ke waktu gue bisa menikmati performa Delon tanpa repot-repot membawa kamera).

Dari dokumentasi yang ada, gue liat manisnya senyum Delon menyambut anak-anak di atas panggung. But in my mind .. I remember vividly the warm feeling I felt when seeing Delon kissed Karen and Mathieu, the way he pinched the kids' nose. And now I'm writing it all down. Of a memory that lasts.

Up Close with Idols

75th Anniversary of Sisters of Notre Dame

Charity Night for Atambua, 15 May 2010

Bermula dari status FB kakak gue, Maria, yang bilang dia bakalan dinner bareng Delon hari Sabtu tgl 15 Mei, gue mencari kesempatan. "Gue ikut boleh ga?" Hehehe. Ga bisa katanya karena ini acara charity dan dia ga bisa dapet undangan lebih. So ok lah. There's still some other times.

Out of the blue, pas hari-H jam 5 sore dapet telepon yang menyatakan gue menang lotere dan diajak dinner for two bareng Delon di Kelapa Gading.

Shut up.

Benernya, Maria yang nelepon, katanya kalo mau gue bisa ikut. Acara jam 6. In the next one hour. Gue di Karawaci, masih berantakan. Grabak-grubuk lah gue. Tadinya mau ajak Mat, ternyata dia masih lelap tidur dan ga bisa dibangunin sama sekali. Akhirnya gue jalan sendiri, dari jam 6 teng ngebut di tol bandara yang baru itu lho. 45 menit udah masuk Kelapa Gading.

Dan ternyata .. macet cet cet! ROARRR!! Gotta be kidding me, right. Kelapa Gading di malam Minggu. Words couldn't express my despair. It took another 45 minutes to reach Golden Leaf restaurant and searched for parking space.

Naik ke lantai dua restaurant, dan lautan meja kursi pun terhampar sejauh mata memandang. Dengan susah payah merangsek menuju Meja No. 22 di seberang dekat panggung. Trus gue keinget, di mana ada Delon, adakah Vena disana? Sms-an deh kita, dan bener Vena juga di sana. Tapi buset, di pojokan. Dan mesti ngerobok pula. Niat terpaksa diurungkan.

Acara udah dimulai, Suster SND kasih presentasi tentang Atambua. Trus MC nyanyi bareng Suster, lagunya latin. MC juga nyanyi lagu "Greatest Love of All". Not bad lho. Gue dengerinnya sambil makan. Menu: ayam, abalon, udang, soup, bihun goreng, ikan, daging rusa. Ha?? Tapi enak .. biarpun gue rada merasa bersalah karena nyemilin Bambi.

Para undangan mulai mengumpulkan amalnya. Acara lelang pun dimulai. Ada kalung rosario terjual seharga 15 juta, jam tangan seharga 15 juta. Total perolehan sementara: 65 juta.

Di tengah-tengah makan, gue ditanya: "Elo bawa kamera ga?"

Shit. No. Gue lupa. Pake hp aja deh.

Sisi Idol tampil. Mengenakan dress warna hitam, Sisi muncul dari ruang tunggu di pojokan nun jauh di sana. She sang her way to the stage. Lagu rohani, gue ga tau judulnya apa. This was the 1st time I heard her singing live off-air since Indonesian Idol 3. I totally forgot she was that good. Untung gue udah selesai makan. Karena kalo belom, gue bisa keselek soalnya suara Sisi dengan sukses menutup tenggorokan gue. Artinya gue tercekat, boh. It's a very soulful piece. Gue rekam pake hp gue, awalnya ga bisa dapet view yang bagus. Karena ada waitress yang dengan kurang ajarnya berdiri menutupi. Akhirnya gue stop dan pindah kursi ke sebelah Karen, keponakan gue. Much better, biarpun tetep ada satu ibu dengan baju punggung terbuka bolak-balik ga ada abisnya. Mungkin maksudnya supaya punggungnya kerekam di hp gue kale.

(Click here to view video, exclusively on Facebook. I could only upload the 2nd half of the song. Karena bagian pertamanya sebelum gue pindah kursi, hasilnya terlalu jauh. Gue gaptek banget ngerekam pake hp. Pencet sana pencet sini, ga nyadar kalo tombol zoomnya ada di atas kiri).

Lagu kedua Sisi lebih upbeat. Dan lagi-lagi gue ga tau judulnya. Sisi ngajak para undangan ikut bernyanyi di bagian chorus. Sedangkan gue, sambil nyuapin Karen puding n liat dia ikut joget-joget. Cool.

MC trus berbincang-bincang sejenak sama Sisi. I personally thought the MC was not well-briefed, or he's simply just a kuper person. Kristen? Katolik? Well, Christian was universal, imo. But still, he should have known before he assumed. Or better yet, stay out of the religion question. Helloooo.

Trus lelang berlanjut. Kali ini yang ditawarkan: wooden sculpture of Jesus' face seberat 85 kg seharga 50 juta!! God bless the buyer! Ada quiz dan doorprize. Berlanjut dengan .. lelang suara Delon dan Sisi. Huh? Katanya penawar nilai tertinggi dapat CD Delon yang langsung ditandatangani on stage dan satu kalung salib. Delon juga akan duet dengan Sisi. Lagunya special. I told my sister that it must be "The Prayer". It's gotta be. Wouldn't need a good math. And it's sold on .. 20 juta!!

Saat itu juga, gue tarik Karen buat pindah duduk di meja terdepan yang kosong sepanjang acara. Gue yakin ga bakalan diusir kok. Wong meja sebelah penuh dengan para suster. Apa coba hubungannya? Hehehe. I just got a hunch that I had to move there. I could feel the storm's coming.

MC memanggil Delon dan Sisi. And it was "The Prayer"! HA! SEE!! I TOLD YA! I TOLD YA!

Sisi mulai bernyanyi dari arah ruang tunggu. Vokalnya sedikit mengambang di awal, but the rest was good. Sampai di atas panggung, Sisi menyelesaikan bait pertama dan kemudian memanggil Delon.

Dan gue baru merasakan sulitnya mengambil gambar dengan handphone. Handphone terlalu kecil dan ringan. Tanpa penopang, grip jadi ga kuat dan gampang goyang. Apalagi karena gue bersikeras tetap duduk, sementara yang lainnya udah pada merangsek ke sekitar gue dekat panggung .. tangan gue kesenggol terus. Gah!! Where's my digicam when I needed it??! Gue denger Delon mulai nyanyi di ujung sana. Tapi mana?? Mana?? Delon di mana?? Ini orang-orang pada ga tau diri nutupin padahal gue dari tadi sengaja duduk supaya penonton di belakang gue ga ketutupan. Akhirnya gue arahin hp gue ke panggung lagi, ke Sisi. Nungguin Delon di situ aja dah.

Tapi kok .. kayaknya suara Delon makin mendekat ke arah gue. I turned my head to the right .. and BAM! Shocked! He was right there in front of me in his white shirt and red jumper. So very close I could touch him easily. Or worst scenario was, I could trip him off with my feet. Kyaaaa!! Untung posisi kaki gue lagi rapi (coba kalo biasanya gue duduk sambil kakinya bertebaran di kiri-kanan, apa ga jadi berita sensasional? "Delon Kesengkat di Acara Amal". Huahahaha). Dan tangan gue masih sibuk menjaga posisi hp, jadilah ga bisa nyolek Delon.

Kembali fokus ke panggung, Delon dan Sisi meneruskan duet mereka. Mengingat lagu ini termasuk lagu "kebangsaan" Delon, if I may suggest, play Andrea Bocelli's or Josh Groban's part and listen to the pronunciation carefully. Tapi berhubung gue cinta mati sama ni lagu .. told you hundreds of time .. and considering Italian was not our mother tongue, so yeah. Go on. Entertain me. Overall, gue tetep suka sama penampilan Delon dan Sisi. Mudah-mudahan bisa menghibur si penawar lelang tertinggi juga.

(Click here to view video, exclusively on Facebook. Sorry for the very rough recording. Biarpun gue udah duduk nyaris nempel sama panggung begitu, masih ada aja ibu-ibu berbaju kuning yang mondar-mandir di depan gue buat motoin Delon dan Sisi. Dari kiri ke tengah. Balik lagi. Ke tengah lagi, balik lagi. Puh-leesee. Couldn't she choose the best seat in the middle and stayed in there tight? Ato duduk aja di atas panggung sekalian. Kualat kualat deh memaki orang yang lebih tua. Sorry, Mam, you're just too annoying).

Setelah itu Delon lanjut nyanyi lagu rohani "Dia Mengerti". Ga neko-neko, simple and sweet. Delon sempat jalan ke sisi kanan panggung, right in front of me. Again. Tapi kali ini gue udah mati rasa karena posisi gue ngambil gambar udah nyaris setengah tiduran. Soalnya deket banget. Dan mana bisa deg-degan dalam posisi setengah sit-up begitu?? Yang ada kalo lamaan dikit perut malah bisa kram kali =D.

(Click here to view video, exclusively on Facebook).

Abis itu Delon bincang-bincang sedikit sama MC. Trus ngasih hadiah lelang buat penawar tertinggi. Yang naik ke panggung satu ibu sambil gendong anak ceweknya yang masih kecil. Adik kecil ini udah mulai nangis dari sebelum nyampe ke panggung. Mungkin lagi cranky karena udah waktunya bobo, malah disuruh naik panggung. Nangisnya ga berenti lho, tapi sambil terus ngeliatin Delon gitu. Mungkin kalo diterjemahkan jadi begini: "Ngapain sih, Ma? Cowok ini siapa? Aku ga mau difoto. Aku mau turun, Ma". Mamanya sih hepi, senyum-senyum foto bareng Delon. Dah gitu Delon jailnya kumat. Mic dideketin ke si anak, tangisannya jadi kedengeran kenceng seantero ruangan. Dan ga cuma sekali, tapi beberapa kali. "Ini kenapa sih kok aku jadi diketawain sama orang-orang? Tolong dong, Ma, jitakin cowok iseng di depanku ini". Kasian, tapi lucu gitu. Gemes. (Jadi inget Mat nangis waktu difoto bareng Lucky Perdana. Ternyata anak kecil ga peduli sama seleb. "Who is this guy?? He's not my daddy, why should I take picture with him???"). Memang, cuma anak kecil yang bisa menolak seleb dengan cara yang ekstrim. Huahahaha.

Oh ya. Delon sama Sisi juga sempet foto-foto bareng para suster. MC nanya, apa bedanya Delon dengan Josh Groban? Delon jawab "Rambutnya". Sisi jawab "Yang ini suaranya lokal". You chose the best answer.

Gue tengok ke belakang, ternyata Maria juga udah pindah duduk ke meja gue yang sekarang. Dan Karen juga ajak temen sekolahnya yang ada di sana, Anabele.

Lagu terakhir Delon, "You Raise Me Up". Yang pasti, top deh. Then the unexpected happened. Gue ga tau apa yang menarik perhatian Delon dari atas panggung. Kemungkinan Karen atau Anabele yang posisinya ada di samping gue, agak ke belakang dikit .. mungkin mereka lagi main-main, atau lagi nari-nari denger lagu, atau jangan-jangan main mata sama Delon tanpa sepengetahuan Mommy and Auntie. Ga ada ujan ga ada petir, Delon ngasih tangan, ngajak mereka naik ke panggung. Langsung gue dorong Karen naik ke panggung, Anabele juga .. sambil satu tangan tetap bertahan di hp. Delon jongkok di panggung menyambut dan memeluk those lucky little girls. Kacooo. Dilema dah gue. Ini apa perlu direkam, atau difoto? Kalo distop buat ganti ke pic mode, gue pasti akan kehilangan paling tidak setengah menit. Tapi kalo diterusin vid mode, nanti yang motoin mereka siapa dong? Maria jelas ga bisa dapet angle yang bagus dari lokasinya. Lah itu mendadak para juru foto amatiran mengepung area panggung. Kamera, hp dan handycam mengacung, kilatan blitz dimana-mana. Dah gitu Karel, kakaknya Karen, ikutan pula naik ke panggung dan bergaya dengan style abadinya: dua jari membentuk huruf V di depan sambil nyengir. Man, I really missed my digicam, yang bisa dengan mudahnya dipindah antara image dan video. I decided to stick around with vid mode. Gue juga jadi ga konsen dengerin Delon nyanyi karena merhatiin anak-anak di panggung. Karen dan Anabele entah terpesona, terpana, bingung, ato apa .. ekspresinya ga bisa dibaca. Takut ada yang nangis, tapi ternyata ga tuh. Heheheh. Mungkin yang lebih hepi para Mama kale .. Mamanya ga dapet foto bareng Delon, yang penting anak-anaknya dapet. Dah selesai difoto-foto, anak-anak dikembalikan ke bawah panggung dengan membawa memori yang mungkin bisa jadi bekal mereka untuk menjadi selebritis atau menjadi pacar selebritis di masa depan hehehehe. Thanks a lot, Delon. (Karen nyebutnya "Deyon").

(Click here to view video, exclusively on Facebook).

Dan seperti bisa diprediksi, begitu Delon turun dari panggung, acara amal jadi bubar secara tidak formal. MC di atas panggung dicuekin karena para undangan lebih memilih nyegat Delon buat foto bareng, atau ngantri di pintu keluar. Gue sendiri juga tadinya mau ngejar bareng Maria, tapi ngeliat penuhnya suasana .. ah ogah. Susah amat mau foto doang. Mana jauh pula. Ya sudah, kita juga akhirnya ikuran bubar jalan.

Oh ya. Total amal terkumpul .. er .. 65 + 50 + 20 = 135. Begitulah. Semoga berguna buat Atambua.

Moral of the story: GILINGAN! Berhubung dah lamaaaaa banget ga pernah lagi nonton Delon dari jarak sedekat ini, I became very very easy on the review. It's good though couldn't say it's flawless. But yet, the night was really entertaining. I learned the most important thing. NEVER EVER FORGET TO BRING MY DIGICAM! Mobile recording for long play is one thing, converting mp4 to acceptable video formats is another thing. All is a pain in the ass. Hih. I will be well-prepared the next time I see the Idols.

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