I Dreamed of Blur

Last Wednesday, I went to a "real" music gig for the first time in my life. It was an event called BigSound Festival, with four artists in its line-up, but I must admit, I came specifically for Blur. In that regard, it seemed I wasn't alone, though. Most festival goers were expecting Blur, not Van She, or Tegan and Sara, or The Temper Trap.

In a matter of hours after Blur wrapped up their performance in Jakarta, my whole experience at the gig had already seemed unreal. If it wasn't for my red, swollen hands from all the clapping, and for the ticket stub and concert ID that I still had, I might've concluded that it was, indeed, only a dream.

From the first number, their 1994 hit "Girls & Boys," I had sufficiently been pumped-up, but somewhere between "Country House" and "Parklife," I became completely mental. I was jumping around and screaming on top of my lungs, and when a girl who stood behind me said, "That person is very much carried away, don't you think?" to her friend, which he responded with, "Who?" for which she answered, "The person standing in front of us," do you think I cared? Did I care shit. That, I hasten to add, was out of character of me. I don't like attracting attention to myself, and in normal circumstances, I'd definitely try to keep a low profile in public places. But at that moment, I honestly didn't care what people thought about me. It helped that almost everyone went wild too, I suppose.

And you know what the weirdest thing was? I don't even like Blur that much. Don't get me wrong, I do like them and all, but they're not exactly on top of my favorite-bands-of-all-time list. (Back in the day, I actually preferred Oasis to Blur. These days, I'm saving my love for Radiohead and Manic Street Preachers.) But it didn't stop me from being "carried away" at the gig. It's like I was enchanted or something.

I also think it fascinating how a rock concert could simultaneously be a communal event and a very personal affair. I owed it to my fellow concert-attendants for being passionate and thus creating an intense, lively atmosphere, but at the same time, I was enjoying myself inside this little bubble where there's nobody but me and the musicians up there on stage. My point is, a concert could be a "blast" for all I know, but when you're not totally immersed in the music and the performance, it wouldn't mean anything.

As far as first concert went, it's not bad! Not bad all! I have Blur to thank to.

Note: Special mention goes to Dyandra Entertainment, for organizing everything smoothly. I'll be looking forward for their projects in the future. And I'd like to apologize to Van She, for being cold and not giving them the appreciation that they duly deserved.