LIMP BIZKIT BUCKLES ON SE ASIA RUN

JAKARTA - It's not the first time that a foreign band has canceled a concert in Indonesia. After Mariah Carey cancelled her concert in Jakarta that was scheduled for November 2003, another U.S. rock band, Limp Bizkit, also cancelled just three days before a scheduled concert in Bali, citing security concerns.

Original Production, which was promoting the Limp Bizkit concert in Indonesia, had to issue a press release on Dec. 2 canceling the highly anticipated Dec. 5 at Lotus Pond of Garuda Wisnu Kencana in Jimbaran, Bali. The Indonesian promoter is bitter. "The official management and agent of Limp Bizkit in the U.S. said the cancellation is because the controversial vocalist [of] Limp Bizkit, Fred Durst, had one-sidedly cancelled their Southeast Asian countries [dates]," the press release from Original Production stated.
Concerts on the "Summer Sanitarium World Tour" scheduled for Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines that week were also nixed following a Nov. 21 U.S.-government-issued travel advisory in the wake of the terrorist bombing in Turkey. "The very reason why Limp Bizkit/Fred Durst cancelled their concerts in some Southeast Asian countries [is] because of the indistinct fear of Fred Durst on the grounds of security reason[s] referring to the appeal of [the] U.S. State Department," the press release of Original Production stated. "It does not reflect the professional attitude of a band like Limp Bizkit," although the promoter did his best to persuade the band to keep playing in Bali on Dec. 5, the press release added.
Local news outlets in Southeast Asia were not kind, either, often noting the disconnect between the band's defiant lyrics and decision to "head for a shelter," as one columnist put it.
The main sponsor of the concert, Gudang Garam International, a cigarette brand, had extensively promoted the concert in billboards, newspapers and flyers to the tune of about $119,047 (U.S.) and seven local television stations were scheduled to broadcast the event.
Tommy Pratama, the promoter, said that, along with other concert promoters in
Southeast Asia, "we [will] try to persuade the band to reschedule the concert in the near future." "The band violated the contract because the management and agent cancelled the concert just one week before it was scheduled. [If] the rescheduled concert does not materialize, we may bring the case into the court," Pratama said. "It is understandable when they consider Indonesia unsafe, but how about Singapore?" asked Pratama. The Singapore Indoor Stadium had expected the band on Dec. 3. Midas Promotions stated that they also only received notification of the cancellation on Dec. 2. BEC Tero Entertainment, the promoter in Bangkok, also made the cancellation announcement on Dec. 3.
"Actually it [was] Fred Durst who opted for Bali as the venue for its concert in
Indonesia," Pratama argued.

VIP tickets for the concert were $29.70 and regular admission was set at $17.80.
Package tours for the trip to Bali, including transportation, hotel and shuttle to the show were also offered, and will be refunded, Pratama said.
Dates in South Korea and Japan this week are going ahead as planned. The band is next due to play Castle Hall in Osaka, Japan, Dec. 18. The band is popular, although Limp Bizkit's four-letter lyrics on some radio stations in
Jakarta are normally censored. - Wahyuni Kamah
Interviewed for this story: Tommy Pratama, +62 816 843 692; Revie Dhut, Original
Production, +62 21 727 94 423