Heartfelt #3: A Gig Full of Warmth and Sweat
Malang has always become a nice host for bands who are on tour and the latest crew who got to taste the hospitality of the city was Kolibri Rekords. Bringing two of their rosters on the road, Grrrl Gang and Flowr Pit, the tour titled “Flowr Gang” visited their last stop on 25 February 2018. Taking place at Houtenhand Public House, the Mecca for underground gigs in the city, the tour showcase was held in conjunction with Heartfelt #3. The collective gig initiated by independent event makers from Malang, presented five bands in total. There were Head Head, Much, Dizzyhead, Flowr Pit and Grrrl Gang that took turn to rock the humble stage of Houtenhand’s second floor.
It has been a long time for us to attend this kind of gig and the rush of feeling of seeing, watching, and interacting with people with the same taste in music was beyond our expectation. Starting out a little bit late than their scheduled rundown, GZZ Records’ latest export, Head Head opened Heartfelt #3. The band got some more experience on live shows as time goes by. Compared to their performance on Barometronome, Head Head were going on the right path this time. Then it was time for Flowr Pit to showcase their talent. The pop punk band did not hesitate to set an energetic mood with their tunes. Flowr Pit are definitely a refreshment in terms of genre in Kolibri.
The highlight of the day was meant to present the touring bands, but we got to say that Much stole the show. The crowd sang along, crowd surfed, and screamed to every little words from Much’s songs. Anggi and crew turned the seemingly calm crowd into berserk mode. It resulted in a little bit chaotic situation although the band handled it well and continued their set until finished. Songs from their “The Closest Thing I Could Relate” album, their newly released “Halfway Through” as well as singles were brought on stage. After the sizzling set from Much, the next band must be pressured to follow their footstep. Thankfully Dizzyhead didn’t feel any burden during their performance and let loose. Albeit a little bit mishap on the guitar part, Dizzyhead used their chance on Heartfelt #3 as a warm up before their participation on Lalala Fest 2018.
As the last performer, Grrrl Gang were electrifying on stage. Angee, Akbar and Edo didn’t show any sign of tiredness although we could understand if they did. They also performed their newest single called “Dream Grrrl” which was just released few days ago. Members from the performing bands even managed to do stage dive. Guitarist, vocalist, bassist, except the drummer seemed to happily leave their post to exchange sweat with the amped up crowd through stage dives. Heartfelt #3 was simply about togetherness, having fun, and music (and crowd surf) is just the right medium to unify people.
Photos: Hanif Ardhika/Writer: Novita Widia
