City for the Art Lovers

I am not good in dancing, singing, or playing music instrument. Since I'm not good at those things, I love to see other people doing it. Admire their skill and enjoy their performance. I love to watch somebody moves their body, making beautiful movements whether it's fast, slow, or still. I enjoy hearing somebody sings -of course somebody with good voice- whether it's classic, folk, jazz, blues, pop, or even Gregorian song. I voluntarily come to a musical performance. Sit, feel, and then fly away as the music swings my mind.

With that go-to-performance hobby, I will say that I'm extremely lucky to live in this small city called Yogyakarta. Why is that? Why do I feel lucky? I feel lucky because Yogyakarta is art-lover-friendly city (at least I feel this city friendly to me :D ). And yeah! This city successfully makes other people jealous because of its friendliness~

So, in the end of this November, I went to a jazz concert held in Yogyakarta. Casiopea 3rd, jazz-fusion group from Japan, was one of the performers. The atmosphere was amazing. The night was stunning. The people were contended. I enjoyed their music. I really did. And I felt really lucky to have the chance to see this internationally-known musicians.


The next day, I met a Japanese guy. After the introductory conversation, I said, "Hey, I
watched Japanese musician last night." "Who?" "Casiopea." "Casiopea? The jazz band?" I nodded. "Really? Last night?" His face seemed shocked. "Here in Yogyakarta?" I said yes. Then he opened his gadget, browsed it, and looked for some proves that I was not lying. "They even announced it in their website!" So, that guy I met was a huge fan of Casiopea. He said his father used to play their songs for him. He never saw them live because in Japan, he said that their ticket often sold out in only 5 minutes selling. The price is around 10.000 yen or around 1.000.000 IDR. How much did I have to pay to see them here in Yogyakarta? 50.000 IDR~


That's only one example, one event. Yogyakarta has more events whether it's annually (Ngayogjazz, Asia Tri Festival, Jogja Street Art Performance, Jogja Art Festival, and more) or just one time performance (Gable from France, Nynke Laverman from Netherlands, Alito Alessi from US, and more). Artists with diverse genre and nationality come and perform here.The city itself has its performance in many places; in the palace, temple, museums, theaters, or even streets.

While it offers more, this city demands less. Most of the performances are free. If you have to pay, it rarely more than 100.000 IDR. And when you have to pay, it is worth. You will not spend your money for nothing. Most of the time, the performances re-charged my energy and I left with brand-new spirit to live. So it doesn't matter to spend 10.000 or 500.000 IDR for beautiful heavenly performances~

This city may not be the richest or the cleanest but it offers the best...