Image via YouTube
There's nothing like a heated gubernatorial election to get a bunch of rich, career-minded men to act like teenagers. Our incumbent candidate Basuki Tjahaja Purnama is all about skating. Sandiaga Uno is totally down with the Moz. And Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is suddenly diving off every stage he sees.Agus, or AHY, took a leap of faith during an East Jakarta campaign rally in late October and well… leapt… from the stage. Sort of. And then he sort of laid face down on a sea of hands. It looks pretty terrifying to me.Two weeks later, Agus was stage diving again, this time in Kalideres, West Jakarta.And then it happened again.He apparently did it again after the last Jakarta gubernatorial debate, but I can't, for the life of me, find the video. It raises the question: if a gubernatorial candidate stage dives in the middle of the capital, and no one is there to capture it and post it to Instagram, did he actually stage dive?Sorry, got sidetracked there. So, according to Agus, he's been stage diving for a while now, after first learning about it, as you do, in the Indonesian military (TNI)."I've done it a couple of times with my friends in the TNI," Agus told the local media. He then described stage diving as, basically, the cooler, millennial cousin of trust falls. "It's a symbol of trust between the one jumping and the one catching," he said.So where did Agus pick up this love of stage diving? Or, the more importantly: is he into punk? Or metal, like our Lamb of God loving president? Nope. Or at least, not that we know of.He's, apparently, a big fan of Il Divo. But, judging by some of Il Divo's hits, maybe he should keep that a secret from some of supporters. Maybe he had a friend in the TNI who was really into oi punk. Maybe "High Fives and Stage Dives" by Time Flies was on heavy rotation in Cikeas. We may never know.But what we can figure out is whether or not Agus is any good at stage dives. Now, I'm no expert, but I have a phone and access to people who are. So I met with Arian13, of Seringai, and Gebeg, of Taring and a million other Bandung bands, to have them rate Agus' stage dives and offer some tips on technique.VICE Indonesia: So AHY has taken at least four stage dives that we know of. He looks like he's getting better every time, right?
Arian13: He looked like a fool, that's for sure. AHY was clapping his hands and then he suddenly jumped onto the crowd. The whole thing looked ridiculous.
Gebeg: It was alright, I guess. He's lucky that there were people holding him up. But yeah, his stage dives were getting better with time.Did he make any rookie mistakes?
Arian13: For him to want to stage dive, that was the biggest mistake at all. The second mistake was that the music he was playing wasn't at all aggressive. I think stage dives are part of the mosh pit, where people let out their aggression in a positive way. So there should be some aggression in a stage dive. What Agus did was more like a trust fall. If we take a closer look, he always jumps knees first. In Indonesia, people usually jump feet first when they stage dive. I don't fancy that. When you jump, it's just like swimming. It's best headfirst. Agus' stage dive is also a great way to get pickpocketed. When he stage dives, he's at a bigger risk of losing his wallet and watch than at any other time. His stage dives are gonna cost him a lot of money. It's not a mosh pit, it's a mosh copet [moshing for pickpockets].
Gebeg: Yeah, whatever—he's just very lucky that people were holding him up. [Laughs]On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate AHY on his technique?
Arian13: Because the first one seemed more spontaneous, I would give it five, tops. And two for the other one with the Farid Hardja song ["Ini Rindu"].
Gebeg: I'd rate the first video a seven, and the second video a seven-point-five. If he stage dives to Nirvana, I would give him an eight.Any song recommendations then?
Arian13: Anything by Slayer would do. Or DRI. I don't have a specific video to recommend, but I have a feeling he could learn a thing or two from failed stage dive videos. He should watch those videos, not so he can avoid making the same mistakes, but the other way around, so he can make them. That way he'll have better stories to share with the family back home.
Gebeg: Napalm Death. Terrorizer. You get the idea.AHY said that the 'stage dive is a symbol of trust between the one jumping and the one catching.' What is the real philosophy behind stage dives?
Arian13: That's more what trust falls are. The term stage dive is pretty self explanatory. You dive from the stage. So I guess he got that right. But stage dives were born from punk and metal. If you ask me about the philosophy, well, I don't know. I guess it has a lot to do with releasing aggression. It take a lot to pile on in the pit. But maybe he did need to release some aggression. Did he need to let out some frustration? He might have some concerns and anxieties he needed to let out. It's OK. Just let it all out Agus. Just remember to flash the horns.As two pioneers in Indonesia's punk/ metal/ hardcore scenes, how did you feel when you first saw AHY stage dive?
Arian13: I cringed so hard. I was irritated, but I didn't make a big fuss about it. It wasn't like it was his first time. My friends and I weren't making time to talk about his stage dives.
Gebeg: It's OK. I've seen it a couple of times. It's not like you need a permit to stage dive, right? No one really gives a damn.Would you ever volunteer to be his stage dive coach?
Arian13: Oh, God no. He sucks at stage dives. He should've stuck with the military.
Gebeg: Nope. No thanks. I can't teach him about stage dives. But I would teach him how to play the drums if he's into that.Anything you want to tell AHY about his future stage dives?
Arian13: Well, Agus, if you're stage diving to let out your aggression, that's cool. But please don't do it because you were pressured into it. If that's the case, then don't stage dive. Just don't do anything at all.
Gebeg: I hope he stage dives again. I hope he's an honest candidate too.
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Arian13: He looked like a fool, that's for sure. AHY was clapping his hands and then he suddenly jumped onto the crowd. The whole thing looked ridiculous.
Gebeg: It was alright, I guess. He's lucky that there were people holding him up. But yeah, his stage dives were getting better with time.Did he make any rookie mistakes?
Arian13: For him to want to stage dive, that was the biggest mistake at all. The second mistake was that the music he was playing wasn't at all aggressive. I think stage dives are part of the mosh pit, where people let out their aggression in a positive way. So there should be some aggression in a stage dive. What Agus did was more like a trust fall. If we take a closer look, he always jumps knees first. In Indonesia, people usually jump feet first when they stage dive. I don't fancy that. When you jump, it's just like swimming. It's best headfirst. Agus' stage dive is also a great way to get pickpocketed. When he stage dives, he's at a bigger risk of losing his wallet and watch than at any other time. His stage dives are gonna cost him a lot of money. It's not a mosh pit, it's a mosh copet [moshing for pickpockets].
Gebeg: Yeah, whatever—he's just very lucky that people were holding him up. [Laughs]On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate AHY on his technique?
Arian13: Because the first one seemed more spontaneous, I would give it five, tops. And two for the other one with the Farid Hardja song ["Ini Rindu"].
Gebeg: I'd rate the first video a seven, and the second video a seven-point-five. If he stage dives to Nirvana, I would give him an eight.
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Arian13: Anything by Slayer would do. Or DRI. I don't have a specific video to recommend, but I have a feeling he could learn a thing or two from failed stage dive videos. He should watch those videos, not so he can avoid making the same mistakes, but the other way around, so he can make them. That way he'll have better stories to share with the family back home.
Gebeg: Napalm Death. Terrorizer. You get the idea.AHY said that the 'stage dive is a symbol of trust between the one jumping and the one catching.' What is the real philosophy behind stage dives?
Arian13: That's more what trust falls are. The term stage dive is pretty self explanatory. You dive from the stage. So I guess he got that right. But stage dives were born from punk and metal. If you ask me about the philosophy, well, I don't know. I guess it has a lot to do with releasing aggression. It take a lot to pile on in the pit. But maybe he did need to release some aggression. Did he need to let out some frustration? He might have some concerns and anxieties he needed to let out. It's OK. Just let it all out Agus. Just remember to flash the horns.As two pioneers in Indonesia's punk/ metal/ hardcore scenes, how did you feel when you first saw AHY stage dive?
Arian13: I cringed so hard. I was irritated, but I didn't make a big fuss about it. It wasn't like it was his first time. My friends and I weren't making time to talk about his stage dives.
Gebeg: It's OK. I've seen it a couple of times. It's not like you need a permit to stage dive, right? No one really gives a damn.Would you ever volunteer to be his stage dive coach?
Arian13: Oh, God no. He sucks at stage dives. He should've stuck with the military.
Gebeg: Nope. No thanks. I can't teach him about stage dives. But I would teach him how to play the drums if he's into that.Anything you want to tell AHY about his future stage dives?
Arian13: Well, Agus, if you're stage diving to let out your aggression, that's cool. But please don't do it because you were pressured into it. If that's the case, then don't stage dive. Just don't do anything at all.
Gebeg: I hope he stage dives again. I hope he's an honest candidate too.