Remembering the Time When High School Indie Shows Were at the Center of Everything

It's the classic chicken and egg debate. Were the pensi occurring all in Indonesian cities in the early 2000s the reason behind indie rock's eventual mainstream success? Or were pensi just a reflection of indie's rise?

Pensi, for the ill-informed, were "pentas seni" ("art stage") that were thrown by area high schools, but open to the public. These schools would book bands, build stages, and secure sponsors for a wild blowout featuring some of the best local bands around at the time.

These shows helped build a scene, and a community, around independent music in Indonesia. But the heyday of pensi, the late 90s and early 2000s, was also a special time in cities like Jakarta. You had all these new bands coming out of Institute Kesenian Jakarta (IKJ) like White Shoes and the Couples Company and Efek Rumah Kaca who were gaining momentum and looking for a place to play. And then suddenly they had an outlet, a steady supply of stages that paid and eager teenage fans willing to spread the word.

"Communities were being made and a lot of different kinds of music was played," said Jimi Multhazam, the frontman of The Upstairs and Morfem. "People were releasing records. It was incredible."

It was something of a perfect storm: the right bands, the right shows, and the right audience all came together at the same time to create the perfect environment for an emerging scene to rise.

For teenagers, pensi were a way to see these rising indie bands—musicians who spoke to them in a language they could understand—perform in a parent-friendly environment. Most kids' parents wouldn't feel safe dropping their children off at a bar or some DIY venue to see Seringai or The Upstairs play. But a school sponsored event? No problem.

For rising indie bands, pensi were a steady stream of gigs and cash, and the shows played a vital role in expanding a band's fan base. Nearly all of the "first wave" of Indonesian indie bands rose up through the pensi system. The Brandals, The Upstairs, Seringai, Goodnight Electric, and so many more attained pensi success before breaking through to mass appeal.

"It was a great time to have people hear the music," said Henry Foundation, of the electronic trio Goodnight Electric. "It was a place where our music was appreciated and we could attract new listeners. And for the kids, it was inspirational."

The pensi shows made small-scale celebrities out of bands like Goodnight Electric, creating surreal scenes where a band that cut its teeth at grimy bars and cafes was suddenly face-to-face with mobs of screaming teenaged fans.

"I remember one pensi the organizers picked up and and as we arrived at the event there was this line of students shielding us from all these other students, kids, and even some older ladies, who were all just screaming and running toward us trying to shake our hand," Henry told VICE. "It was kind of like, I imagine, the greeting Big Bang or G Dragon would receive."

At another pensi, there wasn't a barrier between the stage and the crowd and fans just climbed on the stage when Goodnight Electric ended their set, chasing after them as they tried to leave.

"People were running and falling," Henry said. "I can't even wrap my head around it. Maybe it was a 'boyband effect'."

Goodnight Electric eventually had so many fans that they were playing as many ad three pensi in a single day. The band were quickly able to quit their jobs and make music a full-time gig. All of these bands already had gained popularity with the older set, but pensi, more than anything else, helped introduce the term "indie" to the Indonesian lexicon.

Suddenly, there were all these indie bands fans could instantly connect with. They were accessible, cultured, and, most of all cool. They were bands that split teenaged fans into tribes. You could look out across a pensi crowd and instantly identify who was there to see which band. Pensi were elevating indie acts to the level of pop stars, taking their place while making the old glossy image look lame in comparison.

"High school kids were starting to look at those bands, and MTV was also pushing their music videos," said Arian 13, the frontman of Seringai. "The student's age definitely had a lot to do with the whole thing. I know how it feels to be a teen and feel connected to high energy rock."

Eventually, pensi became too popular for their own good. The shows started to turn chaotic as rival schools tried to one-up each other with bigger bills, bigger crowds, and bigger sponsors.

"Some of the hippest pensi were definitely the ones from Pangudi Luhur and Tarakanita high schools," Arian 13 said. "The performers were always wicked and the sponsorship, well they probably got it through their parents' networks. There were also times when some of these bigger pensi would try to break the barrier and invite international performers."

As more money hit the scene, the events started to morph from a school-led concert series into something resembling a commercial music fest. The crowds became so big that the students who organized and threw the shows struggled to keep the whole thing under control.

The bands tried to do their part. The Upstairs even took to wearing shirts that spelled out "T.E.N.A.N.G." (calm down) on stage. Their fans were already copying the band's colorful outfits and treating the band like idols, so they figured it was their responsibility to do their part in making sure everything remained as safe as possible.

"The competition between schools was something I started to feel," Jimi told VICE. "And the euphoria from the audience, when it became too much, also became a hindrance. As someone who was in front of all that, I felt a responsibility to at least lessen the negativity of what was starting to happen."

It was only a matter of time before the whole thing boiled over. Goodnight Electric were at one of the first pensi to end in a riot.

"The pensi thing began to waver when, at one of these events, things descended into chaos," Henry told VICE. "I'm not sure what happened—maybe some sort of fight or something—but there was a crowd of people who forced their way in and started breaking things in the venue; equipment, the sound-system—everything."

The school lost billions of rupiah and the whole thing hit the press. Suddenly pensi were no longer safe for kids. The government introduced new regulations that made the shows safer, but also made it harder for anyone but the biggest names to survive.

Today, pensi still exists, but the whole thing is much smaller. The days where an entire weekend would be packed with numerous pensi happening at same time are over. But some bands, like Seringai, still get asked to play the occasional pensi.

"As long as they are positive and part of the curriculum, it's good," Arian 13 said.