NYE @ Loewy, Jakarta

2 words - Crazy, Cool. That pretty much sums up our NYE gig at Loewy, Jakarta. Me & Felix (upright double bass) had the most unreal experience from the word go. Flying in from Singapore to Jakarta on the night of the 30th, we knew nothing of what to expect. All I knew about Jakarta was gleaned from the few horror stories I had been told by more experienced travellers. What we met with was way, way, way, way, waaaaaay, beyond our expectations!

Ayu, Loewy's super helpful, bubbly representative picked us up from the airport and straight to Loewy for a briefing, but not before she made triple sure that we weren't too tired. Once at Loewy, we were in the safe hands of Renita, uber cool marketing chick-in-charge. The place was buzzing with a too cool vibe and we were immediately impressed by the chic decor and exquisite service.

Felix and I worked hard through the night to make sure we had all our materials sorted out. Next day, we met up with Nikita, our guitarist from Jakarta who would make up the last third of our trio, before heading to Loewy for sound check & prep.

*GASP*

When we arrived at the bistro, the entire Loewy crew of 60 people was already hard at work putting the place together for the night's party. We were expecting a full house and no detail was going to be spared.

When the first guests walked through the doors at 7pm, we were at the ready. Between 7.30pm and 11pm, our jazz trio kept the mood comfortable with a pleasing mix of old school jazz and bossanova tunes. We covered familiar numbers like La Vie en Rose, My Cherie Amour, and even did a bossa rendition of Bizarre Love Triangle.

I'll be frank with you, it seems like anything that could've gone wrong on this assignment pretty much did go wrong. But together with the ever so calm & collected Renita, Yours Truly & Loewy banded together to make magic happen! And I'm really proud of us because stuff WILL crop up. The important thing is how you deal with it 'cause the show must go on! HUGE thanks due here to everyone who helped us in some way or other, including Renita & crew, Robert and Donny. Personal thanks going out from me to Felix & Niki for being such troopers :)

If anyone of you reading ever visits Jakarta, you HAVE to pay Loewy a visit. Great food coupled with excellent service at affordable prices in an amazingly charming setting, what more could you ask for? Just remember to tell them that you read this rave review on www.yourstruly.com.sg ;) Meanwhile, you can watch a short clip of the night's performance here:

Happy New Year ya'll! Have a smashing 2010 :D

xoxo,

Dawn