After 20 years, METALLICA returned to Jakarta, Indonesia for a show at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Sunday, August 25th. Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo attended the concert.

JakartaGlobe's Yanto Soegiarto reports:

There is no doubt that music unites people. It embraces people from all walks of life regardless of ethnicity or religion. Music lovers as a consequence often have more sympathy for other people — witness Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo’s presence at the Metallica concert in the capital on Sunday. Not only did the heavy metal group satisfy the governor, who has long been a fan of the band, but it also pleased the tens of thousands of concert-goers who came from all over Indonesia. The politician best known as Jokowi bought front-row standing tickets, evading the formalities to which he is entitled as Jakarta’s leader. All he wanted was to enjoy the concert with other fans.

Gelora Bung Karno stadium was turned black, with glittering lighting emanating from the stage. Many fans, including Jokowi, wore Metallica T-shirts as the music awakened residents from their big-city boredom. Jokowi came without escort and shared entry queues with fans, among them ordinary people, foreign visitors and youngsters. There were none of the speeches or acknowledgement of officials that are common at large events.

Jokowi’s presence boosted his political image and his street credibility. He is perhaps the most popular senior official in the country’s history. Jokowi’s presence had a psychological effect on the audience. They regard him as a symbol of freedom of expression, one of them, someone with whom they can identify. There aren’t many politicians who would queue up without a muscular entourage for a rock band in Indonesia.

Admirers praise his honesty, originality and personal touch, and he will likely continue to climb the popularity ladder. When the concert was over, young people, a large share of the estimated 60,000 crowd, shouted “Jokowi, Jokowi, Jokowi” in praise of their governor.

Read more at this location, and check out a video report below:

Megallica performed the following18 songs at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium:

'Hit The Lights'

'Master Of Puppets'

'Fuel'

'Ride The Lightning'

'Fade To Black'

'The Four Horsemen'

'Cyanide'

'Welcome Home (Sanitarium)'

'Sad But True'

'Orion'

'One'

'For Whom The Bell Tolls'

'Blackened'

'Nothing Else Matters'

'Enter Sandman'

'Creeping Death'

'Fight Fire With Fire'

'Seek & Destroy'

A gallery of photos from the show can be found at this location.

Some fan-filmed footage from the show can be seen below: