Hard-core rock music, renowned performers, a devoted and appreciating crowd of avid music lovers and scuffles amongst security personnel and gate-crashers marked off a captivating musical night at the Maritime Museum.
The concert attracted over six thousand people to the wonderfully-lit mounds and flats of the venue. Although security arrangements left much to be desired and unpleasant scenes were witnessed at the gates, once in, it was all blasting entertainment.
Among the various performances on-stage, the big names included Ali Azmat, Aaroh and Call. Much to the disappointment of the late-arrivers (keeping the post-10pm arrival trend alive), Ali Azmat came, performed and jetted off before much of the crowd had gathered. He did manage to get the early-arrivers involved in a sing-along, and hop-along, with the popular Na Re Na.
While the crowds gathered and waited for the next of the big-names to arrive, a few underground bands kept the stage alight and the audience warming up to the tunes on a chilly evening.
The stage was well set up, donned with the network provider’s backdrop and the slogan “U Rock” embedded and surrounded by spotlights.
The loudest cheers of the night were reserved for Aaroh. Coming on the back of their successful album-launch last week, Aaroh performed a few tracks from their new album and were applauded profusely by what seemed like a fervent-following of the band.
Realising this, Farooq Ahmed (vocalist) would constantly jump off the stage and sprint towards the crowd, initiating a series of shoving and pushing amongst the crowd while providing the chorus. If it wasn’t for the barb wire and the scarcely-placed uninterested looking security personnel, Farooq would have disappeared into the crowds, or vice versa.
Reluctant to go off, and encouraged by the crowd, Aaroh returned onto the stage to perform their cover track of the new album Raag Neela for the second time in the evening. A thunderous ovation (rightly deserved) synchronised with Aaroh’s eventual departure as the crowd waited in anticipation to see if the following performance could match that of Aaroh’s.
For the final performance of the night, Call was called (as put by the hosts) onto the stage amidst a flurry of blinding lights.
Included in the list of tracks performed were the ever-popular Jilawatan, Sab Bhula Kay, and Shayad. One of the biggest disappointments of the performance was a rather-weird version of Kaash, one of the best songs on the album.
Perhaps trying something new after the original and the unplugged version that have already been released, Junaid Khan failed to deliver anything close to what has been witnessed from him in the past.
© Faras Ghani 2006
Published in Dawn newspaper 25th Dec 2006
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