Mohammad A. Qayyum with Naila Azia & Fahad Khan
After a rather quiet spell on the
musical front,
While the numbers were not at times high, the crowds that came in were well-behaved and appreciative. The low numbers might have been attributable to the hot and humid weather and the steep ticket prices. That plus the fact that there were a number of other similar events being held on the same nights all across town had the Gulls event up against some stiff competition. Yet, for most part, the event was pulled off well and with aplomb. A lot of this had to do with the performances on offer, most of which were accomplished and a few of which were even passionate and paid appropriate tribute to the Madam.
Day 1 appropriately enough involved the Madam’s own daughter, Zill-e-Huma. She put on a good performance and tugged a fair few heart strings with a few of Madam Noor Jehan’s songs. Fakhir and Resham also performed well. Fakhir particularly was excellent and is ever-improving; yet lack of familiarity with some of his songs made the audience response a little tepid. The known numbers were embraced well though. Jawad came on last, but it seemed that by his turn, the audience had been drained by the sticky heat, the late start and the preceding acts. Still the Uchiyan Majjajan Wala had the crowd moving despite itself. With these acts, a high standard of performance was set on Day 1 and it was to be carried through for the rest of the event.
Night 2 had the most accomplished musicians, a bill of what might be termed as more cultured and refined artists. The Mekaal Hassan Band and Asad Amanat Ali Khan were on offer; Aks were guesting. The Mekaal Hassan Band’s performance was excellent and it seems that the band is gelling together well and their music filled the large venue well. Having said that it must be noted that their sound it becoming a bit too dense, that probably being down to the fact that the band has now bloated into a seven-piece with Salman Albert filling out on rhythm guitars. It must also sadly be noted that they now seem to be losing some of their subtlety and this is most in evidence in Ustad Riaz’s performance who grandstands where he once was understated. Where he was once remarkable for his restraint and did not copy the histrionics of Ustaad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, he now apes the departed Nusrat and sure enough covered Sanoon Ik Pal Chain Na Aawai.
This was most pointedly apparent on the night in comparison with the performance of Ustad Asad Amanat Ali which followed. Ustad Asad in his performance showed the merits of playing classical music straight. With nothing more than two harmoniums (and sometimes a tabla) the performance was sublime and goosebump inducing in its spareness and stately beauty and immediacy.
Night 2 also brought to the fore a problem that was to plague certain performers throughout the event: The curse of the DAT. Call me old fashioned but when I go to a live concert I expect to hear live music and not to see people dancing off of DATs and miming. Aks’ performance on the night was therefore rather disgraceful. That they looked pretty (all three of them) is all that can be said of them. They did not even do a good job miming. And yet troublingly they drew raves from the audience about their guitar playing and musicianship! In fact, perhaps the most shameful moment of the night was when a DAT-ed guitar solo for Aks drew the most applause, more than even Mekaal Hassan and his guitar playing which was all live and superlative that night. Later on, when I queried a few artists as to why they relied on DATs, they responded that the show was to be televised and they had to sound their best for television ! With respect, I think they miss the point of playing LIVE.
Night 3 had the most populist bill of offer. Crowd darlings Ibrar-ul-Haq and Sajjad Ali were on offer. Sajjad Ali came on first. I must admit I had never much seen merit in his music (other than Paniyon Main and the fun Chief Sahab): he to my mind had a few popular songs that were amusing but nothing more. Yet it was in live performance that he shone and – with fear of damaging my rocker credentials – I must admit I heartily enjoyed his music. One, the man can sing (no bum notes or singing out of key unlike some other mega-bands). Two, he can really work the crowd and three, its seems his fans had braved the heat and come in specially for him. Lastly, and most significantly, Sajjad Ali’s backing band was spectacular and made him look very very good. Even Cinderella, Bulbul and several of his lamer songs on record shone live and due to the fact that the audience sang along with him note for note.
While Sajjad Ali was appreciated, Ibrar was the one the crowd had come to see. He started off slow with a number of slow numbers and even looked out of sorts. But once he got into his bhangra mode, pandemonium reigned. People danced in the aisles. People took off their shirts. Ibrar asked them to put them back on. They did and then they took them off again. Utterly bonkers and we all loved it.
Bonkers indeed. Having said that, a word of advice to the management and Ibrar. Chucking goodies in the crowd that they fight over is not a safe thing to do at densely populated concert venues. Ibrar chucked cassettes in the crowd as souvenirs and I ended up getting crushed under a pile of gents who chased his gifts down. I wonder how families with kids coped.
Night 4 was the monster night. Junoon easily drew the biggest crowd of the festival and that too on a night that was not a weekend. Their pulling power is remarkable and they out-attracted even Ibrar on his home turf. The performance was for most part was excellent. Kudos must go to the rhythm section of Gumby and Brian which was tight as Al’s pants and were the engine that drove Junoon. As for Sal and Al while they performed excellently their musicianship was sometimes found lacking (not that anyone else seemed to notice). They were also not well-served by the mix on the night which played up Salman’s guitar to the band’s collective detriment. And even they, I must note, were guilty of playing off of DAT on their new single Garaj Baras. Sal, I ask thee. If mighty J DATs, then what of the bacha bands?
One looked forward to Nights 5 and 6. Yet sadly, they were cancelled. The management says they were postponed, yet there does not seem any chance of them happening anytime soon. A pity.
Having said that the event was excellent, one still has a few qualms to register: The ticket prices were a tad on the high side (Rs. 600 per night). However one cannot fault the management for not giving value for money. Each night was loaded down with talented musicians playing supremely and one was half tempted to agree with Ahmad Ali Butt’s declaration that the cost of a ticket was less than a dinner at Zouk. True, but then again having such high ticket prices does limit the concert to the Zouk-set and not to the general public. Anyways, this is but a minor quibble.
Two, one must fault the various comperes on the various nights who were irritating, not that it was their fault. One actually felt bad for Ms. Ayesha Sana who had the unenviable task of having to get up on stage and sell the sponsor’s product, Bio Amala in this case. Her pitch of ‘Jahan Balon Ka Mamala, Wahan Bio Amala’ was each time met with hoots and screeches of disapproval and often irritation. One wonders why sponsors insist on such irritating product advertisements. Just the fact that Bio Amala ads were tastelessly plastered all over the auditorium ought to have been enough. Yet, lifesize Bioamala bottles were placed on stage which sometimes dwarfed the performers. This was tasteless in the extreme.
However, while the concert décor was tasteless, the lighting and setup were excellent. Most importantly, the sound mix was great too and Edris Sahab doing the sound must get kudos for this.
Overall, the setting up of the
festival must be appreciated. The management promised that it would be an
annual event a la
In all, fun was had and several pounds were sweated off dancing. One cannot ask for a better deal than that, even if it was for Rs. 600 per night.