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Rock Ball Review

- Mohammad A. Qayyum -

What was slated to be a showdown between EP and Noori, the two hottest young bands of the day ended up in a tie as the double-bill effectively turned into a lovefest with both the bands together onstage singing a hand in hand version of With Or Without You to end the show. Each band would have scored higher had the choice of song, if not the sentiment, been a tad too embarrassing, Sort of the way Ebony & Ivory by Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney was embarrassing despite having its heart in the right place. It was almost a letdown as this was potentially (and actually) one of the most explosive concerts Lahore has experienced in recent memory.

8:45 P.M. Late from a scheduled start at 7 PM (bands were soundchecking till 8:30 pm) the show was opened by the new and upcoming band the Call. Two covers (Creed’s MY Sacrifice and Lifehouse’s Hanging By A Moment [first singalong moment for the night] and two originals (Pukaar and the ever popular Nishaan) were powerfully rendered. The band certainly had presence, even if the sound was messed quite significantly messed up: Only the bass and drums could be heard and the guitars (despite being there two of them) and the vocals (which won the prize for Best Rock Performance for Nishaan) were cutting through the mess. Despite all of this the energy was there and well set up the stage for EP to come and dominate

And dominate they did. EP turned in a polished and quite brutal set which was made all the more memorable due to a surprise they had in store: They had onstage with them Shallum Asher from Fuzon as a guest guitarist who through the set provided molten hot leads on several songs for the night. His lead guitar on the opener Kahan Hai Tu was memorable and stiletto tone and the momentum he gave to the band carried them all through the night. EP quickly followed it with (why?) a cover of Limp Bizkit’s Mission Impposible II soundtrack which almost was letdown.

But then the first EP highlight for the night arrived: Hamesha was dedicated to Alvis, the much-missed music fanatic who was tragically killed recently and the band rendered a suitably impassioned version. The lyrics bore special resonance and lines like ‘Chahai Maut Aye to aye/ Main Rahoon Ga/ Hamesha’ had added resonance. Fawad the vocalist shone on the song. Two crowdpleasing songs Aghosh and a cover of Sajjad Ali (!)’s Bolo Bolo followed. Shallum (dubbed ‘Zaalim’ by the wisecracking Ahmad Ali Butt (MC for the night)) came on again and his fingers spidered all over the fretboard with abandon in an extended solo. Salman Albert who had been providing excellent backing vocals on the night, however then came on to perform Mera Pyar which really was not all that good and broke the momentum of the set despite an excellent Xulfi solo. A Tool cover of Stinkfist was done in by bad sound. However, normal spectacular service was soon restored with the trio of a moody Rahguzar, explosive Fitrat and glorious Waqt. As the last song EP chose the song that broke them in the popular scene: Hamein Aazma. That song brought the set to a fiery end, a set which all in all showed that EP have come a long way since their debit. Their live performance has improved immeasurably and become uniformly brilliant. Overall. their music is brutal in the extreme, interlaced with moments of great beauty.

The lows to the set were few and had to do with song selection: there was no Irtiqa III (probably not possible live) or Barzakh. A couple of gossips were announced: one of the band member is about to get married. Mera Pyar was for someone who broke Salman’s heart and other assorted gossips. But coming from the mouth of Ahmad ‘All for fun’ Butt one has to take this all with a pinch of salt.

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Noori then hit the stage with all the immediate impact of a damp squid. The crowd which was full of EP-heads was quite hostile to them. It seems to like EP most kids think one has to hate noori these days. Heckling and taunts abounded. Initially all of noori bar Ali Noor had come onstage and stood around waiting to fix the sound. Apparently, the management (which was a mess) had not provided them with an opportunity to soundcheck. Ten minutes in, frustrated they launched into Jana Tha. Gumby’s booming drums introduced the song and Ali Noor bounded onstage and the place erupted. The sound was horrible and quite spare as Noor did not play guitar that night, but no one seemed to notice.

If EP had been been brutal and precise, Noori matched them with ceaseless energy. The performance in fact was energetic in the extreme. The crowd had initially been hostile and ill-behaved. There was time when Ali Noor would have reacted adversely to this. But it is perhaps a sign of maturity and the experience of doing record number of shows recently that he first disarmed them with an ‘I love you guys’ and then soon through performance won them over. Three songs in Ali Noor had the band in the palm of his hand. When he sang Hum Bhooley, lighters came out and arms started waving. When he launched into Ja Re and added a Jump Jump (Jump Around – House of Pain) chant to it, everyone pogoed. When noori launched into Dil Ki Qasam, policemen came onstage to hold the crowd back. Kids (screaming ‘Chillar Chillar’) were standing on chairs all over. For Bol, kids in the audience were sitting on other kids shoulders and waving along. Others took to slamdancing and diving off of chairs into a mosh pit of sorts.

By the end of it all, Noori sang only a bit of Manwa Re (Gana No. 1, Ooncha or Mujhey Roko were not played) and then asked EP onstage for duet. EP was called onstage and as mentioned already launched into a ragged version of With or Without You. Ali Noor couldn’t find a mic for most of the song and only added a trademark Wooohooo to the song. Prior to that though one was entertained when on audience request Ali Noor and Ahmad Ali Butt sang a hilarious off-key duet of the hot song of the moment, Aadat by Jal. That possibly, rather than the too sweet memory of With Or Without You will possibly endear for a concert that despite

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Lastly a word on the organizers: Despite the huge attendance they managed, this has to be one of the worst shows organized in Lahore. Full and empty water bottles were invariably hurled around. Kids were lighting up cigarettes right left and center in full view of the school administration. There were fights aplenty outside and inside the hall was a safety hazard. The room was so full of people that even the aisle were stuffed with bodies. It just takes one spark from all the electrical equipment for a curtain to catch fire and people stampede. Such illconsidered events really are becoming a tragedy waiting to happen.

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