ISLAMABAD:
It’s a balmy Friday night at Kuch Khaas Center for the Arts. The stage is appropriately lit and ready. “I wanna make it, I wanna make it with you”. The crisp, throaty vocals tear through the languid summer air, jolting the small crowd. Finally, some decent grunge hits this side of the Margalla Hills.
Kabul-based White City’s Ruth Owen (bass and lead vocals), who also goes by her stage moniker Ru, takes the stage with Travis Beard, or Trevka, (guitar and backing vocals) and Andreas Stefansson aka Andronik (drums and backing vocals).
It’s not the sort of band you’ll see frequently at Kuch Khaas, or anywhere in Pakistan really. The three band members, one of only two western rock bands in Afghanistan, are international expatriates who work and live in Kabul — Ru and Trevka are freelance film-makers, while Andronik works with a NGO. Now, from the rough Kabul terrain, these guys are bringing an edgy, grunge sound to Pakistan for their ‘Big in the Stans’ tour. “Basically, we’re touring in all the ‘stans’, meaning all the countries which end in ‘stan’,” explained Ru after the show.
The frontwoman herself is a true asset to the group. She’s a howling goddess of grunge on stage; a force to be reckoned with, delivering powerful vocals and an endless outpouring of charisma and kickass moves. She depicts the sort of grunge-rock female artist sorely lacking in Pakistan. We have yet to see a female lead in other similar bands like Bumboo Sauce and Malang Party. Her raw, heady voice is somewhat redolent of Kim Deal from The Pixies — one of Ru’s major influences — and Alison Mossheart from the indie-rock band The Kills.
“We’ve come from Afghanistan to play for you,” said Ru, addressing the somewhat reserved audience seated on lawn swings, chairs and sofas. “White City comes from the United Nations’ highest alert,” she explained, without coming off as too political. It’s nice to finally hear a band that doesn’t blatantly announce a political agenda; this way, the focus remains on the music and performance first and foremost. Case in point: Before kicking off their first song, “Perfect 10,” Ru even announced: “I’ll let you make your minds up on what you think this song is about.”
Although White City kept their energy up throughout the show and played off each other, they wished the same for the audience, which was all too sparse and dull for the mosh-inducing lyrics.
“People come on, if you’re not dead yet, dance,” they sang, the request falling on deaf ears. The most the crowd did was assemble on the grass in front of the stage and, even then, only a handful came.
In typical Islamabadi fashion, enough people didn’t come out to support this dynamic group and their efforts to “facilitate a cross-cultural exchange,” as stated by Ru, because White City isn’t a big name in these parts. Too bad. It was the sort of head-banging performance that deserved a bigger and slightly more boisterous crowd. “How do you guys do rock in this country?” asked a shocked Trevka in an amazed voice.
The Express Tribune caught up with the band after the show; Ru had leaped off stage to cool off by a large fan. They all apologised profusely for being sweaty. Ru explained that the band could be seen performing at parties, embassies, bars and restaurants. “The expat community is a little tame but the Afghani kids are great,” said Ru, describing the sort of reception White City gets in Afghanistan. “It’s our first time in Pakistan,” she said, “and it’s been great so far.”
The band is set to perform in Lahore on Saturday at the Guitar School. Here’s hoping they’re received with a bit more (and deservedly so) gusto in Lahore.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 25th, 2011.
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