Rocking Peshawar: Ali Azmat, Humayun Khan bring down the house

Performers say concert was well-organised with tight security.

PESHAWAR:

It had been two years since Peshawar saw Pakistani rock legend Ali Azmat, and Pushto pop star Humayun Khan perform live together. And when they did, a crowd of nearly 2,000 people rocked with them.

The concert at the Peshawar Services Club took place amid tight security on Saturday night. With a huge fan base in the province, it did not take long for Humayun Khan to set the mood with numbers like Lar sha pekhawar ta and Gul sanga.

His set list included the heartrending Da che za lewala garzma pa ta pasay, a song about unrequited love.

Khan performed in Coke Studio (season five) much to the delight of many who had lost interest in the programme. His song Tora Bahram Khana was well-received and made him a household name nationally.

Then the headline act came, played for nearly an hour and a half and left the audience wanting more. It was a full house till the very last song, according to the band, which was very happy to see the violence-plagued city-goers let loose.

Ali Azmat performed a cherry-picked repertory including Dosti, Saeeen, Na raay na, Jazba Junoon and Tara jala. Of course, no Ali Azmat concert in Peshawar would be complete without his single Bum phatta.

Ali was accompanied by some of the industry’s very best – Omran Shafique on lead guitars, Waqar Khan on drums and Kamran “Mannu” Zafar on bass.

Talking about their experiences, Shafique said, “We rarely get to play there [Peshawar], it’s always great to meet our fans and friends, and of course, have Charsi tikka.”

“It’s always great to come down to Peshawar to perform – there’s this thrill involved if we would make it safe back home,” joked Waqar Khan. “We enjoyed playing the entire set as the crowd was on their toes till the last song. It’s sad the city has partly been an active war zone since the last couple of years, and it was great to bring cheer to these people. Being a ‘Khan’ myself, I felt right at home! “said Waqar.

There was consensus amongst band members that the generosity of Pukhtuns and great food were just some of the reasons to come back for another performance.

Most of the audience remained seated as it was held at an army garrison club, but young boys could be seen dancing and having a good time. But apparently not all – “We were stopped from dancing because other guests would be disturbed,” said Zeeshan Ali.

The presence of senior military and government official created more of a security hazard for concert goers. Once the VVIPs made their appearance, the ticket price rocketed from Rs 700 to Rs2,000 because of which many disappointed fans had to turn back from the gate.

According to sources, 1,000 tickets were oversold, leaving disappointed people who had spent good money unable to enter the venue. Some thought the ticket price was increased for crowd control.

Umair Khan said he had waited for the concert to take place since a very long time but had to forgo the opportunity because of the sudden increase in price.

There were also media restrictions and many journalists were stopped at the gate by security officials and management despite of the fact that it was a public event. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY HALIMA MANSOOR IN KARACHI

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th, 2013.