A Saturday night to remember

Ali Azmat, Ali Gul Pir, Zoe Viccaji and Karavan perform at the concert.

KARACHI:

Despite events such as the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) and theatrical reprisal Aangan Terrha underway in full swing in Karachi, Ali Azmat, Ali Gul Pir, Zoe Viccaji and Karavan were able to draw in a significant crowd at a high energy "Rock Karachi" concert at Beach View Club on Saturday.

At the same time, the National Academy of Performing Arts organised a concert titled Zard Patton Ka Ban Jo Mera Des Hai — a tribute to departed poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Artistic Director of Napa Zain Ahmed seemed surprised at the full house, since the event had not been publicised much. “We had thought that people who have read Faiz’s poetry and understand it would have opted for the KLF, but a lot of people are walking in,” he said at the event.

“It is the most populated and culturally diverse city of Pakistan,” Ahmed said about Karachi. “The events being organised are the minimum number of cultural activities that should be happening in a city this big.”

Zoe Viccaji at the Beach View Club concert. PHOTO: ARSHMAAN ALEE PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS

People strolled in at Beach View Club as the artists carried a sound check. The tribute paid to Faiz was an interesting mixture of singing, dancing and acting and the essence of these performances left the late poet’s fans moved. A similar event was held in 2011 during the centennial celebrations of the poet, but compared to that, performances on Saturday were much more appealing and relevant.

“The main objective was to bring forth the intensity of Faiz’s ideas through a dialogue-based rendition of his poetry,” one of the performers of the play Paras Masroor told The Express Tribune. The idea clicked with the audience and was well-received  — the crowd responded with a roaring applause.



Attendees present at Beach View witnessed one of the finest live shows of all time, which was kicked off by Pir and ended by the energetic Azmat. Viccaji gave a mellow performance, which although did not garner a lot of appreciation from the crowd, was still able to leave them enthralled. Next in line was the band Karavan which pumped up the crowd, inspiring some to head bang to their upbeat numbers. Azmat took the stage at around 2am and breathed life into the crowd that was slowly being drained of its energy. Guitarist Omran Shafique’s notes combined with Azmat’s stellar vocals were a hit.

The fact that the show had an eclectic audience was established when Saaen fans left the venue after Pir’s performance on Waderai Ka Beta ended, while others started showing up at the venue late in the night just to witness Azmat sing Junoon classics live. The Saturday eve testified that despite unrest in the city, Karachiites love to get out of their homes to celebrate good music.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2013.

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