The venue was the MAD (Music Art Dance) school on main Zamzama and the event was organized by Nida Butt on Thursday at 9 pm. Walking in to the entrance, I realized that it was going to be more of a jam session than the advertised ‘MHB in Concert Live’, however, I was quick to forget all about that once I was seated in the front row of a crowd of 40 to 50 people. The seating arrangement consisted of small wooden stools which may not have been comfortable but allowed for people to occupy the rather small venue. The acoustics and ambience were excellent and the sound was clean for most of the evening.
For those who aren’t up to date with MHB, the winner of the Pakistan Sangeet Icon, Abbas Asad, joined as lead vocalist in February. Mohammad Ahsan Papu and Amir Azhar were present on flute and bass, respectively, and of course Mekaal Hasan as lead percussionist.
The first song the band performed set the mood just right for the rest of the night. Mohammad Ahsan Papu delighted the crowd with a soothing intro to a song called ‘Charkha’. The more popular song, ‘Chal Bulleya’ was next on the set list and even though Javed Bashir was missed during the performance, Asad Abbas matched his predecessor’s vocals effortlessly.
Mekaal Hasan was in the groove throughout the jam session, he engaged with the audience and even took requests, as the set list was only about ten songs. The synchronization between Mekaal and Ahsan Papu in ‘Jhok Ranjhan’ was exceptional. Other songs performed by the band included ‘Waris Shah’, ‘Sanwal’, ‘Bandeya’, ‘Mahi’ and ‘Andholan’. The songs lit up the intimate venue and the musical arrangements were fresh and masterful. Mekaal once again, deserves much of the credit for meeting the high standards he has to give the crowd a meticulous live performance.
The show went well over 11:30 pm and the band played an overall great show. Credit should be given to Nida Butt and MAD for hosting and organising an event without any of the usual disturbances.
Mekaal told me later that they were preparing to go to New Delhi mid-Dec and their upcoming album would be released next year. When asked if he wanted to share any words of wisdom to motivate the musicians in Karachi, he said: “If we can sit there (Lahore) and do it, you can certainly do it here.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2010.
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