Yet another grand day when it comes to events in the UAE. And once 
again Rahman dazzles in a big way.

Very true when he claims that it was the first show at Dubai that 
earned him the title of a performer. That was his first major 
concert and everyone who was there knows how grande that one was.

The first Rahman concert I attended though was his second one, when 
he came down in 2004. Just the excitement was giving me sleepless 
nights. And was I blown away or what.

Four years later, Rahman's back...this time I took the wise decision 
of getting a seat back at the gallery instead of the pricey ones, 
because that is where the fun really is. And to make it even more 
exciting, I took a bunch of buddies , all of whome were attending a 
Rahman concert for the first time.

And all of them loved the show. Me...well I preferred the 2004 
concert for some reason. Like they say, the first one is always 
special!

First of all, things I loved about the show:

The gallery errupting with the Sivaji and Boys track. That was 
specatcular.

Khwaja Khwaja rendition from Rahman. For me the highlight of the 
evening, because for the first time the song touched me in a special 
way. Watching Rahman rendering the song in that reverence, ...I was 
moved, shaken and stirred :-) 

I was really hoping for the Secret of Success...and in the final 
moments of the concert, there they were....WE ARE THE BOYS

Dil Se...Full marks to the stage settings. The backdrop flames on 
the display screens gave a fiery effect to the whole performance.


Things that disappointed me:
Even if it was for a few mins, I would have loved the aucostic 
renditions that Rahman did in the 98 concert. The one where he had 
four singers around doing only the soulful melody numbers of his 
while Rahman have a go on his piano. Everyone remembers that one and 
a definitely a feature I would have loved to see him return to. That 
is the one where he could throw in a lot of the songs that gets lost 
in the glitz and blaze. (No, not a reference to the singer but just 
to all the fast numbers).

A concert without Mustafa Mustafa ...oh no...

I was also hoping Naresh to croon Anbe Va. 

The problem again is the desire to please the Hindi crowd. Because 
there was a lot of Guru and Jodhaa Akbar. Even if that was the case, 
i wish SWADES (Yuhi chala, Yeh jo desh), SAATHIYA (o hum dum is a 
sure fire) or even good ol RANGEELA made it to the final cut. The 
Mangal Pandey number could have been avoided because it just looked 
like a last minute attempt, with the notes going all haywire.

I mean, I was hoping that they would have tweaked a lot for the 
Dubai one, but I guess they were just going ahead with the regular 
song line up from the recent concerts like Delhi.

Still at the end of the day it was a wonderful concert. Cannot deny 
it its rightful place in the event calender. 


Anyways, for the second time in running, my attempts at meeting the 
great talent backstage failed. Again this time all I could see was 
him being guided right into his car. Both the time i was at touching 
distance...(hmm, one day...one day for sure)

Ok now to open up the pandora's box....how many of the songs were 
lip syncs and how many weren't....any guesses?




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