This is a quite lengthy and a little delayed, but keeping my promise... Concert was held on 04/22/06.
About five months ago, my friend, Guru, saw an article about ARR being in Ohio for a concert and had insisted that we go to watch. I wasn't quite sure what this was going to be and I had seen the Global Rhythms (GR) perform Chale Chalo at the East Michigan Univ. (EMU) concert in March 2003. On first impression, honestly, I thought they were horrible! It came on top of a rather disappointing concert as well since the sound balancing and organization was very poor despite the music being excellent. I had been to a Yanni 'Ethnicity' concert for the first time just two weeks ago and came out stunned at the quality of the production. Naturally, I had high expectations of the ARR concert and was bound to compare the two concerts of my two musical heros. Maybe that is a bit unfair since Yanni is a trained showman having done such huge undertakings as the Acropolis, Taj Mahal, and the Forbidden City, and Yanni focuses on so few projects compared to ARR giving full attention to his concerts when he is on tour. And ARR with his extremely busy schedule, I don't think can afford that kind of time for his tours. So, given all that past experience, I was not expecting much of this concert although there was no way I was going to miss an opportunity of seeing ARR on stage! However, when I read the EMU - 'Wake Up!' concert reviews, my perception changed significantly and I infact looked forward to seeing this concert. Guru and I met at a nearby restaurant and had some food before we headed to the James S Trent Arena. We thought since we had tickets, it won't be difficult to get in so we went a little late only to find a huge queue outside the entrance! Guru was saying 'dude, I've never seen this many desis at a concert!' We made it in eventually and took our seats, which were like benches with no seperators. We didn't quite get our seats as people were seated all over the place. The important thing was we got some seat and didn't have to get into a fight with anybody! The arena was getting full slowly but surely but we were way past the 7:30 PM starting time. The audience was getting impatient and started whisteling and screaming for the show to start. This probably went on for another 15 minutes before the show started. The stage was nicely lit up and arranged as the GR orchestra and the choir took their positions to a rousing cheer. The drummers started with the 'Beat of Passion' from Taal which led to a rendition of 'Ramta Jogi' from Taal as well. By the end of Ramta Jogi, my expectations were high as this was not the same GR team that made a mockery out of Chale Chalo 3 years ago! This was a team that must have practiced for months if not years to sing in a language totally alien to them with such energy and enthusiasm. We were told that they had worked with an Indian girl who helped translate the meanings of these songs to the GR team. They obviously knew the general meaning of the songs, which enabled them to express with great emotional impact. After that energetic introduction, a few people came on stage to speak about the purpose of the concert and how it came into being. Sad to say, some members of the audience (sadly not limited to a handful) was very rowdy and did not have the grace or patience to listen to the introductory comments; and they kept asking for ARR in a very rude way. There was the chief sponsor (Mr. ad Mrs. Joshi) and several others on stage taking their turns who must have been really embarrassed by the behavior of the crowd. Anyway, they finally welcomed ARR and the entire house gave him a standing ovation. It was clear that he too was embarrassed at parts of the crowd who showed no respect for the organizers and said 'we have 150 people on stage singing, so please corporate' or something to that effect. It was quite unlike ARR to be that tough on an audience, but it was very obvious that he felt bad about the crowd reaction. He sang Kalbhali with sheer power and very few mistakes I must say, probably he lost cues to some verses here and there but recovered soon enough. I love the last part where the sound drops off and he ends 'Ziddi Hum bhi Yahan.' I can't recall the exact sequence of songs, but the selections were mainly from: Rang De Basanti (5 - Khalbali, Rang De Basanti, Ik Onkaar, Roobaroo, Paatshaala) Taal (4 - Beat of Passion, Ramta Jogi, Taal se Taal (techno), Nahin Samne instrumental) Thiruda Thiruda (3 - Raasathi, Veerapandi Kottayile, Thee Thee) Bombay Dreams (2 - Bombay Awakes, Shakalaka Baby) Yuva (2 - Dhakka Lakka Bukka, Dol Dol) Dil Se (2 - Dil Se Re, Chaiyya Chaiyya) Bose The Forgotten Hero (1 Zikr) Alai Payuthey (1 - Yaaro Yaarodi) Lagaan (1 - Chale Chalo) Pudiya Mugham/Vishwavidhaata (1 - Kannakku Mai/Nazron ke mil ne se instrumental), Thakshak (1 - Rang De) Ragas dance (Vanessa Mae) Vande Mataram There was a theme called 'Desh' which GR had fleshed out based on a melody ARR had given to one of their members when he was down in Chennai. There were many highlights of the concert. The foremost for me was the rendition of Rang De Basanti by a GR member I mean this was unbelievable he had the power of voice to carry that song through without any problems. Most of the support on percussion was performed live by the orchestra, which was really impressive. At the end when their mentor (Srinivas?) was acknowledging their performances, he said this guy should be called Singh from here on. Trust me, he was unbelievably good! Chaiyya Chaiyya was done well, but the GR singers could not hit the high notes that Sukhwinder sings effortlessly. There were two guys to sing Sukhis part, one of them seemed to have been there just to sing the high notes, but he couldnt reach them, atleast that night. But the energy was there and considering the song requires great vocal range as well as power which only a few can boast of GR did a fine job of it. Paatshaala was performed incredibly well. All female singers, dressed up very modern and fashionable, formed a semi circle in the middle of the stage, and they sang with great attitude and expression which made the song all the more enjoyable. The lines were rendered by the girls who from the semi-circle came one by one to the middle to render a line such as to the Mahal of the Taj or to the Kumari of Kanya etc and retreat to the semi-circle. The choreography was excellent as was their singing. Veerapandi Kottayile Wow! this just blew my mind. I knew this song had an incredibly operatic bent when I first became familiar with the song; and for the first time I saw that potential unleashed on stage! The orchestra played the instrumental bridges beautifully as well. Chale Chalo Another stunning performance! This was miles and miles ahead of the primitive performance in 2003. Very nicely arranged with the 150-piece choir split into two sections and doing a dual. During the climactic ending had some punch with the dualling being doubled with some clever clapping arrangements which all blended together to finish off the song in style. Its amazing what a little imagination can do! Dakka Lakka Bukka ARR joined in for this and was another treat. Hat, hat, hat, hat, hat! I just love that line and when you have 150 people singing that with full gusto, you just want to join in! I thought the drum parts could have been done better in the second and third verse, but overall an incredible performance! Dil Se Re Well I yelled woohoo when the first base licks were heard! GR sat this one out and let ARR rock! Needless to say it is always amazing to hear ARR screaming Dil Se Re from the depths of his heart! Ik Onkaar/Roobaroo this was neat Vasundara Das sang Ik Onkaar beautifully and then two guitarists led the way into roobaroo. As had been pointed out earlier, it was a delight to see the GR singers point to the audience Aye Saala! Shakalaka Baby - Vasundara sang this with a lot of oomph and nicely choreographed. Rang De Choreography was excellent, but the song was not performed live. Nevertheless an entertaining item for sure. Zikr Given the difficulty in pronouncing the song, I feel GR did a fantastic job with the song. Most of the impact of the song and its prayer-like quality comes from the sonority of its words, so it is fair to say some of its impact was lost, but I would be blind not to see the picture here - these were all Americans singing a prayer in praise of Allah. ARR paid tribute to the entire GR team for including this song on top of their list of chosen ARR songs to perform and respecting the songs meaning fully by staying sober, dressing in proper attire, taking their shoes/slippers off to sing the Sufi prayer. GR got a standing ovation when ARR mentioned all that they did to bridge cultures with their wonderful gesture. ARR joined with Shekar, Srinivas, and the orchestra to do an instrumental medley, which started with ARR playing Bombay Awakes on the KORG and Srinivas doing a breathtaking Aalap, leading into Nahin Samne theme from the Yoga scene in the mountains, into Kanakku Mai Azaghu. Sadly some of the rowdy members of the audience could not keep their mouths zipped even for this instrumental pieces and spoiled some of the serenity of the performance. Ragas Dance A pro violinist joined Shekar on chello and GRs own pro percussionist, Patrick, on Tabla to render ARRs composition for Venessa Mae. Although I bought this CD a while back, I had not listened to the track carefully. Only that day did I realize how amazing this composition is! ARR wrapped up the evening with a spirited rendition of Vande Mataram, which had the entire audience on their feet and waving their arms and singing along. It was great to see Rakesh Mehra on stage speaking a few words; and when Srinivas thanked him for being there for both concerts, ARR saying me too. It is amazing to see that kind of humbleness and child-like innocence, for which ARR is now so well known, from a man whos achieved what many will never dream of. It was only fitting that Mehra was there as Rang De Basanti was the highlight of the show with Mrs. Joshi even showering praise on the movie and its impact on the younger generation. All that said, the show belonged to the Global Rhythms what they achieved was no mean feat! Even ARR was full of praise about them being able to recite over 15 songs by-hearting them when he himself needed a piece of paper to remember the lines. Srinivas, their mentor, said these young singers had spent 2 hours each on Tuesdays and Thursdays on every week with their conductor, Ethan, learning ARR songs preparing for this concert. Srinivas said that these kids had internalized these songs for life, not just learnt them for the concerts. Thats how passionate they were about ARRs songs. And it was written all over their performances that they truly loved his music and its beauty and energy that we all know very well. But to see these young girls and boys from a totally different musical and cultural background embrace these songs as they did with all heart was truly commendable and applaudable. Any mistakes they made, as few as they were, are negligible given the magnitude of the undertaking. ARR rightly let GR run the show and only participated from the background; yet, at the same time, it was his music that was being played; it was all about him and the message he is trying to bring to the world. So anybody to think that ARR did not do enough is totally missing what the concert was all about. To me the concerts success was summed up when my friend, who has always been critical about most desi concerts, said this is one of the best concerts Ive been to! I agree. Explore, Experience, Enjoy A.R.Rahman - The Man, The Music, The Magic. Only at arrahmanfans.com - The definitive A.R.Rahman e-community. Homepage: http://www.arrahmanfans.com Admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arrahmanfans/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
