Necessary Targets hits home

By Band Baji

KARACHI: The Commune Artist Colony – home to the increasingly popular Yousuf Bashir Qureshi – recently played host to a reading by some of the best in Pakistani theatre namely Ayesha Alam, Nadia Jamil, Atiqa Odho, Umbreen Butt, Raaheen Mani, Anna Bertmar Khan and marked the theatre-debut of radio personality Munizeh Sanai. The play of choice was Neccessary Targets by Eve Ensler, a writer known for her provocative writing in both novels and plays. Neccessary Targets is about two women, one a self-titled Trauma Therapist, played by Sanai, and the other a New York psychiatrist played by Khan who travel to a refugee camp in Bosnia to study the effects of the war on the women there.

Other then the powerful storyline, what was interesting to note was how the characters in the play itself evolved. From the aged woman who suffered through the occupation of her village, to the preppy young girl who was trying to come to terms with what the war meant in itself, each character revealed what the war had left them with, gradually and in their own space within the play itself.

The set was simple; the costumes were all black with the mood of the scene being reflected by alternating the lighting. This left one to concentrate more on the content of what was being said rather then what was being graphically displayed. What was interesting to note however, was that at the end of it all, the ‘doctor’ in the play seemed to integrate and become a part of the ‘victims’.

It seemed to show that at the end of it all, one is not different from the other no matter where he or she may be. The cast, though consisted of strong personalities, seemed to live through the characters realistically enough to render their stories to life during the play.

First Published:
The Metropolitan
February 25, 2007

STARBUZZ

The ‘Dhamaal’ project

The percussions-based band Overload is currently working on their third and last video that will feature Puppo Sain and Jhoora Sain, marking an end to their collaboration with the Sains. The video for Dhamaal is being directed by San Francisco-based director Bilal Lashari, and is based on the four elements of fire, water, air and earth. It will also carry the birth of a fifth element, sound.

Dhamaal has been shot at various locations around the country including Makli, Karachi, Lahore, Kataas, and various other areas in Sindh. Shot on 35mm, the video is set for release in the last week of March.

Overload then hopes to hit the studio where the members will be collaborating with another set of desi musicians for their second album. This will see Overload exploring a new side to their personalities, and will embody music which Hasan Mohiuddin (who plays Tumkinari in the band) described in an interview as “progressive”.


A new voice for Fuzon

There had been much gossip surrounding the length of Shafqat’s tenure in the band Fuzon for months and last week they finally made it official: Shafqat is not Fuzon’s primary vocalist anymore and has been replaced by Rameez Mukhtar, a relatively unknown name for those not involved within the industry itself.

According to Fuzon, Rameez has received eastern classical training for his vocals and this will be evident in the songs they will be recording with him. The band has always stayed mum about their internal affairs and have not issued a statement as to why Shafqat is no longer involved in the band.

Rameez on the other hand, has pretty big shoes to fill since Shafqat brought with him generations of training in a household known for its singing.

Whether he manages to escape Shafqat’s shadow and makes a visible mark for himself in the hearts and minds of Fuzon followers remain to be seen. With their first video together set for release sometime in the first week of March, it will be exciting to see what this new vocalist has to offer to Fuzon.

First Published:
Images
February 11, 2007

A new kind of groove

[ unedited]

The Lahore-based band co-VEN recently performed at a local café here in Karachi. Co-VEN which incidentally stands for Company of Vicious Earth Navigators are heaped with what one would call pure talent. With the who’s-who of the music industry in full attendance co-VEN performed an acoustic set of their current hit singles Sailing fast, Third world celebrity and Boundaries broken from amongst others singles from their upcoming album and occasionally performed cover-songs as well.

The line up of co-VEN that night consisted of Hamza Jafri on lead vocals and the acoustic guitar, Sikandar Mufti on drums and harmonica, Sameer Ahmed (also a member of the Mekaal Hasan Band) on bass and Omran on the acoustic guitar as well. With the ambience resembling that of a lounge and lights dimmed low, there was an understated feel of festivity in the air.

The performance by the band itself did not seem orchestrated before-hand. They were clearly enjoying themselves and seemed to have moved towards improvisation near the end of their performance. As seasoned musicians they complemented each other’s style of playing well and had most people at the venue gently swaying to their music throughout the performance. Toward the end of it all, Sikandar Mufti’s vocal rendition of Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix was extremely heart-felt and continued to resonate in one’s ear long after the performance.

First Published:
Herald
February 2007