A summer serenade


She arrived on stage with a smile, dressed in a shimmering turquoise chooridar pajama; she stood poised, looking directly at the audience, still smiling. Taking a cue from the song that started playing, she began to dance, a relatively simple Bharatnatyam sequence, and than the CD skidded. Smiling apologetically, she whirled off stage towards the sound technicians and had them play it again.

The CD skidded a second time, and looking strained, she whirled off the stage and whirled back in again after having a word with the technicians. The sound gave away in between, but she continued with her tatkaar with her ghungroo providing the necessary music, slowly building up tempo and not missing a beat even when the sound came on. She would hit the climax of each tatkaar with a sharp tap of her foot. Her expression changed with each gesture and she mouthed some of the words.

A seasoned entertainer, Sheema Kirmani knows how to grab the attention of her audience gracefully. Despite the bloopers that occurred where the music was concerned, she maintained her poise and her eye contact with the audience throughout the performance, who were following her every move. What was heartening to note was that despite her age, she still had the agility of a young dancer. The short sequence ended with a bang of her foot on the floor, the sound of her ghungroo resonating in the small hall, her body in the position of salam. With a captivating smile, she whirled off stage, apologising for the breaks in the performance.

The Alliance Francaise celebrated World Music Day last weekend, providing a mixture of classical, jazz, blues and a little bit of old school rock. It was a combination that could prove to be disastrous if not planned out well, and this event had been well planned. Following Sheema Kirmani was a performance by an underground band, The Strange Brew. The original line up of The Strange Brew comprises Brendon on vocals, Olsen on lead guitar, Gareth on bass, John on keyboards and Arnie (Arnold Xavier) on drums. During this performance however, Simien Xavier was on the lead, Melvin on saxophone and with Janelle accompanying Brendon on vocals, the band started off with Cocaine, an Eric Clapton classic.

Although they spent a good 10 minutes in tuning their instruments and doing the sound-checks, with Brendon asking the audience if there was a drummer among them since they’d lost theirs (Arnie jumped on stage soon after), they had everyone’s feet tapping from the moment they started. The vocalist pulled off Eric Clapton well and seemed to be comfortable on stage. Janelle joined Brendon in Fever, which was reminiscent of the duet performed between Ray Charles and Natalie Cole. Janelle sang well but did not seem to have the assertiveness that was apparent in Brendon. The audience was asked to sing along in the chorus of the third song, Mustang Sally and then the mood softened up with a Steely Dan cover of Pretzel Logic. The band wrapped it up with a Santana classic Oye Como Va which was delivered well.

Overall, the band had pulled off a very good live performance, with Simien Xavier towering over all the performers. And although he has a shy persona on stage, he managed to deliver a simple yet soulful guitar solo.

After a break of about 10 minutes entered The French Kissers (a last minute name coined by drummer Gumby) inviting laughter from the audience, for Gumby had on his head a huge afro while Shallum sported a Barney hat. The line up of this band was star-studded with Immu and Shallum from Fuzon on keyboards and lead guitar respectively, Khalid Khan from the band Aaroh on bass and Gumby on drums. They started off by performing an instrumental that Immu had composed, with Gumby ending it by being downright fierce on the drums.

Gumby’s afro came off during his performance and he made no effort to put it back on his head, even after the instrumental was over. Shallum took centre stage and introduced their vocalist for the night, Omar Akhtar. Omar, the vocalist for a band called The Aunty Disco Project, came on stage and launched into an Eric Clapton classic Before You Accuse Me, which he delivered almost to perfection, adding his own energetic touch to it. The crowd loved him.

It was Shallum’s moment to shine in the second song which started without a pause after the first with Immu clearly having fun on the keyboards. Unfortunately, the sound of the vocalist was so loud that the lyrics became incoherent, a problem that surfaced repeatedly throughout the performance. The energy that Omar depicted while performing, however, was infectious.

Shallum provided the backing vocals for Seal’s number Prayer For The Dying with Immu playing like a magician on the keyboards. Although a very talented singer, Omar could not pull off Seal as well as his other performances, and this was a song in which the musicians stood out more than the vocalist.

It came as a pleasant surprise to see Khalid Khan, normally a very shy and reserved person, vying for a position front stage. Comfortable with his guitar, he seemed to have embodied a whole new character based on assertiveness, self-confidence and with a need to display his mastery over the bass. He was clearly enjoying himself and wanted more from the audience.

The best part of the evening came in the form of an electrifying solo by Immu in the midst of a song, that was followed by Shallum, while on the other hand, Khalid and Gumby seemed to be playing against each other. Omar came back with I Shot The Sheriff, a Bob Marley song, which was followed by the James Brown classic I Feel Good, which had everyone on their feet and boogieing. And that was where it should have ended because Omar didn’t deliver the next song All Along the Watchtower by Bob Dylan as well.

From Sheema’s classical rendition to The Strange Brew’s feet-tapping blues to The French Kissers’ high-energy performance, the night was fun and a refreshing change from the typical rock or classical performance. If there was one event that could cater to a diverse audience, this was it. Despite the slip-ups, the event started relatively on time and ended before midnight. Where The Strange Brew put up a mature performance and one hopes to see more of them in the future, the night was dominated by The French Kissers. Never has one seen each member of an ensemble hold his own like they did.

Photographs:
— photograph on top is of Sheema Kirmani
— photograph in the centre is of Khalid Khan
— photograph on the bottom is of The Strange Brew

First Published:
Images
June 2nd, 2006