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ARR's Unity of Light World Concert Tour 2003

Topic started by Anon (@ 202.41.76.192) on Fri Jan 10 23:11:30 EST 2003.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Will kick off at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on March 1st. Other Indian venues are Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. International venues are Dubai, Toronto, Fairfax(In Virginia) and two other venues in the USA. Possible additions could be London, Singapore. Lata Mangeshkar will perform on the international leg of the tour.

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• From: Are Yaar (@ 203.115.31.67) on: Mon Mar 24 02:15:55 EST 2003
  
  An Excellent review (Read on) (Got this one from ARRYG
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  March 21, 2003 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia.
  
  An evening of magic! The event, the melodious moments the Washington
  metropolitan area has been waiting for - for 10 long years - finally
  came!
  
  The air was charged with excitement and expectation. At 8:45 pm, the
  City Mayor of Fairfax Mr. Robert Lederer, the Chief Guest, welcomed A
  R Rahman and his group and said he was happy that Rahman chose
  Fairfax to kick off his international tour.
  
  The stage was set, the musicians and backup vocalists had taken up
  their places. Sivamani and the percussion team at top left, string
  section at top center, backup vocalists at top right, brass - trumpet
  and saxophone just below the backup singers, ARR at center stage,
  Rashid Ali on the guitar to his right, Keith Peters on the bass
  guitar to his right and Christy Samuel on the electric guitar further
  to the right, conductor Srinivasamurthy to the left of ARR and Naveen
  Kumar on the flute right beside him.
  
  The lights dimmed and Rahman entered the stage from the right and
  with a spring in his step, and jogged over to his keyboards. Dressed
  in a full sleeve V-neck black shirt and black trousers and his hair
  in a black mop of cascading curls, he looked very comfortable and
  ready to enthrall us for the next three and half hours with his music
  that has captured millions of hearts worldwide (Complete song list at
  the end of this message.)
  
  The music started with an amazing string and brass piece and I know,
  after reading all the India concert reviews, this must be the new
  prelude to "Oruvan Oruvan Mudhalaali" from Muthu. A long line of
  dancers in white entered from the right, followed by S.P.
  Balasubrahmanyam. The audience went wild as he started "Hey hey hey
  hey ..." Spectacular opening to the concert!
  
  The next song was "Bombay Dreams" from Bombay Dreams, sung by George.
  
  Rahman talked briefly and said the nicest thing to boost the morale
  of his group and to make us appreciate how lucky we are. He said that
  just because he gave his word to us that he was coming, his group
  came over to entertain us, probably risking their lives in these
  uncertain times. He asked for a special round of applause for them.
  Truly a very thoughtful gesture from Rahman! We know how hard it must
  have been for them to make the choice. Boy, were we glad they chose
  to come!
  
  The next song was "Saathiya" from Saathiya by Sonu Nigam. Naveen was
  improvising on his flute in the interludes and also in the overlaps
  when Sonu was singing. He sang well until the "Tere baalon ki panaah
  mein" when he started a few bars too early, throwing everything off
  sync. I think Sonu continued like that for a while before he realized
  he was off and then came back on track. You could see Rahman,
  Srinivasamurthy and others hoping Sonu will catch his mistake (Rahman
  grinned a little sheepishly too!) Personally, I missed the the backup
  vocals of "Mm Mmmm ..." in the first two lines and the repeats
  thereafte). Sonu was singing "Saathiya ... Mmm Mmmmm..." by himself.
  I understand the idea was to render each song different from the
  original, but there is a dimension that harmony adds to music and I
  sorely missed it in that particular place.
  
  It was 9:00 pm and Vasundhara Das came on the stage and invited
  Sukhvinder Singh to join her for "Ramta Jogi" from Taal. It was
  great. Both of them have great stage presence too. Rashid Ali was
  fantastic. The only spoiler was feedback (which annoyingly enough,
  reared its ugly head at least in every other song.)
  
  Next came "O Humdum Suniyo Re" from Saathiya with Shankar Mahadevan,
  George, Karthik and Blaaze. Flawless and real peppy. Shankar and
  Blaaze were working the crowd too, much to our glee! We were so
  pumped up! Blaaze is really, really good!
  
  Udit Narayan and Mahalaxmi sang "Ae Ajnabi" from Dil Se. Mahalaxmi
  was perfect with her Pakhi Pakhi Pardesi! Udit was off a little bit
  at times and also mixed up the lyrics a bit.
  
  Karthik starts off with "Doston Se Jhoothi Moothi" for "Chupke Se"
  from Saathiya. Sadhana was in her element - smiling and singing
  perfectly. She was enjoying herself immensely and it radiates on her
  face and in her singing! Rashid was excellent in the mukhda repeats.
  Great bass from Keith; Naveen freaking out on flute improvs all
  along; Sadhana did some good sangathis in the last repeat of mukhda,
  a little different from the original. What a treat!
  
  What is an ARR concert without "Roja Janeman" that catapulted him to
  fame overnight! Who else to sing it but the legend SPB, who can
  effortlessly serve up a multilingual version of it, with emotion and
  ease, to truly prove that music transcends all barriers? He was
  singing the whole song, switching between three languages (Hindi,
  Tamil and Telugu) Whenever he sang Tamil phrases, there was loud
  applause and Rahman and SPB were beaming. Fantastic alaaps by SPB at
  the end!
  
  When Hariharan was announced as the next singer, the crowd went wild.
  He started off with and "Vennilavae", doing a classical improvisation
  on it and then started the pallavi in Tamil and switched to the antra
  in Hindi. Sadhana then joined in with "Chanda Re". The dancers were
  great - excellent choreography. The song was fabulous, leaving the
  audience screaming "Once More!"
  
  Naveen started off with an improvised, out-of-the-world prelude
  for "Radha Kaise Na Jale" from Lagaan. Dancers hiding inside drums
  danced their way onto the stage. Really liked the choreography on
  this one. Male dancers in their drums were on the right and the
  female dancers on the left. Through most of the song, only their
  hands were visible over the tops of the drums. These hands were doing
  such perfect "mudras" to go with the meaning of the song - phrase by
  phrase, with the male hands acting out when Udit was singing and the
  female ones when Sadhana was singing. Very creative and dramatic!
  Naveen and Sadhana did an amazing job of the last part (done by
  Vaishali in the original), with Sadhana matching Naveen's phrases.
  Wow!
  
  Rashid Ali stole the show next - singing and playing the guitar - got
  to see it/hear it to believe it. While I was watching in total awe,
  the guy sitting next to me says, "How can somebody sound so fantastic
  with just one guitar? And sing with it too, from his heart, at the
  same time?!" My feelings exactly. Rashid, you are one of a kind! The
  crowd goes crazy when he slowly starts singing "Ooh La La La" clueing
  us into the great fusion treat we were about to savour. Rahman joined
  in, doing some swarams, the perfect Blaaze raps with panache,
  Sivamani is in full form, walks down to the stage wearing a
  steel "vest" and rubbing a couple of steel spoons(?) against it with
  both his hands, in rhythm - he walks over to where Rashid is, as they
  transition into a jugalbandi, Sivamani answering in response to
  Rashid's strumming. Creativity and fun at its best!
  
  Sonu came in next, promised to try and meet our expectations, started
  off with a soothing alaap and sang "Ishq Bina" from Taal - slightly
  different from the original in the sense that the antra was sung in
  the same style as the mukhda instead of the montage with qawwali as
  in the original. After he sang "Ye Koi Sanam, Ya Aap Khuda", there
  was a transition into "Mera Rang De Basanti" from The Legend of
  Bhagat Singh and audience was overjoyed. He exceeded our expectations!
  
  Next came Mahalaxmi with "Kahin Aag Lage" fom Taal, accompanied by
  Jyotsna and Angela and some amazing dancing "jungle" style dancing by
  the dancers. The three singers were dancing too. Great stuff!
  
  Rahman and Sukhvinder Singh sang "Mubaraka" next - the crowd enjoying
  it as much as the singers were too!
  
  Next came "Mitwa" from Lagaan by Udit Narayan, Sadhana and Sukhvinder
  Singh. The audience was doubly thrilled because the dancers
  were "playing" cricket and with India in the finals and Rahman's
  music - nothing to beat it!
  
  The one and only Hariharan was fantastic in "Hai Rama Ye Kya Hua"
  from Rangeela - great classical improvisation before the prelude
  started and sang the song with style and the unmistakable "Hari
  touches"! To me, it looked like Mahalaxmi wasn't very comfortable
  with this song (Maybe because she didn't sing the original?)
  
  Next came "Mukkaala", I think - because I am bit dazed by all this
  now - hope I've got it right. Shankar, the ultimate showman, singing
  a multilingual version of just the mukhda before they transitioned
  off into the Baba rap by Blaaze - flawless!
  
  A ten minute interval (during which a Steinberg piano was brought on
  the stage) was followed by the inimitable Sivamani doing a solo - he
  always makes you wonder if he is one of those Hindu gods - with extra
  hands - how does he do what he does?! This was followed by an
  introduction of the musicians and backup singers.
  
  The moment we were all waiting for came when Rahman walked over to
  the piano and sat down. He said that he was going to sing a song that
  was written two years ago, about Sri Lankan peace. Within a week of
  doing that song, he said, peace talks came about and that peace
  prevails to this day. He sang "Vellai Pookkal" from Kannathil
  Muthamittaal with Naveen, Rashid, Keith, Christy, and George soothing
  us as a haze filled the stage. Class act! He said "Peace to the
  world!" before moving back to his keyboards. They transitioned over
  to the Bombay Theme - a little bit of internittent mike problems
  there during Naveen's soulful flute solo; the strings start after
  that, but mike problems there too until almost half way into it. Then
  we were back on track.
  
  Rashid Ali was mind blowing in "The Journey Home", singing and
  playing the guitar. Keith's and Christy's guitars, Naveen's flute,
  and ARR at the keyboards made it extra special. ARR sang the Aa Ja
  Saawariya part. One word for you - SPECTACULAR!
  
  Rashid Ali starts off "Satrangi Re" from Dil se with his guitar and
  Sonu Nigam sings it. Some good dancing from the dancers.
  
  It was Shankar Mahadevan's turn to give us another highlight of the
  concert. He sang "Ghanan Ghanan" the whole song, all the voices by
  himself. Amazing control! When the song ended, he said that in the
  movie the clouds went away at this point, but now, he asked us "Do
  you want some rain?" What followed was absolutely fabulous - for
  maybe a minute or so - he did a stretch of mind blowing, rapid, fast-
  paced classical improvisation - studded with fabulous swarams - what
  control! WOW! Hats off!
  
  Sadhana came in next for Jiya Jale. She is great - perfect even when
  she is singing songs that are not originally hers.
  
  It's 11:30 and Blaaze the crowd puller starts off with a Humma rap
  that included "This is the Unity of Light" Shankar sings "Ek Ho Gaye
  Hum Aur Tum" and the interludes are quite different from the
  original. Shankar does some great "jathis" and is totally enjoying
  himself. Really cool!
  
  Shankar was back again and worked the crowd with "Oru Thamizh paattu
  paadalaamaa?" a couple of times. By then of course, the crowd was
  hysterical screaming "Yes" and he started off with improvisations
  on "Thenmozhiye" and sang "Uppu Karuvaadu" with Mahalaxmi. Keith's
  bass was amazing. Mahalaxmi mixed up lines in the second antra and
  Shankar saved it quickly and brought it back to sync.
  
  The next three songs were ones that people had been waiting for for a
  long time. First came "Dil Se Re" by ARR and we went wild!
  
  Next was "Shakalaka Baby", the Bombay Dreams version by Vasundhara
  Das. She was flawless - she was dancing and singing and did a
  spectacular job with both. Hats off! I thought her version was much,
  much better than the original.
  
  Then came the much awaited "Chaiyya Chaiyya" started off by Rehana
  (ARR's sister) and Sukhvinder Singh joined in. The crowd was doing
  some pretty major dancing by now and Sukhvinder was pulling the crowd
  in to participate in the singing too.
  
  At 12:05 am came Vande Mataram by ARR. During the last part, all the
  singers trooped out on to the stage and joined in the singing.
  
  Jana Gana Mana followed and the concert was over at about 12:15 am on
  the 22nd. The music and the memories, however, will remain with us
  forever. An amazing performance, made more so by the fact that they
  arrived just the night before and must have been jetlagged beyond
  words. Thank you so much everybody, for giving us an evening to
  cherish!
  
  
  
  
• From: Are Yaar (@ 203.115.31.67) on: Mon Mar 24 02:16:33 EST 2003
  
  SONG LIST
  
  1. Oruvan Oruvan Mudhalaali (Muthu) - S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
  2. Bombay Dreams (Bombay Dreams) - George
  3. Saathiya (Saathiya) - Sonu Nigam
  4. Ramta Jogi (Taal) - Sukhvinder Singh, Vasundhara Das
  5. O Humdum Suniyo Re (Saathiya) - Shankar Mahadevan, George,
  Karthik, Blaaze
  6. Ae Ajnabhi (Dil Se) - Udit Narayan, Mahalaxmi
  7. Chupke Se (Saathiya) - Sadhana Sargam, Karthik
  8. Roja Janeman (Roja) - S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, Mahalaxmi
  9. Vennilavae Vennilavae/Chanda Re (Minsaara Kanavu/Sapnay) -
  Hariharan, Sadhana Sargam
  10. Raadha Kaise Na Jale (Lagaan) - Udit Narayan, Sadhana Sargam
  11. Ooh La La La (Minsaara Kanavu/Sapnay) - Rashid Ali, A.R. Rahman,
  Blaaze
  12. Ishq Bina (Taal) - Sonu Nigam transitioning into
  Mera Rang De Basanti (The Legend of Bhagat Singh) - Sonu Nigam
  13. Kahin Aag Lage (Taal) - Mahalaxmi, Jyotsna, Angela
  14. Mubaraka Mubaraka (Bombay Dreams) - A.R. Rahman, Sukhvinder Singh
  15. Mitwa (Lagaan) - Udit Narayan, Sukhvinder Singh, Sadhana Sargam
  16. Hai Rama Ye Kya Hua (Rangeela) - Hariharan, Mahalaxmi
  17. Mukkaala (Hum Se Hai Muqabla) - Shankar Mahadevan, Mahalaxmi
  transitioning into
  Baba Rap (Baba) - Blaaze
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  -----
  10 minutes interval
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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  18. "Sivamani's Percussion Treat" - Sivamani
  19. Vellai Pookkal (Kannathil Muthamittaal) - A.R. Rahman
  transitioning into
  Bombay Theme (Bombay)
  20. The Journey Home (Bombay Dreams) - Rashid Ali
  21. Ghanan Ghanan (Lagaan) - Shankar Mahadevan
  22. Jiya Jale (Dil Se) - Sadhana Sargam
  23. Humma Humma (Bombay) - Shankar Mahadevan
  24. Uppu Karuvaadu (Mudhalvan) - Shankar Mahadevan, Mahalaxmi
  25. Dil Se Re (Dil Se) - A.R. Rahman
  26. Shakalaka Baby (Bombay Dreams) - Vasundhara Das
  27. Chaiyya Chaiyya (Dil Se) - Sukhvinder Singh, Rehana
  28. Vande Mataram (Vande Mataram) - A.R. Rahman, all singers
  29. Jana Gana Mana - All singers
  
  
  
• From: Kitcha (@ 129.188.33.222) on: Mon Mar 24 13:24:50 EST 2003
  
  March 22 - Great Western Forum, Los Angeles.
  
  Say you plan a trip to LA for reasons that definitely did not include a ARR concert...and then you find out that there is a ARR concert the same week? Well, would you say "Holy crappioli, this must be the mother of all coincidences" and then go ahead and buy a couple of $85 tickets? Well, thats exactly what my friend and I did, and boy did we ever regret spending 85$ as much as we did Saturday night in LA!
  
  UNPROFESSIONAL is what screams at you when you think of one word to describe the show. Very very unprofessional! Maybe others just go to a concert to enjoy looking at their favorite singers up close in live action brushing aside "minor" drawbacks like bad sound, careless singing and disorienting dance routines....but for me, these drawbacks spoilt what should otherwise have been a thoroughly memorable experience.
  
  I just checked the song-list from the Fairfax show and it was pretty much the same line-up in LA, except for Uppu Karuvadu(thats right, go head and take off one more Tamizh song from the already Tamizh deficient list).
  
  For starters, the organizers skrewd up bigtime by letting people in only around 7.45pm(show
  scheduled to start @7pm). And by the time we made our way to our seats, SPB was already winding up 'Oruvan Oruvan'(grrrrr...)! I quickly recognized Karthik & George(never heard of him until now) in bright "jigna" red shirts alongwith a bunch of other backup singers, which included Rehana. And seeing Karthik on stage, I seriously believed he'd be singing 'Maya Maya' and maybe even "Tiruvalikeni rani". No such luck!
  George came onto sing the Bombay Dreams title song...not many people had a clue what the song was and the hesitant applause said it all. Then it was upon Sonu Nigam to bring the crowd back into the game, but considering the fact that the hindi version of "Sakhiye" sucked in comparision, there was nothing much he could do. There were subtle improvisations here & there, but nothing to write home about. All that stood out from that performance was that Sonu missed a beat somewhere, there was feedback and a girl threw a rose at Sonu, which I thought, he caught pretty admirably. Not surprisingly, his skrew-up came soon after!
  
  (To be continued...)
  
  

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