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SPB - LIVE in concert 12/07/03

Topic started by Prabhu (@ 210.214.4.167) on Sun Jul 13 10:17:34 EDT 2003.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

SPB and Anuradha Sriram sang at a concert in Cathedral School Bangalore. The school, which was inagurated by Mother Teresa, organised the concert to raise funds for a new library.

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Responses:

• From: Prabhu (@ 210.214.4.167) on: Sun Jul 13 10:20:59 EDT 2003
  
  test..
  
  
• From: Prabhu (@ 210.214.4.167) on: Sun Jul 13 10:22:14 EDT 2003
  
  Imagine my pleasant surprise last week when I stepped into Bangalore and promptly found SPB grinning like a Cheshire cat out of a huge hoarding, which announced a concert on the 12th! For just a few months ago, on Dec 22 2002, it was no grin and only chagrin when I discovered that SPB was performing just walking distance from my childhood home and there I was, sitting a thousand miles away. It would have been fantastic to see a vintage SPB dish out his 70s and 80s numbers, and then after the show, walk home humming his songs into the moonlight, passing by the very places where I'd spent my childhood. Anyways this one was some compensation and I got a ticket well in advance.
  
  
• From: Prabhu (@ 210.214.4.167) on: Sun Jul 13 10:23:00 EDT 2003
  
  
  Evening of the concert, its getting late and I jump into a rick. I am unsure if the driver knows the exact place where the show's due. I try giving directions but it doesnt seem to take us anywhere...then I haltingly mention 'Music program irukku'. At once, the guy's eyes light up..."Aahh...Baalsubramanyam?? theryum, theryum!!", he says and turbocharges the three wheeler to the venue.
  
  Outside the gates, its a nice hep crowd jostling to get in. English and tamil fly around freely. The crowd gets in in an orderly fashion, missing are the cavemen-like yells characterising entry into a Bombay local train. Between shouts of 'Yo dude!' and 'whassup' could be heard a sheepish 'ticket maranthutten, poi edthittu varen'. I take my seat and there's a lot more telegu and kannada to be heard once inside. I wait for the program to start, sending envy-raising sms messages to my TFM-loving friends held up outside south india. The stage is nicely set up, sponsors being Jyothy Laboratories. Anuradha's name is prominently displayed as Anoorada(to satisfy the numerologists?).
  The event begins with a prayer by a Bishop Moses Jayakumar. There are some felicitations to some special folk...to one Mr.Gururaj who directs the Orchestra, to the principal Mr.George Zachariah etc. Princy aala pidichaalum nalla item-a pidichirukaar(SPB), not many princies would be fond of playback singers or cricketers. The male emcee sounds in control, the female emcee doesnt seem all that assured.
  First item is an instrumental piece of a popular Hindi song(dunno which..a recent one). A devotional song follows in Kannada. A local singer Jyothi Raviprakash, pretty well known in Kannada FM it seems, sings 'Hoove Hoove ninne', another Kannada song.
  This is followed by a guy's 'Aabhi ja'. He actually sings 'Aabhi ja, aabhi ja, SP aabhi ja'. But the response to the invocation is merely a little drizzle, no SPB in sight.
  
  As the crowd looks around at the looming crowds, the MC welcomes SPB to great applause. SPB turns up in a striped black kurta, greets the crowd and does the usual...talks of books, reading habit, blah blah blah...is he exhorting kids to read Harry Potter/Hardy Boys or Resnick-Halliday, How Things work,etc? Anyway who cares, all we want now are the songs!
  
  1. SPB begins with 'Enta soundaryamudu namme karunaga'..a Telugu number. Just as he starts, the heavens open up and the audience run helter-skelter to take shelter under the trees. There's still a good bunch seated in the rain, holding chairs upturned on their heads. He finishes the song to big applause
  2. Next on the list is Elliruve Manavakaduvarupasiye, Kannada one. A nice song, SPB croons, coaxes, hums beautifully as in his vintage days. Finishes to whistles and more applause.
  3. Third song begins with band producing the sounds of birds cooing, then a familiar prelude follows..I am trying to locate this song, but the crowd are already roaring. Why, its Poonkathave(Nizhalgal) silly! The band does a very good job with the complex interludes. SPB hardly shows any sign of age, you could well be listening to the song on a CD. Its still pouring down and 4 lads in the crowd(one in a Man United tshirt!) are swaying to the song.
  4. Next is a group dance by some youngsters to that song from Taal. The female MC comes in and introduces Anuradha Sriram to shouts of 'Oh Podu' from the crowd. Anu does the usual intro stuff, talks of books, reading habit, bbb...and sings a Kannada song. At the end she asks, "Did the song remind you of Shilpa Shetty? it did?? then I must have sung it well!"
  Its out and out SPB's day here but MD-in-the-making Anu is totally relaxed and works up a rapport with the crowd immediately. She is very comfortable and plays her part superbly. Its still raining but the show's going fine.
  
  
• From: Prabhu (@ 210.214.4.167) on: Sun Jul 13 10:24:23 EDT 2003
  
  6. Anu makes some comment about SPB and she turning up dressed in black..then to huge roars begins 'Karuppu thaan enakku pidicha coloru'. By now, there are bunches everywhere of youngsters atop chairs, more chairs held up on their heads, dancing to the song in the rain. Anu pauses at 'Nammooru superstaru...' and the crowd yells and whistles at the reference to Rajini in the song. (Perhaps they forgot the Cauvery factor since it's raining in buckets?)
  
  7. Next song, Anu says she's sung this in Biwi No 1 and Monsoon Wedding, its a hindi number Aajane ..chunari sanam' which she sings with a local guy.
  
  8. Shouts of 'SP! SP!' erupt from the crowd and he's back. SPB exhorts the crowd to sit, makes some general talk. His English actually sound mallu-ish and slow! Then sings Bale Bale...a Kannada song?? a very good one, tune sounds a bit IR-ish.
  
  9. The band practises prelude to Oruvan Oruvan Mudhalali..they struggle to get it right and when they do so, it actually sounds regal and majestic with all those booming amplifiers in place. The crowd goes wild and roars and whistles follow in expectation. SPB takes over and there are circles of dancing youth everywhere. He actually sings 'Mannin meethu mazhai-ku aasai' as the rain shows no sign of abating - clever!
  (During an inaguration function on 15.9.2001 for Doordarshan, while singing Sippi Irukuthu Muthu Irukuthu with SJ, he had wound up singing 'Mayakkam thandhathu yaar..tamizho? amudho? kanna...dasano?')
  At the end, he conducts the excellent BGM to a glorious close(hey, ARR BGMs actually sound great when heard with such a huge assortment of amplifiers, you can feel the music sweep through the ground!)
  
  10. Next is Pehla Pehla pyaar hai..SPB at his emoting best. The bass in his voice still booms. Beautifully rendered, the man is hitting a groove now. The end of the song is followed by repeated requests of 'SP..Geetha?' from the audience. Are they asking for Geethanjali(Tel)? or is it the Kannada movie Geetha or is it some Hindi song??
  
  
  
• From: prabhu (@ 210.214.4.167) on: Sun Jul 13 10:25:22 EDT 2003
  
  11. A slight lull in the proceedings. A mesmerised crowds start chanting 'Bala! Bala!' and the chorus spreads all over. SPB takes time to talk to the crowd. Appreciates their patience for sitting through the rain. Says its common for artists to 'mascafy'(sic) the audience, but says he really feels a lovely audience today. Then starts singing extempore in English, the tune is a Hindi song, "There's a change in the program...they are hunting for a song..Oh, where is that song...Guru(orchestra director), why do you keep me waiting?'. Its beautiful how he enchants the audience by expressing himself for a full couple of minutes by speaking in English to a popular tune. Vintage Balu upto his bag of tricks again!
  
  12. At last the song is here...and hey! the prelude is that of 'Yedho oru paatu en kaadhil ketkum' that Hariharan sang in Tamil. SPB sings the Tel/Kan version of it. There's a bunch of 5 young chorus girls standing behind him and watching awestruck as the great man weaves his magic to a mesmerised audience, the juices are flowing now with some superb numbers. This is what the crowd expected of SPB and what they wanted to see.
  (By now, all order has broken loose, no barricades in terms of ticket denominations, people have settled themselves everywhere. I am standing on a chair at the side of the stage, few metres from SPB. There's actually a big bunch of hopefuls who have enthusiastically gheraoed the stage and are in fact standing right behind the instrumental players! :))
  
  13. This is followed by a dance by youngsters to a Tel/Kan song. Next in line is a Kan(?) song by Anu and a local lad, 'Kushalave Kshemave'. Its a nice melodious one. The crowd dont mind as they know SPB's off to get a rest and then come back for a final fling.
  
  14. Anu announces she's now gonna a sing from Bhagawati what they'd call in Hindi a 'jakaas' song. Its Kai Kai Kai Kai Vekkuraan. Suitable type of song for her, she's totally at home here with these koothu hits. She's as comfortable here as a fish in water. Knows the pulse of the audience very quickly in such a setting. Now that she also composes with her husband, we might actually see some catchy albums from this pair in the future, now that heaps of funky songs are being churned out. Aana paavam, classical background-lerndhu vandha Sriram Parasuram uruppatta music pota maari thaan.
  
  Anu thanks co-singer avinash for his support and asks him to stay on stage for another song. The crowd are already shouting 'Oh Podu'. 'Ippave Oh Pota eppdi machaan', she asks the crowd. Don't be fooled by her benign looks, this dame possesses lot of pettai instincts beneath that civilized exterior! Announces the next song is one by composer Gurukiran.
  
  15. Vaara Paapayya is the one. Has to be Telugu. End of the song, female compere comes(I am beginning to dread her now) and announces theres a special item. Its actually a clichetic piece between a stereotyped Bong and a Madrasi. A cacophonious jugalbandhi follows, its much similar to one we saw in some early 70s hindi movie.
  Today's crowd must be in the range of 3000=4000, I surmise.
  
  16. Shouts of 'Bala! Bala!' echo through the crowd. SPB is back now. A tabla warms up even as he takes up position. The MC announces, 'the next song is from the movie Shankarabharanam'. The crowd roar in anticipation, Bala says in the movie it was sung to invoke rain and hopes there wont be more rain now. 'Shankaraaaaaaa....' he begins, and oh, the enchantment of it all! A great one, weaves and bobs through the notes like a seasoned pro, recapturing every magic in the song. The crowd are already applauding even as he ends the second charanam. What a perfect flourish!
  I take time out to remember KV Mahadevan, the underwritten genius.
  
  
• From: Prabhu (@ 210.214.4.167) on: Sun Jul 13 10:26:52 EDT 2003
  
  17. Shouts of 'Geetha' follow. SPB perks up, 'One person' he says...then says 'sure, I'll give it.' Which mysterious number is this that they want so badly?
  
  A young girl student of Cathedral School joins him on stage. Few instructions from the master himself. Then SPB starts...why, its a Kannada version of Vizhiyile mani vizhiyile from Nooravadhu Naal! The female vocal begins with a humming and the youngsters picks up the tune with flair and confidence. An appreciative crowds applauds.
  A beautiful and not-so-easy song. Its amazing how SPB can stand with an arm tightly clasped across his chest and still bring out the varied notes/emotions precisely for a difficult song! Powerful voice chords that can both boom and bend, that's the man's USP!
  Good performance by the youngster too. Are the AV Ramanans of Udaya TV watching?
  
  18. Anu Sriram in a different dress joins SPB..A Sax piece is slightly heard..They're gonna play from Duet? A more pronounced sax piece follows to eager applause. Actually there doesnt seem to be a sax player on stage though.
  As SPB emotes superbly in this great song, you know why this man's been such a sensation since the 1965 days of his Iyarkai ennum ilaya kani debut. 'Anjali anjali..ennuyir kaaaaaaadhali' he goes at the end of the charanam, totally losing himself in the song, and immediate ovation follows. Anu struggles in her part there, we are missing Chithra here!
  
  Even as I'm thinking there arent many IR songs here, there are requests for Roja. I doubt if this youth audience has really heard gems like Ilamayenum Poongatru and hopes of more 70s/80s songs quickly vanishes looking at the type of requests we have. Anyway the ARR songs here have been terrific gems, so no complaints. Besides the man has hundreds of great songs in the 70-80s so its unfair to expect many from that list.
  
  'Its on the way, it will come. Kandippa!', SPB responds to the requests for Roja.
  
  
• From: Prabhu (@ 210.214.4.167) on: Sun Jul 13 10:27:20 EDT 2003
  
  
  19. Anjali(Duet) song is followed by another duet song, probably Telugu. Sounded IR-ish.
  20. A female joins SPB on stage now. Strains of Roja begin...then she does a humming. Kaadhal Rojave is on the way! The crowd roars. As SPB sings, you are in no absolute doubt as to why this was the most heard song of 1992. He switches to Roja Jaaneman's Hindi version after the first charanam. The longest round of applause echoes through the night after this song.
  
  21. There are more roars now to the prelude of Tere Mere Beech mein. Another flawless rendition. I long for an SPB concert in TN, featuring only tamil songs. A veritable feast!
  A lone shout of 'Punnaiga(sic) Mannan' is heard.
  
  22. Anu is joined by Mahendra and they sing Naanu nane in Kannada(?). Its followed by Sangappi Sangappi, a very good Kannada song.
  
  23. SP is back on stage. A kid breaks through the cordon, greets him and runs back. Next one is Kaverige from Kannada.
  24. Now Anu joins him and they have a quick discussion. Anu announces SP has a train to catch at 1030(its nearly 10 now) and they have to speed up now. Its the prelude for Oh Podu, and Anu sails through the first stanza. She's enjoying it thoroughly. After all, she must have ended every concert with this one song, be it Georgia or Gummidipoondi.
  When SPB's turn comes, he's on full throttle. Actually reminds you of Tendulkar in the 48th over. But does seem tired. The Oh Podu laugh is fairly average. But anyways, its Anu's song, so let her have the limelight.
  I could see SPB packing in his songbook in a corner. 'Dont escape, SPB!' a lonely cry is heard. But its Anu on stage now. A brief lull, Anu announces they're looking for the track of Nilavai Konduva(are the instru pieces programmed in concerts?)
  Finally sings Vaseegara. Ok, Bombay Jayashree isnt here but a good enough job by Anu.
  
  25. 'Enna machaan Malai eralaama?' she asks the crowd. SPB has already left, so now she's onto Male Male. As 1000 watts of Deva's dubious sounds boom, I decide to make a move. The song is followed by a group dance and by this time, I'm nearly out of the grounds.
  
  All in all, a nice fulfilling evening. SPB left no expectations unfulfilled and made everyone's day. Anu played her part perfectly, there's been enough entertainment with just 2 artists performing. In the end I rate it 8/10.
  
  Now all I can ask for in life is a magic carpet to witness a Tendulkar century in Melbourne!
  
  

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