Occasion: Kala Utsavam
Venue: Esplanade, Singapore
Shaan came in with" Behti Hawa sa tha woh" (3 Idiots), to merge it soon into Kishore Kumar melodies making the atmosphere very nostalgic.Shaan’s band started things off, an ensemble of rock instruments complemented by a host of Indian instruments. The Guitarist was exceptionally good! Shaans voice seemed invincible – he just refused to get tired through out his performance! My heart went fluttering when he sang the "Main hoon Don" while he imitated Shah rukhs dance stances opening his arms wide open.
I could probably go on about each song. The pure melodic beauty of Kya yahi Pyar hai( Rocky); Shaan’s remarkable vocal agility in “Dil Kya kare"from Julie; the action-packed “Oh humdum suniyo re” , "Hum jo chalne lage hain from Jab We Met.
He was joined by June Bannerji (dont ask me who) for some duets that included a not-so-beautiful Hey Shona and a few more songs (that I dont remember). June also broke into a exceptionally well sung Beedi jalyale and Desi girl.
Few songs that require any criticism – perhaps “One Love” was nothing like the one I heard from the movie.. Shaan's first Medley climaxed with a song that has brought him a shed-load of awards – “Chand sifarish” (Fanaa).
He ended the concert with Tanha Dil and Wheres the party tonight. Amazingly, despite the goof ups , Shaa'ns sense of humor saved the day. Of all the concerts I have been to, I feel Shaan speaks more than he sings! :)
Although, I must confess some of the songs were disappointingly, badly sung, with some mixed-up lyrics and less-than-perfect-for-the-song band.I was also quite disappointed that he did not sing any song from his album Q-funk .
A lot of good old songs from Kishore da's collections were missing. All in all it was a concert worth every cent spent and am glad I tagged along my BFF Ms Pavin Kaur and her entire clan! Thanks Pavin and family .
