Twin Disappointment

It was meant to be an action-packed evening for the music connoisseurs in the Capital,but it turned out to be a dud. While those who had gathered for American rapper Pitbull’s performance in Noida,on Friday evening,had to wait till wee hours of the morning for his performance,scheduled at 9 pm,few miles away,at the Purana Qila,Pakistani duo Zeb Bangash and Haniya Aslam also failed to impress.

Listed as the finale performers on Day One of the three-day SAARC music festival,the cousins went on stage after the bar had been raised for the evening,with performances by bands like Indigo Children,Metal Zone Oasis and the wonderful Petri Dish Project from Mumbai. While they began with their famous number Chup,the title song from their 2008 album,all one could hear were the drums and some interesting pieces on the flute by Muhammad Ahsan. The vocals were not audible and this is when the audience began to leave the venue. The two adjusted the monitors several times,but even their next track,Aitbaar,was out of tune and the low-pitched voice of Zeb did not work well.

“Zeb and Haniya’s concert was a big disappointment. Even though the sound arrangements were good,the voices did not work. I am a huge fan of their music from Coke Studio,Pakistan,but their performance just did not work. I am not even blaming the technical snags,” said Kunal Nanda,23,an advertising professional. The duo owe their popularity to Coke Studio,Pakistan,and to the fact that they are Pashtuns from the heart of the Northwest Frontier Province,a place where traditions have kept women away from the public eye. The two are known to perform songs that signify a social revolution.

The saving grace for the duo,in Delhi,was their collaboration with Delhi-based sarod player Amaan Ali Khan on Paimana Bitte and Bibi Sanam. The short performance,with only five songs,did not qualify the hype that had been generated. Perhaps,their music only works well in a studio setting. As for Pitbull,his half-an-hour performance left the audience wanting more.