Rock bands flaunt their talent in Chittagong

Band group Black toured the port city. Photo credit: Khademul Insan

Our first stop was in Choddogram, at a cafe for a most welcome meal of tea and refreshments. It was humid and hot towards the end but no one cared. When the scenery is breathtaking, who worries about the weather? We all got down from the bus as it hit the bay of Chittagong stand.

A warm welcome awaited us next morning, finally ending the night journey. Sunny skies and pleasant weather served to boost our spirits. Beautiful greenery and open roads without traffic jams tempted us to spend a little while looking around, before hitting the rest house.

April 23, Chittagong Medical College Auditorium--There was a warm-up act by a local band called Silent Prayer. Their set list consisted of covers mainly. Those of Odhbut shei cheleti by Aurthohin, Ghum bhanga shohore by LRB, English number Summer of 69 by Bryan Adams and many more. Apparently, they were heard to be a passable band for that evening.

Next, was the amazing Black. They were a major draw at the concert. The crowd leapt to their feet as they took the stage. The atmosphere was electric. Everyone was so excited and the organisers, plus a few of us from outside, became a community of fans.

I met so many interesting people that night; it became one of those chilling concerts, which brought back nostalgia of some great gigs. When the venue lights went down to introduce the concert lighting flashing at the band, the place went crazy. Fans screaming and cheering, the band came on and played their opening jamming pieces and suddenly the vocalist appeared. While taking pictures from the front, all of a sudden, I could feel the energy building up in the crowd.

Black, too, wasted little time, getting right into the music with a highly popular performance of '?', Opolap, Amar Prithibi, Obhiman and few other hits. The lead vocalist then asked a female vocalist from the crowd to join him in singing Mithha--one of the major hit songs. Two girls from the audience did take up the offer. It was followed by Prarthonad, Prakritik--they were total blasts.

The biggest screams for the night were on a couple of occasions when the keyboardist--the other vocalist, sang a couple of the songs. It was tagged along with the lead vocals singing a very emotional Off Beat drama soundtrack Shey je boshey achey--the song was on high demand and we all could feel the emotional outburst as soon as the guitar had its first strum. All the women screamed at once. It was earsplitting and the band loved it. One was flabbergasted to see such a response for an Alternative rock band outside Dhaka.

Warfaze was the last band, singing some of their magnetic songs like Ekti cheley, Money pore jai amar, Moharaj and many more. This was the first time any of us had seen them in a concert outside Dhaka. I must say it was worth it all. Warfaze put on a good show to a packed hall. They put a lot of energy into their performance and their movements were clearly worth watching. The audience was enthusiastic and sometimes it would sing along with the band.

The organisers, Mints Event Management Organisation , put up a fine show. They were very hospitable to the Dhaka-based bands. Although given only a short time to organise the concert, they withstood the stress and strain that must accompany a show on such a large scale.