Pepe Jeans JRO 2004 FINALE Highlights
Chennai had the biggest rock concert of the decade!
Preface: The crowds started swarming in even with the sky looking menacingly dark. Then at 6-6:10pm the drizzle takes precedence. Eddie, the authentic growl man, suddenly grabs the mike and his 'ARRRE YOU ALL RREADY TO RROOCKKK' brings everyone to the Live 1o1 RAW stage.
Chapter 1: Live 1o1 RAW:
Gangsta rappers 'Dred Nox' hit the stage first with their 'Yo man' and excellent rapping style after which 'Asteroid' hits the stage with a good mix of originals and Breaking the law. Suddenly there are bobbing heads everywhere - at the ticket counter, parking lots, entry gate, and in the seating area. Ofcourse, a crowd of 200 plus gather around the stage and Blitz was the last of the Live 1o1's to rock the crowd and their style of punk rock leaves everyone asking for more.
Then comes "the moment you all have been waiting for…" says one of FM radio's all time favourite RJ, Niladri Bose, turning the crowd's attention to the main event of the evening.
Chapter 2: The Rockbusters - MOKSHA
With 'Anya' (Deep Purple) they began their onslaught, and Vasanth on the drums laid down the rules real fast! Tight POWER was the name of the game and Moksha did bring salvation to the rock fans. With Moksha originals ruling the song list, there were shouts from the crowd for 'Mr. President' and 'Walk before you crawl'. Christy of course took the cake with his lighting fast, clear solos, and their last song was the killer with Aubrey on the bass, Allen on second guitar syncing together like triplets in a nursery. Their smooth performance of 'Cupid's Dead' by Extreme had the members of Junoon head-banging backstage, as Moksha went through the complicated riffs of the song. There was a great rendition of 'Too much love will kill you' to signify the AIDS awareness cause of the Pepe Jeans JRO 2004. On the whole Moksha was tighter than ever!
After the performance, Christy was called onstage to present the four lucky winners of the Radio Mirchi JRO '04 Draw with guitars autographed by Moksha and Junoon.
This was followed by something historic…..
Chapter 3: Music sans frontiers!
If you weren't there, you really missed a 'goose bump' occasion! Both bands from either side of the border were invited on stage together, while the crowd was asked to stand up in attention position, remove caps & bandanas in respect for the 2 countries. The bands then consecutively sang the national anthems of their respective countries. Hearing 'Jana Gana Mana' being sung by the 5000 plus crowd brought a lump in the throat! Poignant and powerful was what it was to see the younger generation respecting their country. Next, it was the turn of Salman Ahmed and Ali Azmat to come forward and present 'Qaumi Tarana', the Pakistani National anthem. There was a loud shout from the crowd when they were done and in the words of Salman, "this may be the first time in India that people are cheering for the Pakistani National anthem!"
(Below is an excerpt from an email received from Salman Ahmed of Junoon via email from Colombo yesterday afternoon (1-8-04).)
"The most memorable moment for me was when thousands of Indians stood up and cheered in genuine respect when we played the Pakistani national anthem. It was a moment of special significance filled with Joy and sadness...Joy, because it again revealed to me the great power music has in bringing together peoples' and nations and sadness, because it has taken us 57 years to get to this point...If only we could keep continuing to move in this direction the future would be OURS!"
Chapter 4: JUNOON - An Obsession!
They sure were! You would expect a crowd that has been treated with an hour of Moksha to ask for Maiden or Metallica. But they connected with Junoon's Urdu/ Punjabi/ Hindi dialect super fast!! I guess the sound of the dholak and that Indian rhythm created by the bass & drums just pulls at the heartstrings of any Indian. The crowd was singing along and dancing - some were even enjoying the Bangara dance as Junoon fused strong rock guitar riffs with Indian rhythms and Ali's incredible voice. There's no logic to attach to this - how can Urdu, Hindi or Punjabi go down so well in South India?!
That was the power of Junoon. They crowd cheered, sang along and danced their guts out! They knew the words for 'Dosti' and of course 'Sayonee' was called for an encore.
The band just 'let it go' and the rhythm flowed to become infectious! Salmans guitar playing was so tasteful and full while Mekaal Hassan kept the 'bassic' groove. Drummer Allan Smith was a live wire, full of beans kind of personality. Muhammed Hasam on the dholak was really cool too giving that Indian masala mix while Ali Azmat, the front man had the voice that would move mountains and seem to have a texture that had history attached to it!
It was a Junooni evening and the band played non-stop for a little more that 90 mins! Non-stop energy, non-stop fun! There was even a few spots where Ali just lay down into the hands of the crowd. It was out of this world. No wonder they are called the biggest band in Asia.
Epilogue: The Pepe Jeans JRO 2004 came to a phenomenal end and the finale was truly a festival. People did not just come to hear some great music; they came to celebrate Chennai's international music festival. The finale did Chennai proud and needless to say did India proud too! And next year JRO 2005 will take on the crown of celebrating music once again! Yes! At JRO… an ending is just the beginning for another whole new adventure!
