A R Rahman
Is God. Had a chance to listen to him live in SF in the Cow Palace. We got tickets in the 22nd row in this huge indoor stadium. So we were practically in seats where not only could we see them up close and personal, but I think, they could see us too!! It was a sammelan of Hondas, Toyotas and Mercedes. Never have I seen so many leather jackets in one place. And even in my marriage i didnot wear as much gold as the women wore. Me in my perenial jeans and tee-shirt (it is cold in SF) seemed like and outcast in those 500 dollar seats. As of course, like all desi events, this one also started late. Was to start at 7:30, started at 8:30. But then it was a "be Indian" sort of an event. So I didnt see a single hassled soul because of the delay. Everyone was going about talking, mingling, showing off merrily. There was chai stall, mango lassi, samosa, even posters of bollywood kings and queens. It was like being in the theatres in India.
Rahman started with a bang with SP Balasubramium. Then Sonu Nigam crooned to Sathiya and stole each and every girl (from 16 to 60). I think I am totally mesmerised by the songs of Saathiya. So it was quite a treat to hear him alive. And I have been a fan of Sonu since Sa Re Ga Ma. It is quite short built though...
Neeraj said that last year they sang a lot of tamil-telegu songs that the non-south indian people did not know. So after interval, half the stadium was empty, this time however, they sang almost all hindi songs, and only sang a few lines from each song in tamil/telegu. In fact it was quite enjoyable for everyone.
Lagaan and Saathiya were extremely popular, though humma humma had almost everyone dancing up on their seats.
Shivamani rocked!! His antics had the crowd entertained in the interval. And..hold your breath. Zakhir Hussain was sitting in the audience. He has something about him that just melts your heart. hehe..I am sure neeraj was amused at my fickle heart. Cant help it. Small trivia, Shankar Mahadevan used to work in Oracle(just outside SF) before he decided to quit everything to becaome a musican. Oracle buildings are quite a landmark while going from San Jose to SF. Bollywood, here I come!!!
Sadhana Sargam sang Chupke se to the tee. Missed Chandralekha, since I had heard so much about it from previous shows.
When we got out, it took us some time before the euphoria died down. Absolutely fantastic experience......