ARR unity of light concert-malaysia

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ARR unity of light concert-malaysia ARR unity of light concert-malaysia

Topic started by mistique (@ 202.188.217.46) on Sat Dec 20 22:01:10 EST 2003.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

woohooo!!!had a reaaaaly wonderful time yesterday!!!the concert was totally and absolutely wonderful,beautiful,excellent,superb,amazing and incredible!!!!
it was suppossed to start at 7.30pm,but due to the heavy downpour and since it was an outdoor stadium,got delayed and kicked of at 9.15 pm with fireworks and ARR suddenly appearing onstage with thousands of screaming fans.and the music of oruvan oruvan muthalali was blaring with SPB singing it.and right after that,ARR sang mustafa mustafa...

Responses:

From: mistique (@ 202.188.217.46) on: Sat Dec 20 22:06:12 EST 2003

ARR was kind of chatty compared to his other concerts wordwide and he was in full of praises of the mlaysian audience.he thanked us for our patience and said that when they played the bombay theme musiac,he thought that someone would whistle and ask them to stop,but nooo the audience were listening intentively and were enjoying it...
From: BeN (@ 219.94.82.8) on: Sun Dec 21 01:46:04 EST 2003

yeah...i've attended the concert yesterday...WOW!!!!!!!!!!! superb concert!!!!!! ARR has lift up his name in terms of quality... No doubt the concert started late, bcoz of the heavy downpour...but it was worth for the wait....

Good performaces, good feedback from the huge audience...

There are so many differences compared to his previous concert...this time he spoke more..praising Malaysian audience for our patiece...

I still can't forget ARR's beautiful unplugged renderation for Vellai Pookal song.....
Shankar Mahadevan & Sivamani's awesome duo performance, rendering the "Ghana Ghana" - Lagaan song...

Also the white guy who flicks the guitar non- stop..

The Uzbakistan singer singing the original Chandralekha song in Tamil....

Not to forget....the whole audience in the stadium sang " SA RE GA ME" together with Karthik & Vasundra.....

...and the list carries on....

Just one word to say to ARR....""UR THE BEST!!!""
From: siva (@ 61.6.65.30) on: Sun Dec 21 02:27:54 EST 2003

AWESOME concert!!!

the best parts were when Shankar Mahadevan sang the modified version of the Lagaan song (he told how would the song be if the rain clouds poured in the movie).. marvellous performance by him and sivamani..

the armenian and uzbek girls' duet of "chandralekha" song in tamil and russian (i think its russian) was mindblowing....

but the bad points are the sound system early in the show... it only got better during the vennilavae vennilavae song onwards...

and the organisers have resorted to cheap "screensaver" and "powerpoint" like projections for the screens... whom are they trying to fool?

and i think vasundra dass might have arrived late. she was not one of the singers for Maaro Maaro... yet she came for Shakalaka Baby after much longer.... weird...

ARR should be praised for using his own voice while singing and not track.... i was really really happy to hear that..... all of his other concerts he resorts to track and just moves his mouth accordingly.... but at this concert, i am glad he did not do it... not too sure for the Vande Mataram song though...

The Sona Sona song duet by ARR and Sukhwinder was AWESOME....

and the unreleased song from Meenaxi- the tales of 3 cities by sukhwinder is AWESOME... just wished that the some system was better at that time...
From: magix (@ 219.65.109.82) on: Sun Dec 21 03:22:30 EST 2003

He sang a song from Meenaxi?!?!?!?
From: siva (@ 61.6.65.30) on: Sun Dec 21 03:26:51 EST 2003

yes he did magix...

arr mentioned that we are the first ones to hear it...

the song was really really cool at first listening... but the nuances of his instruments were lost by the silly sound system
From: magix (@ 219.65.109.88) on: Sun Dec 21 04:02:21 EST 2003

I'm jealous... :(
Was it a melody? (i guess it was...)
From: siva (@ 61.6.65.30) on: Sun Dec 21 04:10:35 EST 2003

it was more of a arr-sukhwinder kinda song..
it was in hindi, but the chorus had hints of other languages... i think its telegu... cant really make out...
very nice to listen..
and i still cant stop cursing the sound system guys
From: DJ _TREY (@ 211.24.29.85) on: Sun Dec 21 07:01:26 EST 2003

everything was at the top class/quality...expect sound system and of course the 2 side projectors !!!! aaaa should be placed or moved... lol...ARR ruleZ!!!
From: siva (@ 61.6.65.30) on: Sun Dec 21 07:23:48 EST 2003

guys,

did anyone noticed the keyboards arr was using?

i noticed there were 3 , one KORG one yamaha and another i am not sure, coz i cant see properly... anyone of you noted the models of all ?

thanks
From: munesh (@ 210.186.52.114) on: Sun Dec 21 08:13:18 EST 2003

roland module
yamaha motif 5
triton studio
From: ash (@ 202.188.217.237) on: Sun Dec 21 09:21:40 EST 2003

oh man!!!!cool concert!!!!i personaly think this was one of the best concert by ARR compared to his previous ones...even arr and the singers really enjoyed performing here...could be seen by the way arr was like smiling when he looked up at the much enthusiastic audiance.and during sa re ga me ,all the singer's voices couldn't be heared,as the whole entire audience were singing it.even the vanthe matharam song..shankar mahadevan was superb!!!!!!blazee rocks too!!!and the drummer was absolutely fantasic!!!did u guys see the way he was spinning the stick with his fingers and the hit the drum right after!!AMAZING!!!!!!
oh man!!there is sooo much to share and tell,but dunno where to start.
one thing for sure,AR RAHMAN ROCKSSSS!!!!!!HE RULEZZZZZ!!!!!!
oh man,i'm in loooveeeeee...........
From: aa (@ 202.188.217.237) on: Sun Dec 21 09:41:46 EST 2003

by the way people,who was the singer with glasses and quite plump,the one that sang sa re ga me with kartick,vasundra and blazee.and what is the cool drummer guy's name?
From: amy (@ 202.188.217.237) on: Sun Dec 21 09:42:47 EST 2003

dinesh,did you go for the concert?can you tell me in detailed what happend there?????
From: C~P (@ 61.95.159.16) on: Sun Dec 21 09:53:24 EST 2003

mm...quite plump guy with glasses...shud be Lucky Ali

and drummer guy?? Sivamani??
From: siva (@ 61.6.65.30) on: Mon Dec 22 07:09:24 EST 2003

yup, durmmer is sivamani....

the plump guy is not lucky ali.... me not sure who is that..

and munesh, thanks for the info
From: a (@ 210.195.24.231) on: Thu Dec 25 19:44:10 EST 2003

Malaysian Concert: Worth the wait for A.R. Rahman
[Source: Rupa Damodaran, New Straits Times, Dec 2003]

Renowned music composer A.R. Rahman wowed the audience at his ‘Unity Of Light’ concert with his repertoire of songs and an impressive line-up of entertainers. RUPA DAMODARAN writes. THE 20,000-strong crowd at A.R. Rahman’s "Unity of Light" concert at the Shah Alam Stadium on a wet Saturday evening were too much in awe of the music composer extraordinaire to chaff at the waiting they had to endure. After all, Rahman has composed some of the best music in the Indian film industry since his success in the movie Roja in 1992.

When the orchestra started to play 1½ hours later, the crowd roared with delight and the mood continued till the show ended at about 12.45am.

They clung on to every word he said.

His humility and graciousness endeared him to his audience. He apologised for the delay, saying that "we were over confident and we did not check the waterproofing" but promptly got to work with his magical fingers playing on the keyboards and piano in between singing solo or together with some of the singers.

He delivered his best to the crowd.

He was accompanied by nine popular playback singers — S.P. Bala, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Sukhwinder Singh, Karthik, Blaaze, Vasundhra Dass, Sadhana Sargam and Sujata Bhattacharya — 20 dancers, 15 back-up singers and a 60-man strong orchestra.

The music maestro last held a concert at the same venue here in 1996. Rahman, who was honoured by his country four times, is currently on a world tour. It started early this year, and has been to the United States and Canada. His next stop is Sri Lanka.

Rahman knows how music can unite people, which is why he kept making references as to how music can be part of a "peace process", or how "peace rain can cure all this stuff happening in the world".

Thus, it was not surprising when two female singers from Uzbekhistan and Armenia sang in their respective languages. The Armenian wowed the audience when she rendered popular number Chandralekha in her language.

Rahman is already making waves in the music world elsewhere.

Rahman and Finland’s influential contemporary folk group Varttina are collaborating on the score for the stage version of the world premiere of JRR Tolkien’s classic trilogy The Lord of the Rings, which will open in the West End, London, in the spring of 2005.

Besides scoring music for Indian movies, Rahman has worked on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End production Bombay Dreams. He was recently chosen to create music for Chinese movie Warriors of Heaven and Earth.

If the thousands of fans that night were disappointed that he or his singers did not sing more Tamil songs, they did not show it.

He has been known to dislike any discrimination between South and North India or between the languages saying that all these barriers should be crossed.

And it was Rahman with his universally appealing tunes, who has crossed all traditional barriers in the Indian film industry and created pieces which have led to a resurgence of interest among the Indian youth today.

He was also responsible in creating cross-interest in Tamil songs in north India.

His few lines from Mustafa, Mustafa (from the movie Kadhal Desam) that night were exciting enough as were the catchy Humma, Humma and Chaiyya, Chaiyya, which got the crowd swaying.

It is no wonder that the Hindi Film industry’s first power list, commissioned by leading film magazine Filmfare and AC Nielsen ORG-Marg, named Rahman as number six in the top 10 category.

In the Music Maker category he was ranked No. 1. The current group of Indian playback singers recognises Rahman as an absolute genius and to people like Hariharan (of Colonial Cousins fame that hit the US Billboard award) and Shankar Mahadevan who have been working with fusion music, Rahman is one of the best music directors they have worked with.

Rahman has also lent a new image to Indian musical shows abroad with playback singers providing better stage presence. Except for yesteryear singer Bala, who has been in the business for 38 years, the others, together with a well-choreographed group of dancers from Mumbai, were able to excite the audience.

Sukhwinder, Karthik and Blaaze and Vasundhara (in her Shakalaka Baby number) provided the hot numbers for the energetic young to jive to.

The versatile Hariharan and the mellifluous sounding Bala, rendered Rahman’s songs from Alaypayuthey and Roja, as did Sadhana and Sujata, on the slower film or ghazal numbers.

The humble Rahman asked the audience to forgive him for any mistakes during the rendition of a song of a yet-to-be released film Meenaxi in Jaisalmer. Three songs of the film, to be shot in Hyderabad and Prague, have been tuned by Rahman. The finale were his non-film masterpieces Vande Mataram and Maa Tujhe Salaam.
From: Maverick (@ 192.128.133.68) on: Tue Dec 30 09:26:44 EST 2003

No better genius

As an Indian music-maestro A.R. Rahman needs no introduction. NOORSILA ABDUL MAJID was on hand to catch the legend live at the Shah Alam stadium recently.

THE heavy evening downpour in the Klang Valley two Saturdays ago obviously had a positive effect on the ticket sales to A.R. Rahman’s Unity Of Light concert. No, it’s not that the Indian musical genius has lost his commercial appeal in Malaysia.

Rather, the publicity for his performance at the Shah Alam Stadium, organised by Al-Falah Associates, had been so bad that a lot of his fans and those who were curious about the power of his music only came to know about the show through last-minute announcements.

Minutes before Rahman’s musical extravaganza was slated to kick off at 7.30pm, hordes of last-minute ticket buyers could be seen making a beeline outside the stadium to purchase the best seats available for the concert. To their relief, plenty were still being sold and the rain had actually delayed the show by close to two hours.

A.R Rahman was a picture of peace and serenity as he rendered his wide repertoire of songs.
As soon as the ray of lights beamed across the stage and the drumbeats reverberated in the air, Rahman and his entourage – made up of a string orchestra, a flautist, a guitarist, three tabla players and a percussionist launched into Oruvan Oruvan Muthalali (Unity Of Workers), with veteran Indian playback singer, S.P. Balasubramanyam, adding textures to the motivational song with his rich vocals.

“Assalamualaikum, vanakam, namaste and good evening everyone,” the reserved Indian pop maestro greeted his audience after the preludes to Bombay Dreams had been neatly despatched. “Just like life, there’ll be sad songs and happy songs for you tonight.” Proving that he is a better singer than a conversationalist, Rahman gave the audience an insight into his positive attitude towards love and life through Mustafa, Mustafa, a melodious love song which happened to be his personal favourite.

Now, standing calmly in front of his keyboards, the 36-year-old singer/songwriter was a picture of peace and serenity. Not even the praises heaped on him by S.P. Bala and the other playback singers, such as Hariharan (the other half of the Colonial Cousins), Shankar Mahadevan and Sukhwinder Singh could make Rahman a bit more chatty that night.

Instead, the gifted musician showed his gratitude towards those who had supported his career by playing two tracks from Roja, a film that leaned towards the political situations in India that propelled him to stardom. Backed by the romantic voices of S.P. Bala and Sujatha Battacharya, Roja, the single, sounded as good as it was on CD. “Roja was my biggest achievement in life,” Rahman told a press conference a day before the concert.

The night progressed with more of his powerful material like Venileve Venileve, Kanalene, Mubarekah, Uppukaruvade, Maro Maro, Lagaan, Dil Se Re and Chaiya Chaiya. Well, these song titles might sound like gobbledygook to you, but they attested to Rahman’s undisputed ability in combining Eastern and Western rhythms to form an eclectic style of music that cut across the language barrier. They are a lush series of songs that are undoubtedly Indian at their core, but they have been given a contemporary feel by the composer through the applications of Western studio techniques, such as the drum loops, samples, synthesisers and guitars in replace of sitar.

On the spiritual Vellai Pookal, Rahman glided easily from the synthesisers to the piano. “This is my prayer for the world,” the composer said shortly before delivering his beguiling spiritual chants on the song. His spiritual journey in life continued with a ghazal tune from his upcoming movie soundtrack, Tehzeb and Hariharan’s Nila Kaiyudhey. Oh, what an ecstasy!

There were also special appearances by two of Rahman’s latest discoveries, an Armenian singer named Ani and an Uzbekistan singer named Eroda. While the latter got the crowd boogieing to her energetic Uzbekistan number, the former impressed the most with her rendition of Rahman’s Chandralekha, which Ani performed in her native language, of course.

So by the time the confetti fell upon the stage and the firecrackers exploded in the air, Rahman knew that he had kept the 20,000 strong crowd spellbound during his three-and-a-half hour show that night.
From: Augustine (@ 219.93.221.226) on: Tue Jan 13 10:25:19 EST 2004

Hi fans of Ar Rahman !
I got all the concert news papers cutting till todate and shall post to this website soon. Thank you arolraj for your email.
Wishing every body advance Happy Ponggal Celebration !
from Augustine
PR/Marketing Manager
"AR RAHMAN WORLD TOUR 2003 IN MALAYSIA"

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