The Night Dhaka did NOT vibe with Anuv Jain
With the international singer’s first visit to Bangladesh, ‘Let’s Vibe Dhaka with Anuv Jain’ promised to be a show for the ages. Despite strong performances from Xefer, Pritom Hasan, Tahsan and Anuv Jain himself, the audiences may return home with a ‘suffocating’ feeling; even though their Instagram stories and reels may paint a different picture
Anuv Jain is one of those musical sensations of the recent era who carries the spirit of love and dearness. He has become a persona that pears into the souls of many through nostalgia and his lyrics of deep affection. Through his excellence of singing and songwriting, he has garnered millions of admirers across the nations and Bangladesh is probably one of the biggest among them.
On 1 June, the fans were graced with his presence at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in Dhaka. He was the marquee artist appearing besides 3 of Bangladesh's very own Xefer, Pritom Hasan and Tahsan in the heart-rending concert 'Let's Vibe Dhaka with Anuv Jain.'
Prior to the show, it received a roaring response from music lovers. Tickets for every price range were quickly sold out. The venue was jam-packed with people when the event began. It had the impression that every teenager in the city had descended upon the venue, to take in the magic Anuv Jain was to put on display.
It was Xefer who got the ball rolling on the night. One of the first tracks the 'diva' performed was her recent hit 'Jhumka.' Apart from her exceptionally choreographed dance routines along with her songs, Xefer got the crowd all riled up by inviting Mohon Sharif on stage. The duo performed an acoustic rendition of 'Jhumka'- something the thousands flocked up at ICCB had never witnessed before. After that, they lent their vocals together on Mohon Sharif's iconic 'Jontrona'.
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But perhaps the credit for best performance out of all the others combined, is owed to Pritom Hasan. The point of a concert and a live performance is to engage the crowd in a rollercoaster of emotions and to lift their spirits as if tomorrow doesn't exist. Well, Pritom's performance far surpassed that bar.
He brought out the best from his arsenal with songs like 'Bhenge poro na', 'Khoka', '700 taka', 'Local Bus' and the icing on the cake was when Pritom invited Islam Uddin Palakar , Armeen Musa and her Gashphoring Choir and recreated the studio version of the acclaimed Coke Studio Bangla song 'Deora'. Pritom even changed into the exact same clothes he wore on the music video!
At one point he even had one very lucky soul from the audience, to go up on stage and perform part of the song 'Local Bus' in front of the wild crowd.
Tahsan gave everyone a theatrical and passionate performance. He was the 'veteran' musician of the event and he made sure to take everyone on a nostalgia ride through his iconic songs 'Prematal' and 'Alo'. His other captivating songs included 'Obhimani' and 'Irsha' and needless to say, they were as mesmerising as one would expect from Tahsan.
Oh, and yes, we are definitely not going to forget the performance and the performer of the event. Well, everyone did have to wait a long time for Anuv Jain to take the stage. It was not easy given how the summer heat at that point was getting to everyone in a fully packed and crammed venue. But he did appear and once he took the stage, the wait was worth it. True that everyone had to wait 30 minutes for only about 30 minutes of Anuv Jain, so that was most probably a let down for everyone attending.
Anuv's performance featured his best songs like 'Riha', 'Mishri', 'Meri Baaton Mein Tu'. Throughout his set, Anuv was super engaging and communicative with the crowd. With utter humility, Anuv provided background stories about the songs he was performing. For fans who have spent hours jamming along to his tunes, the stories provided some unforeseen context and it did make them feel special.
The whole time everyone was absolutely captivated by the magic of Anuv Jain. Everyone lost themselves in worlds where the music would take them. Everyone was enchanted with the lyrics so alluring. Near the end of the show everyone was out of their seats just drowning in the moment as Anuv Jain ended his set with 'Baarishein'- a song he had to perform twice as per the fans' requests.
The concert, however, was not without its fair share of flaws. On what promised to be one of the best and biggest shows of the year, it was the management from the organisers that left almost everyone displeased.
The most common complaint among the audience was how suffocating the entire show felt. People were fainting due to the fact that they were not allowed to bring water bottles with them.Stalls that were selling bottled water ran out of supplies in the first couple of hours. Moreover, the services made available for everyone were too expensive considering that everyone already had to pay a hefty amount just to attend the concert. It was an outright mistreatment for the crowd given how most were only teenagers.
Attendees were left to wait for a long time outside in the scorching heat just for verification and entrance. The interval between the performance of the artists was prolonged to the point where the show exceeded its scheduled runtime. In a heat like this, such circumstances were not really pleasant. If anything, the mismanagement overshadowed the pleasantries of the event for many.
Overall, the performances were deserving of applause. The artists gave their best efforts to give the audience a wonderful evening. If the management was better, perhaps this could have been a more memorable ride for everyone.
