Ottawa has never been high on the list of places major South Asia artists like to stop for a concert. Recently Rahat Fateh Ali Khan played Montreal and Toronto but gave the nation’s capital a pass.
But Sunday, July 8th, on a picture perfect night, the legendary Sonu Nigam graced an Ottawa stage and capped off an wonderful South Asian festival weekend.
Apart from a couple of technical problems, which will be noted later, and starting an hour and a half late, Nigam dazzled the admittedly partisan crowd with nearly three hours of non-stop entertainment.
A young woman (whose name unfortunately seems impossible to find anywhere) opened the performance on a high note with two well sung numbers. Then, to a chorus of shrieks, the man himself began his first song from off-stage, making a dramatic entrance, wearing a white suit, through smoke and lights as the sun was setting on the outdoor stage.
And for the next 180 minutes, with a break only to pose with dignitaries after their introductions, he belted out a astounding number of “hits” and movie favourites to a few thousand of his ‘closest friends’.
The audience favourites just kept coming and coming – his first superhit “Bijuriya Bijuriya”; “Maahi Ve” and “Kal Ho Naa Ho” from “KHNH”; “Chori Kiya Re Jiya” from “Debangg!”; “Shukran Allah” from “Kurbaan”, “Zoobi Doobi” from “3 Idiots”; “Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna” from “KANK”; “Main Hoon Na”; “Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte” from “Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi” and “Abhi Mujh Main Kahin” from the recently released “Agneepath”, to name only a few.
Nigam knows how to work an audience, in both English and Hindi, and there was much interplay between he and his fans. And for the determined, who managed to scale the barriers at the end of the show, he made a point of physically staying to touch hands with those fans who wanted to show their appreciation with more than just their voices.
A generous performer who gives an audience their money’s worth, Nigam’s energy on stage and obvious love for his chosen profession (and his gift) are a treat for everyone.
His backup band – two guitarists, a keyboardist and two percussionists – was terrific (in bigger venues, he has performed with orchestras as well as his own musicians). Early on, there was a “duel” between Nigam and the lead guitarist, with Sonu singing a phrase and the guitarist mimicking him a la Peter Frampton. The ‘licks’ became more and more complicated, but the fun that both of them were obviously having was infectious and it was a nice light moment.
The only negatives during the performance were technical. The sound system, though adequate, could have been a lot clearer for someone with as much cache as Mr. Nigam.
And the lighting, over the band at least, was adequate, but unless Nigam stood directly centre stage, where he was mostly lit from above, he was in the dark. As he is a performer that doesn’t stand still for very long, a follow-spot would have gone a long way towards making him visible.
These quibbles aside, it was a wonderful night for both Hindi film music and Sonu Nigam fans. And it was a thrill that finally a top-notch playback singer graced an Ottawa stage. Thank you. Sonu Nigam and thank you, BIPS Festival, for bringing him to town!
Wendy Rockburn
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