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Thursday March 28, 2024

A trip down memory lane

By our correspondents
December 13, 2017

Islamabad: ‘Some memories are unforgettable, remaining ever vivid and heart-warming’ said some well known personality and how true his words are is proved often. Such was the case over the weekend as some of those who were fans of Vital Signs came to hear the group’s songs being showcased.

The occasion was a tribute to Junaid Jamshed on his first death anniversary, organized by the Islamabad Club in collaboration with capital based musical group, Rocklite. The tribute was attended by a few young people but most of those who present were the young at heart lot who came to revive memories of the good old days. The MC for the evening was anchor person; actor and social activist, Sadia Hyat Rathore.

Rocklite features Rizwan ul Haq (guitar and vocals) Allen Smith (drums) Varka Faraid (keyboards) Parham Faraid (guitar) Imran Hanan (bass) Sohail (dholak) and Bilal Ashraff (vocals).They performed gratis for this occasion – their tribute to a legend.

Glowing tributes were paid to Junaid for his singing career as well as his spiritual life by a couple of officials of the club and some members who had either studied or worked with him – each recalling his own memories of their time together. And of course, Rizwan ul Haq, under whose aegis Rocklite performs, had his say as well, as being a part of Vital Signs they spent a lot of time together. Sadia too told of how she had met and interacted with Junaid as a young teenager, while band members who knew him also added their comments to this trip down memory lane, adding to the nostalgia of the occasion.

Coming to the musical part of the evening, it has to be said that nothing can match the original but the band did a good job – after the overly loud music had been turned down at the request of someone in the audience! The best part of Vital Signs songs are that they are very listenable with the lyrics clear and the music not overpowering the voice of the vocalist - in this instance Junaid. But times have changed. Much of the music is different now - louder and raucous, with lyrics that cannot be heard – certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, as they say.

Anyway, as the audience relaxed; the band got into its groove so to say and Sadias efforts to get the audience to respond paid off and band members interacting with the audience making a difference, the atmosphere changed from ‘dead’ to a little livelier, with some clapping and singing along. As the show progressed the appreciative responses became more pronounced and the evening ended on a positive note. The stage had been set up nicely and the lighting was good - the only jarring part was this awful multi-coloured light that kept flashing at the audience – very disturbing and not necessary. Flashing lights aimed at the audience are not suitable for a concert in a small hall.

As Allen Smith said, live music needs to keep happening to keep the tradition alive. Concerts are always well attended so there is a real need to organise more of such gigs so that everyone can enjoy themselves and also support our musicians of all genres – a much needed exercise these days.