Shironamhin comes back with a bang at their silver jubilee concert
Shironamhin is the band of a generation and big name contemporary artists turned out in droves to support the seminal rock group
Back in the 2000s, during the heyday of Shironamhin, Kazi Tahsin would obsessively listen to their songs on repeat. The band used to release one good album within a year or two in their golden days and that would keep Tahsin's love for Shironamhin alive. Kazi Tahsin represents all the boys, girls and old timers alike present in the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) Thursday, who filled up the hall corner to corner.
It was a proud moment for Tahsin to witness his favourite band turning 25. "I remain hopeful they will go on to produce more quality music as they always have. Lineups changing is a fairly common thing in the global band scene but through their massive lineup changes, I am just glad that Shironamhin has retained their originality," he said.
And not just Tahsin, this concert was attended by frontline musicians like, Rahul Anand, Bappa Mazumder, Lincoln d'Costa, Rafa, Palash Nur and many – and by many we mean a lot of – musicians came to sing and enjoy. Nazim Uddin Zahed, vocalist and guitarist of The Tree, who lives in Chattogram, came to Dhaka just to join his fellow musicians on the stage and, as a bonus, played the violin for one of their songs.
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The orchestra stood firmly at the back of the stage. As the conductor was swaying his baton, the orchestra's synchronous playing backed up the traditional Rock n Roll instruments like a charm. Ghaashphoring Choir also did what they do best at; adding choral arrangements to the songs.
As for the actual performance, vocalist Sheikh Ishtiaque had to do only half the singing because the crowd was on their toes half the time to sing along. Around mid-concert, Ishtiaque said, "Now I am going to sing a song that is close to my heart. Are you all ready to sing along?" Then he began singing Purano Sei Diner Kotha, a song originally composed and written by Rabindranath Thakur. The crowd sang the entire song with Ishtiaque, waving their hands in the air.
Nostalgia swept the concert hall when Jewel, the first vocalist of the band and co-founder, was welcomed upon the stage. "My journey with the band was short-lived but my love for it is not," said Jewel, beaming with pride and joy.
For their last act, the band performed their signature track: Abar Hashimukh. When the lyrics ran out, the band kept jamming on stage and they jammed for 15 minutes straight in real time, as even other musicians stood in awe of their performance.
But right before Abar Hashimukh, the next generation of Shironamhin was presented on stage. It was Ziaur Rahman's daughter who was welcomed to play the piano and like father like daughter, she was virtuosic. The apple truly does not fall far from the tree, we suppose.
"Do I love Shironamhin? Sure. My father plays there. It is his legacy. I grew up with it," she said.
