Coke Studio Bangla concert: Fusion finally done right?
Despite calls for boycott, the venue was brimming with an estimated 50,000 concertgoers
In the past week, social media buzzed with a burgeoning cancel culture surrounding the Coke Studio Bangla Season 2 concert at Army Stadium on Friday. Netizens fervently advocated for a boycott of the concert because Coca-Cola is one of the companies which support Israel. The advocacy stemmed from Israel's ongoing military aggression against Palestinians.
Yet, a firsthand experience near Banani or Army Stadium that night revealed a stark contrast. Despite all that buzz in social media, the mainstream impact appeared minimal. A staggering audience of around 50,000 showed up, highlighting a notable disconnect between online sentiments and their actual actions.
Before we get into details as to how the show was musically and entertainment-wise, let's address the elephant in the room- the complaints of the audience during and post-show, regarding the "mismanagement" during the show.
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To that, we ask you to stop expecting first-world service in a third-world country. A wide-scale concert, regardless of where it may be held, is seldom a smooth ride – be it at Glastonbury or be it at the Army Stadium.
Musically, the show was as good as one could realistically expect such as a large-scale concert in Bangladesh. The stage was absolutely massive, and that allowed the more or less 100 versatile musicians on the roster to come together and deliver a night of blissful musical fusion.
Yes, of course, the coke studio Bangla classics were there, the 'Nasek Nasek's and the 'Bulbuli's. But I believe we should be talking about the rare instances of musical fusion that were only exclusive to that show.
With exuberant dancers with their aptly choreographed routines and an entire pool of back vocals along with the plethora of instrumentalists playing Western and Indian classical organs, the songs sounded holistic to the ears and the performances aesthetic to the eyes.
For when Tashfee performed 'Bhob er Pagol,' the entrance of Jalali Set after the second chorus was marked with precisely timed fireworks that set the crowd ablaze, with other break-dancers doing their thing at the same time.
Bappa Mazumder's set of three songs was a breath of fresh air for notably one reason- his naturally blissful, untainted and unmixed voice. I say that because, on shows of such magnitude and musical diversity, many a time backing tracks were being played whilst vocalists lent their voice over the sampled tracks. However, Bappa's performances in 'Anondodhara,' 'Baazi' and 'Din Bari Jay' were as original as they came.
When Fuad took the stage, the power of the maximum capacity audience was put to full use. Starting with 'Dewana,' 'Fuad and Friends' took the audience back in time with a duet version of 'Tumi Ki Shara Dibey' where again, vocalist Tashfee got to show her true vocal range.
Before signing off, Fuad took full advantage of the 50k present as his vocalist did one hell of a crowd work when he asked them to sing along to Nitol Paye's iconic adlib-chorus and the entire stadium reverberated the words.
Of course, most would look at the roster of the concert and expect the marquee names to blow everybody's mind off. However, there were many talented artists on display who, within their capacity, stole the show in their own way.
Tashfee for example, was mesmerising with her vocal ranges, having performed arguably last season's most popular track by a female lead, and also singing 'Tumi Ki Shara Dibey,' one of the most revered rock songs by a female vocalist in the last decade.
"Being heavily influenced by heavy music growing up, I believe that is where I shine," she said.
Speaking of heavy music, 'Artcell' certainly kicked things up a notch. The heaviness that may have felt a tad bit lacking in between all the fusion of classical and pop music was well compensated by Artcell as they provided the audience with adrenaline that no one saw coming.
If you're wondering if all Artcell did was play their iconic 'Dukkho Bilash' and 'Onno Shomoy' as they do in every other concert, then you're wrong. They did fusion alright, because they mixed up Pritom Hasasn's verses from 'Deora' with their very own 'Pothchola,' leaving the audience gleefully surprised.
That wasn't all because at one point the man himself, Shayan Chowdhury Arnob joined Artcell to deliver a really heavy version of 'Shondhatara,' never performed before and may very well never be performed again.
However, that wasn't the only time 'Shondhatara' was performed that night. Sunidhi Nayak took the stage earlier and showed her dexterity over Indian Classical music as she casually sang the lines of 'Emon o hereche' following the 'Emon' raaga later on. When Arnob's part kicked in, the duo's chemistry on stage was fully visible and provided for a very soothing few minutes of fusion where both borders of Bengal united and produced something marvellous.
Arguably the best part of the night took place when Emon Chowdhury took the stage. While everyone was chanting 'Kotha Koiyo Na,' little did they know Emon had something very special for them up his sleeve.
A master on the six strings, Emon started his set with the iconic guitar melody of 'Hashte Dekho.' Realising what was about to unfold in front of their eyes, 50,000 voices obliged Emon's request of singing along to his guitar as a tribute to the late great Ayub Bacchu.
Never before had I seen 50,000 people singing along to just a guitar and that only reiterated the love that people still have in their hearts for Ayub Bacchu as Emon ended the tribute with the legendary 'Shei Tumi' – reverberating the entire stadium in the greatness of Bacchu.
