Rock ‘n’ roll refuge

Summer Jam was also plugged by numerous solos by Aamir, Momo and Gumby. These displays were a method through which the musicians communicated not only amongst themselves but also with their audience.

At least to me — and I’m assuming for most who attended the Summer Jam gig that took place recently — music is food for the soul. It was a much-needed release from the dreariness (at the risk of sounding indifferent to the socio-political conditions of the country and its implications) that seems to have enveloped the general vibe around Karachi; something which has been perpetuated by the news channels that seem to be hell-bent in making sure we know that we live in very dark times — with little or no hope for anything better.

Organised by the musicians themselves and media partnered by Radio1 FM91, the Summer Jam gig boasted an ensemble of some of the best musicians Karachi has to offer. Omran ‘Momo’ Shafique on lead guitars (switching to rhythm guitars whenever Aamir Zaki came on stage to perform), Khalid Khan on the bass guitar, Gumby on the drums and Yasir Quraishi on the darbuka on several songs. They featured guest artistes which included Aamir Zaki, Sheldon and Sara Memon who is also a radio jockey and has an incredibly soulful voice. She delivered an overall powerful performance of Mercy by Duffy; I Want to Hold Your Hand by The Beatles, Black Velvet by Alannah Miles the and Alone by Heart, among others. She has occasionally performed on open-mic nights at the T2F and the crowd not only seemed familiar with who she was, but was actively cheering for her by the end of the night.
The other male vocalist, Sheldon, who came on stage seemed to have a general inclination towards reggae music. He seemed a little uncomfortable (he wouldn’t make eye-contact with the audience) when he began performing at first, but loosened up as his performance progressed. Some of the songs he performed were Feelin’ Alright, Jailbreak, The Redemption Song by Bob Marley and Superstitious by Stevie Wonder.

Aamir performed well and it was heartwarming to see him back on stage again. However, he wasn’t moving towards the front much and preferred to stay at the back, which was somewhat uncharacteristic of him. When asked about it, he mentioned that he didn’t feel a need to try and steal the limelight. “It’s their gig. I am playing for them,” he said motioning towards the rest of the musicians.

Aamir has also found his match in Momo, at least where technical proficiency is concerned. The two would often seem to go head-on with their instruments and perhaps the only difference between them was their style of playing. Where one brought in his experience, and some tricks acquired with over time, the other brought youthful energy. Towards the end of the gig, Momo also broke one of his guitar strings.

Summer Jam was also plugged by numerous solos by Aamir, Momo and Gumby. To the non-musical person (I happened to be sitting next to one) they sounded cacophonous but to me, throughout the night, these displays were a method through which the musicians communicated not only amongst themselves but also with their audience. Some of the songs had been rearranged a tad bit to accommodate for these solos and they seemed to work. – by Madeeha Syed

1 & 2: Omran Shafique and Aamir Zaki
3: Sara Memon
4: Omran, Sheldon, Aamir Zaki and Gumby
5: Gumby
6: Omran Shafique

Source: DAWN.COM