In a Salt Arts presentation, the vocalist and songwriter performed a combination of songs of heartache, the greats, and some of his latest releases, to an intimate audience.
There is a good reason why Ali Sethi is the contemporary face of ghazal. Working with Noah Georgeson, he has ventured into being much more than a vocalist after honing the skill.
If his songs are melancholic, Ali Sethi was anything but that during his ‘first-ticketed’ concert in Karachi, presented by Salt Arts.
As witnessed at the Strings-Shamoon Ismail concert by Salt Arts, here was an audience where demographics flipped. Along with the young, there was a palpable presence of the elderly as well.
With Ali Sattar directing the live show, Ali Sethi pulled an audience that stood all the way to the road, before making their way through the security check in line.
It was a sea of red as the well-cultivated audience of Salt Arts – something they have actively been working on - mostly followed the dress code. Under the illuminating light of the half-moon, the live music and arts production company - whose aesthetics continue to be one of its biggest pull - had Ali Sethi songs playing as you entered the concert. White sheets with cushions were set for the audience, who sat in anticipation of the multicultural Sethi.
At the same time, there was elevated seating available for the elderly; it was a mehfil and more, as the audience stood towards the end and danced. Shrubs adjacent to the sitting area were covered in Christmas lights, also echoing shades of red. A tree across was also covered in the lights. Roses were placed on both ends of the stage; red hues continued to emerge, and the backdrop had two screens. It was almost as if you were looking at the moon amidst the universe, emblazoned with the words Ali Sethi in English and Urdu. The footage continued to change from Southasia frames, to the very successful Strings-Shamoon Ismail concert including backstage footage.
But once Ali Sethi arrived onstage, the screen resonated a beautiful Karachi night as the wind blew mildly. Before the show began, co-founder and artistic director Raania Azam Khan Durrani, not only gave instructions but spoke about the eco-system that drives the performing arts scene and upcoming shows. Hitting the mark of 91 shows, she noted, “I just want to thank everyone; this is a bit of an emotional moment for us.”
She added: “To all the women in the team, feel very proud; you are stepping out of your comfort zone, the photographers, and technicians, please give them a very big hand and a very big hand to all our male team members as well for being equal, inclusive, wonderful co-team members.”
“Celebrating Southasia and drawing parallels between the memory of our sound; the sound that we’ve heard as we’ve grown up without really having the consideration of borders. That is something we can do with music. This month we celebrate Southasia and we begin with Ali Sethi,” noted Raania before inviting Ali Sethi to the stage.
As Ali Sethi arrived with his band, it was obvious that this was not an ordinary, corporate-designed concert where he would run through his tracks. This was a curated set where Ali Sethi, the entertainer, showcased his sharp wit, and continued to tell adoring fans, “I love you, too.”
Wrapped in Red
As a performer, Ali Sethi catered to both the elderly with slower tracks and making his songs up tempo – thanks to his lovely band and his approach to the show. Inclusive as an artist, he made political jokes in-between performances that would put a regular stand-up comedian to shame.
But it was his gripping voice that made the night very special and one-of-a-kind. Ali Sethi’s transitioning from one song to another was the real surprise because these are difficult songs to sing.
From making jokes about Karachi like how people need “uppers” after “downers”, the same was true for his set-list.
“I don’t deserve these red roses,” he said, looking at the stage that was enveloped with red roses, before looking to the audience and stating, “I don’t deserve these red roses.”
Beginning with wondrous alaaps – that found their way into his songs regularly – Ali Sethi opened with ‘Kithay Nain Na Jorin’ and performed some of his best known renditions, originals and a surprisingly elating medley of sorts.
‘Gulon Main Rang,’ ‘Aaqa’, ‘Tinak Dhin’, folk songs like ‘Ballay Ballay Bai Tor Punjaban Di’ to ‘Yaar Dhaadi’, ‘Piya Re’ and ‘Akhiyan Udeek Dian’ by NFAK, the fan-favourite ‘Chan Kithan’, ‘Ishq’, and ‘Chandni Raat’ had the audience enchanted. Jimmy Khan sang a few lines of ‘Chandni Raat’ after which a cheeky Ali said, “How will I sing this now?”
He invited Noor Jehan’s daughter on stage; Sheheryar Munawar came on but simply bowed to Ali Sethi; Sonya Jehan also came onstage as did Madam Noor Jehan’s daughter. The celebrity quotient was high on Sunday night.
A medley featuring ‘Mundian To Bach Ke’ by Punjabi MC, ‘Agar Tum Saath Ho’ from Tamasha as well as Ali’s original SoundCloud songs that first introduced him to the world were also performed. An ode to Sindh, ‘Lal Meri Pat’ had the crowd on its feet while ‘Dil ki Khair’ was Ali trying to make sure to cater to as many fan favourites as possible.
His Coke Studio debut ‘Umran Langiyaan’ sounded divine as did his newest song, ‘Khabar e Tahayyur e Ishq’, and SoundCloud hit, ‘Haal Aisa Nahin’.
As the sea of red began to disperse, post show Instep asked Raania Durrani of Salt Arts about the dress code being red.
“There are ways to make the audience feel one. It’s a celebratory thing; it’s the colour of revolution; it’s the colour of love, there are a lot of references to gulab, Madam Noor Jehan, Farida Khanum, to Faiz Ahmed Faiz (sahib). It’s a technique to get audiences to feel one. How do you make audience feel one and connected with each other. This was the aim. There’s no other major reason for it.”
Photos by Ameeq Pirzada
Courtesy: Salt Arts
