[fromusawithluv]

I wanted to revive that thread.  There were some excellent replies/posts on it!

This was the experience I had:

I went to the most amazing Ghazal concert hosted by the local Rotary Club. The singers mostly sang in Urdu, and a little Marathi at the end - as they were originally from Nagpur, M. I could hardly understand the meaning of the words, but I had goosebumps all over from the music. Time stopped! It was truly euphoric! The music was emotional and beautiful...and if I may say..passionate.

I really believe music is a universal language!

Have you ever been to a live (Indian music) concert in India? Carnatic, Hindustani, Ghazal, Film, Folk, etc.? Where? When? What was your experience?

[Somerset]

Probably my most enjoyable concert was Zakir Hussein and L. Subramanian a few years ago. I will never forget Zakir Hussein's flying hair and what he did with the tabla. Unbelievable! No recording I have heard of his really recreates how he made the tabla sound that night.

Last year I saw Ravi and Anoushka Shankar. I don't pretend to understand ragas, and this was my first sitar concert. I didn't expect to love it, but I did. The music was great (although I understand it was more complicated than I was able to appreciate), and the interaction between father and daughter was very interesting. The old man's hands flew over the neck of the sitar; he lead and the daughter attempted to follow. I don't think she was successful for the most part, even though she is a respected musician in her own right. Great night of music.

[crvlvr]

Going to a Zakir concert tonight, Will report tomorrow. http://www.uclalive....sp?Event_ID=296

[Casey]

While in Panjim we saw a play that was put on at the end of the street., which was blocked off to traffic.  We were sort of peering in and were waved over to some chairs.  It was great.  While we didn't understand a word of it, and it was blisteringly loud, we both managed to piece together a story.  It was quite a modern play, complete with a crooked cop.  There was music and singing and just a great event that we happened to stumble on.  That's what's so amazing about India.  A simple walk ends up being hugely entertaining.

[WonderWomanUSA]

fromusawithluv, on May 3 2006, 09:32 PM, said:

Have you ever been to a live (Indian music) concert in India? Carnatic, Hindustani, Ghazal, Film, Folk, etc.? Where? When? What was your experience?

Years ago, in what was then Madras, I went to hear Professor CV Jog play Carnatic music on a violin. The concert was in a huge hall, and it was packed. Children ran around, people milled around, ate and chatted, and all the while the musicians played. The music was beautiful, but it was so chaotic that I couldn't keep my mind on it.

Another year, I went to a couple of private concerts given by teachers in the homes of their students. Those were more peaceful and again, the music was divine! I don't know if I could sit on the floor for four hours at this part of my life!  

[crvlvr]

crvlvr, on May 4 2006, 01:11 PM, said:

Going to a Zakir concert tonight, Will report tomorrow. http://www.uclalive....sp?Event_ID=296

Zakir Hussain presents Masters of Percussion
with special guests Ustad Sultan Khan
and the dancing drummers of Manipuri Jagoi Marup

Fazal Qureshi, tabla and kanjira
Taufiq Qureshi, percussion
Bhavani Shankar, pakhawaj and dholak

The concert was typical Zakir flair. If you have never seen him perform, you must at least once in your lifetime.  the complexity of the beats, speed, the sounds(including train, rain, thunder etc) he can get out of a table is mind blowing.  

Anyways, this concert  was more a precussion concert featuring Indian precussion instruments  with a minor role for striinged instruments (sarangi and sitar). The concert was not a "heavy duty" classical concert and featured lighter moments when the sitarist  playing Beethoven's Fur Elise.  Hardcore Indian music afficanodos may have felt jilted. But, the lighter side of concert appealed to the broader audience.

It seemed that the concert was more to providing exposure to other indina musician (including two of Zakir's brothers). Apparently, classical usic in India is going through a lean phase and losing popularity and the current generation of master want to make sure that the art will not die with them.

[paan wallah]

some years ago I had been to the 25th anniversary concert from Jethro Tull in chennai

sponsored by pepsi-cola

no alcohol allowed,because it was in front of the ymca

very good mood ,Indians dancing with us foreigners

which was in the end too much for the police who fineshed the concert very unpleasantly

jethro tull had some "minor" technical problems

so,for example you heard the flute of Ian (must have been play back) but he wasn t playing.....

a minute later he was playing the flute,but no sound .....

and so on

so it wasn t all life    lot of playback


had been to a death metal concert in darjeeling which was very strange

apart from these concerts I had seen quite a few classical concerts in India

[Lawrence of Suburbia]

Recently I had the privilege of attending a private recital of sitar duo Pt. Shivnath Mishra and Deobrat Mishra, with tamboura and table accompaniment, at some friend's home in Seattle. There were maybe 30 or 40 people there, the program was great, with virtuosic playing by both father and son. Occasionally when playing unison lines, they would play a line in harmony, a rather unusual thing for Indian classical music! (A bit like hearing the Allman Bros. on sitars for a moment.) And, the Mishras actually took requests; I called out "Raga Patdip" and they played a small bit of it. Actually, if they'd played all of the requests we'd be sitting there still, so they wisely played "abridged" versions of these ragas, some of which can progress for over an hour. One of my friends prepared a big vat of hot chai for the occasion, so I was in my element!

The Mishras are touring the U.S. at the moment, raising funds for their school of traditional Indian music in Varanasi; apparently the desire among the younger generation in India to continue this unbelieveably rich musical tradition is waning. Patronage is needed to ensure that future generations will be able to experience Indian classical music & dance.

If you see the Mishras advertised at a local concert or folk festival, I can recommend them highly. Their website is www.music-of-benaras.com

Cheers
Bruce

Edited by Lawrence of Suburbia, 27 June 2006 - 10:52 AM.