Kiddan people!
I was also at the show & THE SHOW WAS AWESOME!!
As soon as I heard of the concert, we decided we were going to go but were very dissapointed when I found out that all the acts were going to perform as PA's! I couldn't understand why anyone would want to organise a 'Legends of Bhangra Show' with all The Legends performing as PA's. I felt it would've been an insult to them & told the acts that myself as well.
I give maximum respect to Britasia & M'Box for listening to the request of all the fans (including me & my bro) & changing the show from being a set of PA's to everyone performing LIVE!!
The live band consisted of:
Harry Matharu & Boota Jagpal - Keys
Juggy Rihal - Tabla & Dholki
Happy Bain - Drums
Prem - Bass
Steve - Guitar
2 singh's whose name I don't know but they were good - Dholis
Ninder performed tabla with Achanak & his son played the dhol. Ninder still kicks it on the tabla.
Bhupinder played the violin with Heera & added that special touch.
Malkit Singh & DCS peformed with their own live bands, for reasons only known to them, but it was fine I guess. Malkit was good, but I have lost all respect for DCS so not going to say much about them.
Bhujangy performed with their own dholi (also leader of Eternal Taal Dhol Group) & backing vocals by their own band. They performed well.
PREMI & Azaad were the only LIVE PA's for one reason or the other.
I think the session band did excellently in lieu of the fact that the decision to go live was only made about 2 weeks before the show. And to rehearse close to 26-30 songs in 2 weeks is a great achievment & they deserve full credit for that They were a big hand in making the night a success in my opinion!!
The order of performances (if I remember correctly was as follows):
SHAKTEE (great opening act)
MESHI (very powerful performance)
ACHANAK (brilliant to see them live in the UK after so long & great intro)
SAFRI (reminded me of the old uni days)
PARMINDER AZAAD (would have been better with the the live band)
DCS (the less said about them the better. Have lost all respect for them, just like they have no respect for their fans)
PARDESI (still have the pardesi music machine feel & were excellent. Silinder's little rendition about live music was great as well)
PREMI (still the king of live PA's. Are good with a live band as well)
APNA SANGEET (all I can say is that they are the best bhangra band in the world)
BHUJANGY (true legends & still going strong)
HEERA (a pleasant surprise)
MALKIT SINGH (had the longest performance & didn't let down).
The medley at the end with all of the bands was good as well. This was all a live PA. Would've been interesting to see this with the live band as well.
HS TALWAR couldn't perform his individual live slot due to personal issues, but managed to perform as part of the medley which was good.
The whole show was hosted by AMARJIT SIDHU, who in my opinion (and I'm sure a lot of other people's as well) is a true legend in himself & he was the best choice of host for this show.
SUKHI BART made a brief appearance on stage as well & was his usual self. Lively & funny.
I agree that alcohol shouldn't be served at these type of family events as it ruins it for people that have come with their families, especially when people keep dancing in the aisles & blocking everyone's view!!
All in all, it was an excellent night. To see all the legends all under one roof, performing live & singing their greatest hits (I didn't mind listening to soho road again), was a once in a lifetime experience. I'm sure these kind of events will take place a lot more now, so I would recommend anyone who missed this event, to try & go to one of the next ones for a great night out with the family!!
WELL DONE TO EVERYONE INVOLVED WITH THE ORGANISATION OF THE SHOW, AS WELL AS ALL THE PERFORMERS!!
There is a full thread on the show here:
punjab2000.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Bhangra&action=display&thread=16038
