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Heavy metal thunder
They were introduced as progressive rock stars of the country. Till they started to play, nobody knew whether that was a good thing or not. Heck, before Mizraab even took the floor, a couple of young lads thought they had wasted their time – “buying tickets to attend a Mizmaar concert.” It took another buddy to make them realize that it was Mizraab and not Mizmaar. Still, the evening turned out to be a scene from hell’s gates, something that is regarded more with glee than with fear in the world of rock.
Mizraab is no ordinary band. Sure, the mainstream has yet to hear of them, and they are partly responsible for this, as they have not hyped themselves properly, but those who know Faraz Anwar, also know his projects are anything but easy listening. And so, loud was the word that evening. Mizraab was performing to a full house on a Thursday night at M Live, which had put its operations on hold for Ramazan.
A lot of Mizraab’s songs cannot be named, simply because of the fact that the band didn’t bother to introduce them. But that was irrelevant. What mattered was the feeling of emancipation when the rush of notes stormed the ears
The first pre-performance jolt one got was the absence of Khalid Khan, the band’s bassist, better known as Khalid bhai to his fans and those in the industry. At first, it seemed a hijacking had taken place, but someone from Mizraab’s crew announced that Khalid had quit to devote his energies full time to the raging Aaroh. But luckily, Faraz had brought along another bassist. Alas, nobody knew who the little guy was as no one had bothered to introduce him, yet he still did a commendable job with the bass lines. Also in the limelight was Pakistani rock’s jungli sher, Babar Sheikh, who played both the master of ceremonies and part-time musician that night. Apparently, Faraz and Babar go back a long way for as the Northern Alliance man put it, “Mizraab is practically my band. Faraz and I put it together.”
Things didn’t start rolling till 11, even though the time printed on the invitation was 9pm for those who could read. The night clearly belonged to Faraz, who is Mizraab’s lead vocalist and lead guitarist. He, along with drummer Irfan, rhythm guitarist Jamie and the still unknown new chap on bass, shrieked, banged and strummed their instruments to the limit. Special kudos to Faraz who showed remarkable skills. His fingers rotated at supersonic speed for the better part of the evening. The coherence of the fretwork, from the fingerboard to the ridges, was sensational. A lot of Mizraab’s songs cannot be named, simply because of the fact that the band didn’t bother to introduce them. But that was irrelevant. What mattered was the feeling of emancipation one felt when the rush of notes stormed the ears. However, hardcore fans of the band revealed that amongst others, the band performed their standards Insaan, Izhaar and Panchi.
Among the notables who sat and witnessed this sonic séance were Ali Noor, Ali Azmat, Gumby, and a whole lot of other music buffs. The night came to an end at the stroke of midnight, when Ali Azmat and Ali Noor decided to go.
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