ISLAMABAD: Let it be remembered that on a balmy summer evening, the capital’s music lovers were introduced to a group of six young men from Lahore who played a different kind of music.

This ragtag ensemble, calling themselves Poor Rich Boy (or The Toothless Winos), stole the show at the second day of the Music Mela at the Pakistan National Council of Arts.

Lead vocalists Shehzad Noor and Umer ‘Duck’ Khan, lead guitarist Zain Ahsan, bassist Zain Molvi and drummer Ravail Sattar mesmerised the audience with their unique sound.

Opening with tracks from their last EP, Old Money, Alice and Fair Weather Friend, the band that only be safely classified as one of Pakistan’s foremost alternative music groups turned the smoky, well-lit stage at the PNCA into some sort of surreal, almost Beckett-like experience.

Poor Rich Boy have toured Islamabad before and played gigs at venues such as Kuch Khaas.

But the thrill of a bigger stage is obviously more appealing and it certainly looked like these talented musicians were giving it their all on Saturday night.

Other performers at the second day of the Music Mela included Dr Masuma Anwar, local acts Saakin, the veterans from Malang Party and Qayaas.

“It is a special time, concerts like these, and they make you think that there is nothing else except the music in that moment,” said Ozair Idrees, a fan of rock music.

Dr Masuma, in her signature rhythmic voice, fused folk and classical beautifully in her renditions of Lutna, Chori Chori and Ni Main Kamli.

“One can never go wrong with a Poor Rich Boy concert,” said Uzma Ahmad an avid fan of the alternative band.