KARACHI: It was evident at ‘The Big Night Out’ on Tuesday that it is the fusion of eastern and western music that is appreciated by most people in Karachi.

Held at the Pakistan American Cultural Center, by the US consulate, the concert had five performances by musical bands — Sikander Ka Mandar, Bell, Sharjie, Sounds of Kolachi and a band named Natasha, Humera and Ejaz.

Sitting amidst the audience was Todd Puckhaber of South by Southwest (SXSW), a music festival booker and programmer from Austin, Texas. On a visit to Pakistan, he has arranged music festivals with 20 countries so far which has a turnout of over 300,000 people annually. Introducing him, City FM 89, RJ Sundus, said he is on a lookout for a band to represent Pakistan on the international forum. The bands that took to the stage from then onwards sang original scores presenting a variety of genres. Every band sang four musical scores. Sharjie and his band were the most shy among the lot. Going on first with their performance, Sharjie sung ‘Hockey and Karachi’. The songs were more suited for a lounge audience than the one present at the PACC, who seemed in the mood to hear some good rock music or at least a lively one.

The next band in line was Bell. With Abid Haider and Waqas Jamshed on guitars, Shahab Hussain sang ‘Hamara Sayyara’ (Our Planet). Playing a cajon and kazoo, Hussain managed to gain the attention of the audience with his next song called ‘Desire’. The song was more in tune with the recent demands by some political parties to stop drone attacks. With a set of well-meaning lyrics and good guitar back-up, Hussain’s desire to protect his motherland from drone attacks, hit a chord with the audience.

Guitarist Abid Haider sang a heart-rending amalgamation of Bob Dylan’s ‘Times they are a Changing’ and Habib Jalib’s poetry ‘Main Nahi Manta’. The band had its heart in the right place as the song paved the way for the next set of performers.

With their first song, Sounds of Kolachi turned the entire concert in their favour. Ehsan Bari and his team of Napa graduates and students of music presented an excellent performance that made even the most cynical amidst the audience take notice. Starting off with their first song, Allah he daiga, they focused on a person’s relationship with his Creator. And how, as Bari added in his introduction, that relationship is being misrepresented and misinterpreted by some people. With a mixture of Sufi poetry and an added dose of sitar and sarangi, the band got a standing ovation from the audience by the end of their performance which was electrical to say the least. Their next song ‘Laakh jatan kar haari’ was a fusion of eastern melody with rock. And the band definitely rocked, including the audience with them through the highs and lows of the song.Their next song was an original score and a tribute to “the first fusion maestro of our subcontinent, Hazrat Ameer Khusrau” announced Bari. Based on the lines of a tarana (a Persian word meaning song), the performance started with a dua. The audience was hooked with the songs sung by Bari (and his team) as the concert went on till late night.