Islamabad, Oct 1: The more adventurous side of Islamabad came out at a rock concert that was sold out at a total of 300 tickets at Kuch Khaas Friday night.

The concert was a two-band affair including Saturn and Qayaas. Attracting a different crowd from the usual, this time the crowd was filled with young teens ready to use their excess energy and head bang their night away while shyly conscious of other eyes around them.

This concert was unique because of the genre it promoted. Rock music in Pakistan had a boom with Call and EP; however, it has been going through a period of bust. Talking to Saturn, the band members explained that the fact that rock is not very easy listening and also competition from more commercialised Indian media makes it harder for rock musicians to break into the industry.

They added that the burst of the rock bubble is sad “because we (Pakistanis) missed out on the accumulation of knowledge that occurs when something evolves.” Thus, they have struggled with finding supporting labels and sponsors and have personally financed everything they have done till now. Their first album is set to be released in December.

However, a lack of money never makes musicians bad and Saturn put on a good performance on Friday night. They played their own songs as well as did some covers like that of “Toxicity” by the System of a Down and “Dil Dil Pakistan”. By the third song, they had the crowd up on their feet and close to the stage all warmed up.

As with any new rock band, part of proving their mettle in Saturn’s performance was long solos and involved riffs to prove their prowess. Qayaas, however, took the stage with a lot more confidence. By the first song, the young crowd had been replaced by bigger, bearded studs and punk divas and the amount of sweat in the crowd upped proportionally.

Qayaas put a more mature and stronger performance and had a good rapport with the audience. With a slower start than Saturn, theirs was a more measured performance without heavy guitar interruptions. Their song ‘Umeed’ had the crowd swooning to a catchy melody and completely engrossed in the performance.

Qayaas has been making a space for itself in the music scene by winning awards like the Jack Daniel’s Rock Award (in association with Rolling Stone) for best Rock band in Pakistan. The competing bands included established names like EP and Call but Qayaas beat them all. Now the band has been nominated for the IndieGo award for best Rock band in Asia and keeping its fingers crossed in the hopes of winning it.

In a conversation with Khurram Waqar, the guitarist for Qayaas, Waqar informed Dawn that it is a misconception that there is no market for rock music. Rather, he said, “We need to let the public enjoy and release their energy instead of using it in negative ways. The market for rock music is from teens to the 30s. Our target market is the same and people this age form a large part of Pakistan’s population. The market just needs to be tapped into.”

However, he added, that he is confident about Qayaas’ future in spite of choosing a genre that does not receive much commercial support because Qayaas is a global band. With Eva Dawood productions from America supporting Qayaas and opening new markets for them, ranging from America and Europe to Asia, Qayaas is planning to win over world audiences with their next English album.

Qayaas and Saturn’s dedication to rock is unquestionable. It was no surprise to find out that their concert at Kuch Khaas was organised from their own funds and that they continue to strive on without financial support for the love of music. Waqar added that even the underground music scene in Lahore and Islamabad is very active and happening and there are a number of fine musicians in the making. Rock might be preparing to revolutionise Pakistan yet.