X-treme

One helluva of a rock show!!!

by SUBEL BHANDARI

FROM ISSUE # 119 (November 2005) | IN THIS ISSUE
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ANUP PRAKASH Rock fans: (centre) Crown Prince Paras with his daughter, Princess Purnika and son, Prince Hridayendra at his side.

Who said rock is dead? The 25,000 rock fans that showed up at the X-treme Rock Show 2062 on 29 October can't be wrong. With the five greatest Nepali rock bands, the concert of the year was history in the making. No rock show here has seen so many people.

To add to the excitement, the show was opened by a surprise guest appearance. British musicians, who on 17 October, set a record for the world's highest gig, performed three acoustic folk numbers. But it was 1974 AD, our very own Nepali singers, who grabbed the audience. The AD performed six hit numbers.

Manoj KC of 1974 AD forgets his guitar and starts dancing.

Cobweb, the oldest rock band performing, played their hits Maryo ni maryo, Mercedez Benz, and Timro maya from their last album Swing. Dibesh Mulmi's rocking guitar performance has not diminished one bit though this was their first public performance since last Tihar. The audience loved them.

X-mantra was next and though the band members have changed, they still have their act together. They began with Pink Floyd's Another brick in the wall and what a performance it was. Though X-mantra has diehard metal fans, Saturday's gig, which was their first at such a concert, proved that they definitely have the X-factor. And surprise, surprise, Crown Prince Paras arrived as chief guest of the show.

X-mantra's vocalist Rojesh carried away.

Robin and the New Revolution. What more must we say? Screams and cheers greeted them as they took centre stage. Robin's high wire energy captivated the audience. As usual, Robin and the New Revolution left the audience wanting more.

The closing act was The Axe, performing their raw power numbers. Fans loved Sarad's guitar playing. It had been quite some time since the group had performed at such an event, and boy, they were terrific. When MC Prashan, of Rhythm Brothers fame, declared the end of the four-hour concert, the audience were reluctant to go. For the love of rock music, and maybe a SIM card from Mero Mobile, the turnout was incredible. WAVE was the official media for the event. Kudos to Dynamic Era Vision, the organisers. They did a fantastic job.