Inspiration Tour Reviews...

[srinath]

Happened to come across a review of the New Jersey concert of SEL. For ppl planning to attend other concerts of SEL's Inspiration Tour, i'd suggest not to read this review & kill the suspense.. but u gotta knw, SEL rocked New Jersey.....

http://chunnibabu.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/shankar-ehsaan-loy-rock-new-jersey/



Me and my wife go to all sort of concerts – small or large, desi or pardesi. This was one of the best we have seen so far. And I don’t think any desi concert can even come close to this one. It was simply mind-blowing. The iZod center engineers have to re-evaluate it’s structure tomorrow because SEL nearly brought it down!

Guys if you haven’t bought the tickets for one of the future shows, you got to get it. You will never forget this show. Shankar Mahadevan knows how to do a show. From the moment he entered, the crowd just went wild and it just got better and better and better. Add to this the sheer power belted out from Ehsaan’s guitar and the mesmerizing jazz droplets from Loy’s keyboard and you get pure magic. Together they make the very best performers of India.

Well I will not break the suspense for you by listing all the songs they played here, but they played all their hits – Pretty Woman, Maa, Kajrare, Kal Ho Na Ho, Rock On – they were all there and sung flawlessly by Shankar. Watching shankar sing is like watching Tendulkar when he is in full form. Each and every person in the audience was dancing and swooning to their songs. The whole band came together really well. In addition to SEL, here were two drummers, one dhol player, one congo player, bassist, a keyboardist and I think a backup guitarist. Shankar’s introduction of his team was a feat to watch in itself. Raman Mahadevan and Mahalaxmi Iyer sang a couple of songs really nice. Mahalaxmi sang Aaaj Ki Raat from Don (Also featured in Slumdog Millionaire). It was a pleasure to watch all of them doing a beautiful chorus for the song Rock and Roll Soniye – the blues overtones by both Loy and Ehsaan for this song were so pleasing.

The show ran like a finely oiled machine – no glitches. No mic volume issue. No mixing issues. Very well mixed and controlled. There was just a large screen in the center with some graphics. No dancers or any other distractions. Just pure exhilarating music filling up the entire space.

Richa Sharma’s section was rather week or should I say disaster. I recommend the organizers to cut it to 1/4th or maybe eliminate it altogether. Her efforts to woo the public were sad and pathetic.

Shafqat Amanat Ali sang his songs and he was in top form. Khamaj, Yaman, Dum a Dum Mast Qalandar – it was all there. His band played very well and the extended solos played by his guitarist was terrific.

I actually feel very sad for all those people who went to see A R Rahman show hoping to hear songs from Rock On, Dil Chahta Hai, KANK, Kal Ho Na Ho and Bunty Aur Babli .

Overall, this is simply the best Indian performance I have seen. I would love to see SEL come back again in a couple of years and wish them all the best for the rest of the tour.

[Hari]

Thanks Srinath for digging it out.. SEL r baap(s) of concerts
_________________


SEL fan forever!!!

[GuitarGalNid]

Baap(s) of concert hariji? I'll have to say baap(s) period
Eagerly awaiting their concert in a couple of hours!!!

[Hari]

[Pranav]

I have been to an SEL concert at Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai about 5 years ago, and I was happy to see that the concert absolutely rocked with the same intensity I had seen then. I also love the fact that they are punctual (probably a 15 minute delay).

It was unfortunate that they ran out time - the main reason was Richa and Shafqat taking up the first 1.5 hrs of the show. The delay before the trio showed up and worked their magic was unbearable. They need to make their entrance right at the beginning and intersperse the other singers' performances. I was also shocked to see the stadium half-empty! People do not know what they are missing.

I do not know the background to the NJ show, but from hearing the organizer's speech, it was evident that this was a show that almost did not happen for some reason (politicking, slow ticket sales, maybe??)

[satavahana]

http://blog.mtviggy.com/2010/07/19/concert-review-shankar-ehsaan-loy-izod-center-nj-bollywood-trio-extraordinaire/

[satavahana]

http://wonderfullife-richa.blogspot.com/2010/07/rock-on.html

http://rantsnrevelations.blogspot.com/2010/07/shankar-ehsaan-loy-live-in-concert.html

[Hari]

Thanks sata
_________________


SEL fan forever!!!

[GuitarGalNid]

[Hari]

[srinath]

Three of the biggest names in Bollywood music made their respective ways to Los Angeles on August 1st, as Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, or SEL, brought their amazing talents to the Sports Arena for an evening concert in the shadows of the University of Southern California. A guitarist, composer, and music instructor who studied music with Mr. Bismarck Rodrigues, Ehsaan Noorani has won numerous awards alongside Shankar Mahadevan and Loy Mendonsa for their collective works in Bollywood, including three nods (National Film, Filmfare, IIFA) for Best Music Direction in Kal Ho Naa Ho. Among the other films Ehsaan has provided music for alongside Shankar and Loy are Bunty Aur Babli (Filmfare and IIFA Awards for Best Music Direction), Don – The Chase Begins, Taare Zameen Par, Rock On!!, My Name is Khan, and Tere Bin Laden.

Buzzine Bollywood’s Neha Sarin-Malhotra caught up with Ehsaan before his Los Angeles performance alongside Shankar and Loy on Sunday evening. Here is what one of Bollywood’s most acclaimed playback singers had to say:

Neha Sarin-Malhotra: You started in a jazz band, but now you are one of Bollywood’s elite musicians. How did the transformation happen?

Ehsaan Noraani: It was not so much from a jazz band; it was more like we were composing music for advertising, and from there, I met Mukul Anand who said that he was doing a film. So it was more through advertising that things worked out — advertising because Mukul Anand was a feature filmmaker who was also doing advertising.

NSM: Is that how you decided to give Bollywood a shot?

EN: In the beginning, I refused because the 1990s were not a very good time for Indian cinema. There were all kinds of weird directors and producers, but I knew Mukul well so I wasn’t very keen on stepping into this industry. He said, “Please, please, do one song,” so we did one song and we haven’t looked back since.

NSM: Did you study music in Los Angeles? And at what point did you take your talent seriously enough to make it a profession?

EN: Well, you know how one (can be) confuse(d) after finishing college about what to do next. (In) India, one, there are not a lot of options, and two, you don’t know if you are doing the right thing. You end up doing something because there is nothing else to do. So my folks said, “Why don’t you study music? We will send you.” I was very excited but also very scared about what I (was) going (to) do after I finished that one year of music.

NSM: How was your experience staying in Los Angeles? Any fond memories?

EN: I consider them the best years of my life because you are in an environment with so many musicians all the time, interacting with them and playing music with them and all the instructors. The guest faculty was very good. You meet the people who you have actually dreamt about, so it was lovely. My skill and knowledge went up tenfold.

NSM: How did the three of you (Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy), from different backgrounds and religions, come together?

EN: We’re used to working the studious, doing work for advertising. Shankar used to sing for us, and Loy and I were working together all the time. That’s how we came together. But we had so many influences.

NSM: This is your first time performing in the United States — how has the experience been so far?

EN: So far it’s been fantastic! All the shows that we have done have been rocking.

NSM: You have stayed in Los Angeles earlier, and now you are performing here. How excited are you?

EN: Life comes full circle, as I have studied here and now I am performing here. I am back here playing at the big arena (the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena). We are meeting friends everywhere, practically in every city that we are traveling to.

NSM: When the three of you are together, is it all play and little work or vice versa?

EN: Oh boy! People working with us think that these guys don’t take their work seriously. We have a lot of fun. There is a lot of joking all the time, and that’s how the experience should be — making music is all about fun. It should not be about sitting around and being serious.

NSM: When three minds come together, there are bound to be clashes. What eventually brings you guys back on the same page?

EN: Definitely, all the time! And it should be that way. If you “okay” each others work, the final product may not be as good. The thing is, finally the sing is the king — to compose the music and keep that as the focus. You have to make objective decisions about your music too. That really is what makes the product good.

NSM: What kind of music do you enjoy?

EN: I love the Blues, I love jazz, rock, film soundtracks, electronic music… But the Blues would be my favorite music.

NSM: Do you miss making that kind of music?

EN: Yes and no! That is not what I am doing full-time — this is my profession. We do have other bands that we play with and do that kind of music with.

NSM: I am sure composing for Rock On!! must have been crazy…

EN: Oh, it was really a lot of fun. It was something that was very close to us, especially Loy and me coming from that kind of background (in rock-and-roll). It came very naturally to us.

NSM: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (SEL) has created some groundbreaking music. Where do you guys draw the inspiration from?

EN: There is so much music that one listens to all the time when you are watching films. I’ve got more than 1,000 CDs kept at home — stuff I haven’t even heard as (of) yet. That is what you do — you listen to stuff and you let it inspire you, and of course the music you play makes a difference, as all three of us are musicians. An instrument dictates the way it’s composed. Loy’s piano playing dictates the way he composes, Shankar’s singing, and also Shankar himself plays keyboards very well.

NSM: What’s next for SEL?

EN: We have a bunch of films coming up. We have Patiala House, and we are working on Don 2 and Zoya Akhtar’s next film called Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and the remake of Stepmom called We R Family, which should be releasing in a few weeks. The film has Kajol and Kareena, and that film’s music has turned out very nice. We’re starting work on Shyam Bengal’s new film. So there are a bunch of nice films happening.

NSM: There were talks about a music school…?

EN: That is something we are still discussing. It will take a little while.

NSM: Is a non-film album by SEL on the cards?

EN: That is something we should have done a couple of years ago. In fact, every time we plan it, it gets postponed, but this year we are making a conscious effort to do the songs.

NSM: How have the audiences in the U.S. been treating you guys so far?

EN: It’s been very good. The thing is that a lot of people don’t know us as performers. They hear songs and they hear the singer’s names, but the audiences have gone back with an experience that they won’t ever forget.

http://bollywood.buzzine.com/2010/08/interview-ehsaan-noorani/

[srinath]

LOS ANGELES, CA - Though the Los Angeles Sports Arena was not quite as full as the organizers of the “Inspiration – Aman Ki Aasha” live concert may have hoped for it was more than enough to ignite the spark in the Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy Trio and their team in presenting a thunderous performance which often touched astounding decibel levels in the huge auditorium. The crowd just loved every moment of the almost four hour non stop extravaganza right till the very end close to midnight.

Full credit must go to the threesome who were able to get the best of the large contingent of performers to pull off a spectacular event. Shankar Mahadevan may well have been the commander of the show with Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendosa as his co-pilots but it was their magnanimity to pull away from the spotlight on occasion and expose the talent of their support staff however small a role, and their open appreciation of their efforts which made it a success.

Bollywood style dancers broke the ice with a spectacular number following which the emcee for the evening Ravi Raj took over the reins and started the evening off with his flamboyant style of delivery which brought in a roar from the audience as he announced the arrival of the ebullient Richa Sharma.

Sharma could not have given the show a better start. It is not an easy task to get a crowd in as large a venue as the Arena to speed but she did exactly that urging listeners to cast aside inhibitions and make a lot of noise be it by screaming, shouting or whistling. Hardly had the audience started getting comfortably seated than she had it out on the floor in front of the stage dancing their feet off in a disco club style scenario. She lit up the hall with a few boisterous Punjabi numbers, a rousing ‘Toba Toba Ishque Main Kareya’ and ‘Billo Rani’ and as she exited making way for the next artist, her fans were still left standing on the floor calling for more.

Introduced as a bridge of peace between India and Pakistan and a performer with the unique abilty to blend modern music with Pakistani classical by Ravi Raj, Shafqat Amanat Ali soon had the audience swooning with his ballads of love and romance as he mixed the styles in a few captivating ballads. Among crowd favorites were “Yeh Hausla Kaise Jhuke, Yeh Arzoo Kaise Rukhe and Mora Saiyan Mose Bole Na. As he made his way through the audience with a soulful “Aaj Jane Ki Zid Na Karo” he found an able partner in the audience and escorted her on to the stage to complete a duet with her. Shifting gears he moved on to his pacier numbers such as ‘Bin Tere’ and “ Tere Naina Re” an abbreviated version of “ Mitwa” and a scorching “ Mast Kalandar” before leaving with requests for encores ringing in his ears.

Then arrived the moment everyone was waiting for. With the volume turned to battleground proportions in a long musical instrumental introduction and through the midst of flashing strobe and streaking spotlights, the portly Shankar Mahadevan emerged on the stage from a smokey haze to a tumultuous welcome. The debonair Ehsaan Noorani placed himself on the left of the stage , his magic guitar in hand and the distinguished looking Loy Mendosa was seated on the right all set to let his fingers fly across the piano and keyboard keys.

Urging the crowd on with “ C’mon L.A. – I love people from LA” Mahadevan set it on fire from the word go with a blazing “ Jhoom Barabar Jhoom” joined by his troop of dancers and ending it in a volatile climax with the dancers accenting the finish with an acrobatic pyramid. From then on it was a fun fest of his popular work and he belted away into the hearts of the public with “Dil Chahta Hai” in which he involved the audience to sing pretending he had forgotten the words and needed their help to get him on track. He moved on to pay tribute to the women of L.A. in “Pretty Woman” before bringing the house crashing down with a pounding “Rock On.” His own pulsating brand of “Mast Kalandar” followed in a duet with Raman Mahadeven where he essayed on into several intricate classical phrases bringing spontaneous applause from the listeners. During the course of the song he engaged in brief rhythmic repartees with his percussionists in which he vocalized a series of complex arrangements which were replicated first individually on their instruments until in the end they combined into a cascading climax back into “Mast Kalandar.” During this session he also digressed into modernistic interpretations with exquisite expressions in partnership with the flamboyant guitar of Ehsaan Noorani and into the gentle flow of jazz with pianist Loy Mendosa leading the way.

Mahalaxmi Iyer calmed things down for a little while as she came on with a charming rendition of “ Chup Chup Ki Chorise”. But it did not last long as she also accelerated the pace to get the show back to its breakneck pace with a stormy “Aaj Ki Raat.” Towards the end of the number she was joined by a returning Mahadevan who then moved into full throttle with block and ear busters such as “Rock and Roll Soniye,” “Main Hoon Don,” and a repeat of “Mitwa” in collaboration with Shafqat Amanat Ali who had left it unfinished in his opening outing. In his piece “Rind Posh Maal” dedicated to world peace he went on a thrilling extempore sargam segment which covered three octaves at sizzling speed which even brought his special invitee, the several time Oscar and Grammy winning music director Gustavo Santaolalla to his feet in a tribute to his mastery.

Mahadevan did not disappoint his fans and delivered a fluent tongue twisting “Breathless” which left everyone in the auditorium breathless except him at its conclusion. The extravaganza ended with a flurry of Mahadevan’s top blistering best sellers such as “Where’s the Party Tonight” and “Kajra Re” excellently supported in the vocals by his fellow artists in the show, Raman Mahadevan and Anusha Mani.

The flow of events unfolding on the stage were timed to perfection and there was not a single moment lost in the intervals between the change of performers. These breaks were filled in by Ravi Raj who kept the attention of the audience away from the reorganization going on the stage behind him with his amusing anecdotes and poked light hearted fun at the quirks of communities from different parts of India.

Present at the event were the National Promoter Rakesh Kaushal of Shri Balaji Management and the Northern and Southern California Promoter Deepak Mehta of Mehta Entertainment. In a brief address Mehta expressed his happiness that he had been able to bring the show to the people of Los Angeles and would continue to strive to bring them more. He announced the next would be the rescheduled “Jai Ho A R Rahman-The Journey Home World Tour 2010” show which will be presented at the L.A. Forum on September 11. Also in attendance was the main sponsor Joel Zubaid .

http://www.indiajournal.com/pages/event.php?id=12025

[Hari]

Thanks sree
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SEL fan forever!!!

[vishv20]

Happened to be one in the audience watching the SEL show in Oracle Arena @ Oakland,California.

Must say was a great show!!

Started with Richa Sharma (One of my favourite singers),she started well with MNIK and Dum Mast but failed to impress after Billo Rani with her live performance. Shafqat came up next and immediately there was an impact on the sound quality and level of expertise.He sang Bin Tere and Mai Nai jaana,superb singing skills and had his own band.Then SEL showed up and Shankar showed why he is head and shoulders above the rest. He has amazing control over the song and voice even when he is singing loud numbers one after another.The trained singer in him shows in every lyric on the song he sings.The best song he sang was Tere Naina from CC2C and of course Maa from TZP.When he sang Rock On I was wondering why did Farhan sing the song.

Great show by Ehsaan and Loy. I was constantly watching Ehsaan with guitar, was awesome in Rock On songs.Loy on the keyboard shows why this is a trio MD that can compete with the BEST!!!

Cannot stress this enuf but Mahalaxmi Iyer( an extremely gifted singer) was underutilised.She sang Chup Chupke and made the song sound like a classic with her silken voice.Kudos!!

SEL ROCKS!! Will spend another 60 bucks to watch the show again!!

I have been on exclusive ARR shows @ Houston and Oakland and SEL have their own flavor...