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Pakistani super-group Junoon, the three member band,
consisting of Salman, Ali and Brian,
with its first concert in Toronto, played to about 16,000
jumping Junoonis at Molson Amphitheatre. “It was a musical
fusion of classic rock, folk, jazz and selected excerpts from
the Qur'an,”says The Toronto Star in its report on the event.
The
show was advertised as Desi Peace Concert – a great combination
of Sufi Rock and
Punjabi Bhangra and lived up to its name.
The
event also featured Pakistani idols Fakhr Alan and Abrar-ul-Haq
and was a celebration of musical diversity spanning rap, folk
and modern rock. They sang mostly in Urdu- their style blended
Western pop music with folk songs from Punjab and Sindh and
Qawaali.
The diversity of Junoon’s music
reflects the background and make-up of the group - that started
to produce their own music in 1990 – vocalist Ali Azmat,
guitarist Salman Ahmed and American bassist Brian O’Connell, all
in their late 20s.
Junoon
means obsession and passion. It does not ring a bell with the
North American music fans, but is a household name for Greater
Toronto’s 500,000 South Asians, who danced in traditional and
modern dancing in front of the stage.
"This
is the biggest Pakistani event ever to happen in Canada,"
organizer Zia Mashhadi claimed. Junoon has even managed to make
a Junooni out of Pakistani ambassador Tariq Altaf.
The group is on a 12-city world
tour and has performed at New York’s Central Park and Paris’
Music for Peace Concert.
In
1998, the group received an award from the United Nations for
promoting peace in South Asia. The U.N. appointed their
bandleader, Salman Ahmed, honorary ambassador for Aids awareness
last month.
The concert here was presented by
TRANSAM Video, Adnan Bashir, Nabeel Khan, Raza Khan and Zia
Mashhadi and was sponsored by Oakville Honda, Dufferin Mazda,
Etobicoke Motors, House of Mehran, Sare-e-Rah Restaurant and
Popeye Chicken.
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