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Concert Review: Ankit Tiwari 2015 (London)

Concert details:
Date: 9th August 2015
Location: SSE Arena, Wembley, London

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It was Ankit Tiwari’s first concert tour in the UK and it came with much promise. Apart from the fact that the tour was postponed by a week, it would be a positive to have an award-winning singer and composer on UK turf.

Mohammed Irfan was the first act, and he had a mountain to climb in order to pull the crowd back as there was almost an hour’s delay before the start time advertised. What didn’t help was that the sound technicians were still fighting to get the sound out right. He did extremely well to warm up the crowd, and had the audience on his side after the first few lines. His extremely powerful voice was not what many would have been expecting, it just blew the crowd away. The disappointing thing was that the sound technicians were still conducting sound checks and mic checking backstage whilst Irfan was mid set. He was forced to stopped singing at one point, glancing over to his right at the techs using the ‘what’s going on’ gesture. Either way, the sound techs eventually got themselves together, and Irfan’s cheeky personality won the crowd back. His standout performance would have to be Banjaara��(‘Ek Villain’)��as the song arrangement had been changed to include an uptempo, middle eastern sound, which really captivated the audience. Some of this early songs that he recorded with AR Rahman were also included. Other songs included Baarish & Dard Dilo Re.

Asides from a killer voice, Shilpa Rao was also very fun, lively, and interacted naturally with the crowd. At one point mid set, she asked the crowd “Do you want a boring song or a fun song?” She just oozed confidence, it definitely did seem like she was performing her first Wembley gig. It was like she was chilling with her friends – that was a real plus point. Her standout performance would have to be Malang��(‘Dhoom 3’). She added extra add libs, and really made an effort to perform it differently from the original, leaving us with feeling that we got something special for that night only. Others she performed included Khuda Jaane & Meherbaan.

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On to the headline act, Ankit Tiwari, and he definitely showed that he is talent not to be reckoned with. Not only did he given a absolutely rocking performance, he really took it to another level, interacting with the audience. He even came into the audience and sang Sun Raha Hai from the front row of the stalls. Although that was a great performance, there were actually a few on the night. The ones worthy of shortlisting include Galliyan too��but for a bang on entrance song, his version of Tu Jo Hain was out of this world. It made for a good alternative indie rock gig, and this was definitely hitting those hardcore strings – all the crowds needed to do was lose the seats and enjoy the music! Other songs he performed included, Katra, Kabira, & Tum Hi Ho with the backing of one of his female vocalists. Song after song, it was faultless & effortless – the true sign of someone that is here to make leave his mark in Bollywood and beyond.

By Ambo Magic