arian in concert

bargeboo: a while back i talked about ohum and how they are leading the way for pop music in iran. their music although not classical, was not quite "pop" per say either. i won't get into the full intro of the ohum post. however, i will add that since ohum, there have been several other groups and solo singers, the most prominent being the arian group.

i had the pleasure of going to their concert as part of their first ever north amercian tour two nights ago and i have to tell you this was one of the most fun concerts i have attended, ever. and that should tell you a lot. since my arrival in canada 14 years ago, i have been working hard on nourishing my starving soul with all kinds of live music i have missed for the first half of my life.

first time i came across these guys was at a friend's party and they had a video of their concert on the projector in the background. We all watched in awe as the friend who had just arrived from iran explained how phenomenal these guys are and how popular they have become and so on and so on. the very first impression i had of them was the quality and richness of their music and lyrics. i grew up listening to "ab-gooshti" persian music from los angeles, with lousy lyrics and formula based music that did nothing except to get us to dance and vent our energy at parties. of course we had our favorites and we memorized them all but inspiring?  memorable?! pllleeeasse!

and here suddenly, there was this group of 20 -somethings, in mixed company no less, singing their hearts out about love and yearning to music that you not only could dance to but actually enjoyed and craved to listen to again and again ... and i was hooked. soon their first album was followed by their second and we made a point of buying the originals and not the boot leg copies so they could get some of the money as well. we listened to them often, we started to play them in dance parties and heard them played at some persian club nights we went to as well. every time that happened we smiled and beamed happily while stomping our proud feet to their beats!

just a note, i will not be talking about their music here much, only about the experience of seeing them in a live concert. there is much written on their music and style. i will however add that i love how most of their songs are about hope. bellow you will find a loose translation of one of their songs.

the concert hall although quite packed was not full. i wondered again and again why there were not more advertisements in the local newspapers and the main iranian tv show here in town. we only heard about them because we knew someone in the organization who had helped arrange the concert. i am sure many are very sad to have missed them.

although i had seen them in taped concerts, still it was a bit of a shock to notice how stiff they seemed on stage. there were 11 members in all (some new) so they took up a lot of space. with no decor and no special effects other than some back ground colour that changed every once in while, the scene looked hardly exciting. their costumes, brown and white leather outfits (leather being their signature style) would not have been my first choice, having seen more flattering ones on them before. the girls specially drew a lot of attention to themselves, particularly because they remained remote and aloof. even though the men were actively moving to the music, the girls hardly moved at all. often their hands folded or hidden behind them, they would only move forward a step to the microphone to sing their part and then they would move back again. hardly entertaining showmanship and yet ... after a while, they started to grow on us too. their lovely voices and their beautiful harmonies were adding a great punch to each piece.

and all their faces beamed with excitement.  they were constantly smiling, joking among each other and laughing playfully. once the first half hour was passed and we got used to their unique style and got over one of the girls repeatedly lifting her long coat to pull up her pants (!) we started to really get into it and appreciate their modest and down to earth approach.

the velvety voice of ali and the showmanship of payam (the two main vocalists) complemented each other so well that soon everyone was clapping and singing along energetically. and the energy level only went up as the night wore on. the show was supposed to be around 2 hours i was told but it went on for over 3 hours. their two mixes -new for these concert series- one with all their ballads and one with a series of their more energetic ones were fantastic. they repeated some songs three times even, to appease the audience. they played almost every song that was requested of them. there were even two occasions that the band was not ready to fully perform a piece and the singers sang with the piano only just to make people happy and we were happy indeed. i did wonder though about the main reason they decided not to sing the full version of "molla ali jaan". was it because we were the audience that we were? that song being the only one with religious lyrics about imam ali, prophet mohhamd's son-in-law brought about a joke among our friends: how ironic that they would sensor sexual content in iran and religious content outside of iran!

the last hour was remarkable in how much interaction was between the audience and the band. they worked so hard, they sang tirelessly and it was clear that they didn't want to leave just as we didn't want them to. contrary to what i had heard from their concerts in iran where people are often reminded to stay in their seats and refrain from any form of movement that could possibly resemble dancing, they sure made the best of being abroad! they not only invited everyone to dance and clap and whistle and "blow up the house", they joined in themselves with picking up the microphones and actually jumping around and moving energetically around the stage urging people on. something i had never seen in any of their taped concerts in iran. i am sure the fact that there were so many dancing girls in very revealing clothes in the audience did not escape their attention either!

i know this might not sound like a big deal outside of iran, where entertainers are expected to deliver a complete show with dancers and acrobatics and special effects - the more skin shown the better. music coming from iran would clearly not have any of these bonuses and yet the concert was remarkably entertaining and engaging.

above all, i enjoyed their attitude. no demy-god complex with these guys, oh no! quite the opposite in fact. i really liked how they would all regroup again and again to face the person who was delivering a solo bit to draw attention to that person only. they were going out of their way to make sure every person in the band was benefiting from the spotlight. their solo performances were very entertaining, lead by their energetic percussionist who was supposed to be particularly sensitive about the level of enthusiasm people showed! a silly little ploy to get people to make as much noise as possible but we all laughed and played along anyway.

payam one of the two vocalists of the group put it well when he said: "we want to show everyone that musical groups do in fact work in iran as well" and that is no small accomplishment.

it is interesting also to note that although very popular at home, out side of iran the range of people who enjoy their music is much wider, only too clear by the vast number of older generation in the audience that night.  in iran, they seem to attract a younger crowd, and mostly because their lyrics are sometimes childlike in their simplicity and beauty. outside however, their popularity is not only rooted in the weakness of their competition but also in the fact that they are truly from the motherland. they have had to face so many unimaginable challenges to get to where they are today, to secure funding, to get permission for every single song, to pass countless islamic filters to be able to even sing in a mixed group, and to travel abroad. perhaps the audience out here appreciates them on a very different way. i can only hope they don't get into too much trouble for dancing that much!

for those of us who so painfully miss iran, they brought with them a breeze, an almost intoxicating scent of iran; all that is beautiful and amazing about the iran we would like to remember and hope for. I will be sure to buy their third CD soon.

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* if you are just dying to hear them for yourself, here you will find all their three albums.
* arian website also features a 24 hours arian radio. go to their website and click on live radio.
* also have a look at this interesting review of their latest album, "ta binahayat" (till eternity). 
* and here is different take on this group from iranian critics from inside iran.

* translation of some of their lyrics from arian's first album, song titled: "sun flower"

the sunflower is forever waiting to see his beloved
but the sun is hidden behind a dark cloud
the sunflower finds it hard to wait
till the day the sun appears again, he will have to wait and wait

one day, i will take away the clouds covering sun's face
and will bring the perfume of a smile in my embrace
i will build bridges in the sky to reach you
stay always with me, you the sun, me that flower

one by one, one by one
we shall wipe the tears from every cheek
one by one, one by one
we shall fill all homes with happiness

i want these dark clouds that are covering up the sun
turn into rain but rain on the flower of hope
my two eyes are forever in love with your sky
and so i may stay forever your sunflower