Lucky Ali - Live in concert wasn't so lucky for his fans

Hyderabad was all so excited to hear and see Lucky Ali performing Live and starting his 25 city Rastaman Tour. The banners were all around the city and online and offline ads were flying by. Being a Lucky Ali fan I was too damn excite to watch him perform at a venue not so far from the city. 

I entered the closed auditorium to see the seats already filled. I wasn't late to the show mind you. Out of the dark stage emerged the emcee who was doing incredibly terrible. He seemed to be a last minute adjustment and all he was doing was taking names of the sponsors again and again and again. After some anxious moments  appeared the star of the evening and introduced his younger brother Mansoor Ali. Mansoor opened the show on a sad note and expressed his grief and extended his support to a grieving cricketer father. He sang almost 3 songs. Did i say 'sang'? Shacks. He actually was lip synching, thanks to his apparent cold. He was terrible and he confessed that he is not even 1% of his elder brother. How so true?

Then came Lucky Ali dressed in an elegant gray Kurta. The crowd jumped in excitement and awe only to discover an ultra bad sound system and improperly set microphones. Lucky began with a brief introduction of his troupe which primarily had his family members, most of this intro went unheard sadly.  

From song one, Lucky himself and the crowd were not enjoying anything because the volume of vocals was too less and that of bass was too loud. And then as surprise came the microphone feedback. Lucky was trying his best to give a good performance but then he gave up. After some struggle with his microphones he announced that he is not enjoying the show as much as he wanted and he'll get back after a break. During the break, the technicians seemed to be testing the equipment to no avail. 

The funniest part of the whole evening was the camera man on stage. He wasn't alone, he had a youngster trailing behind with a bunch of wire so that it doesn't get entagled. Reminded me of the camera persons hired at weddings. It really was not an inch close to be called Professional. 

After the so called testing and fixing Lucky, came back and it was still the same, although there was a difference in the audio output (almost negligible). He retired from the stage after a handful of songs and some from his father Mahmood's films too.  Lucky departed on a reminding note of his new album RASTAMAN, a.k.a Exsuie and that it is available for free download online. Apart from Lucky's voice amidst all those chaos, the violinist stood out. He was just amazing.

Apart from the mic and the acoustics, the camera work was aweful, the lighting was confusing, the cameramen had no clue who to focus on and when to switch frames. There was a constant disturbance and discomfort in the audience. People seemed more interested in the drinks than in the songs. 

This is just a Lucky Ali fan's voice of disappointment and perhaps Lucky should check the systems before stepping on stage and the great organisers of the event should learn to get professional. It is always not just about the advertisement. Hope Lucky Ali comes back to Hyderabad once again. I wish him a great life and a wonderful Rastaman Tour ahead.