Explosion - Oracle Arena Aug 8th 2009 - Sonu Niigaam, Sunidhi & Hard Kaur Rock

OAKLAND, Calif. — “Are you ready for some masti?” Sonu Niigaam shouted during his concert at the Oracle Arena Aug. 8. The audience roared in response, swept up in the rhythms of “Explosion 2009,” a nonstop blast of high energy Hindi film music, rap, bhangra and Indi-pop.

Niigam and his costars, Sunidhi Chauhan and Hard Kaur, put on a scorching show that offered up some old favorites — such as Niigaam’s trademark Rafi tribute songs and Chauhan’s fiery “Bidi” — and surprised with novelties like Hard Kaur’s dynamic raps and even a jaw-dropping Michael Jackson impersonation from Niigam, complete with moon walk.

The show kicked off at 9 p.m. with an introduction from emcee Raviraj and a brief performance by vocalist Ayub Khan, and came to life as Chauhan’s voice drifted in from offstage, building anticipation for what was to come. The young singer burst onto the stage with the animated “Hai aag yeh” and “Main saat samundar,” dressed in tight black jeans, a form-fitting black blouse and suede boots. Chauhan, like Niigaam, has been performing onstage since she was a child, and her onstage persona was breezy and confident as she boldly hit every high note with full-throated zeal.

Prowling the stage like a lioness, Chauhan cranked up the energy on songs like “Crazy kiya re,” “Dance pe chance” and the irresistible “My desi girl.”

Niigaam started his portion of the show with a long, challenging alaap marked by intimate, sinuous tones, his tenor voice sliding lightly up and down the scales as drums thundered behind him. His first song wasn’t one of his top hits — “Soniyo” from “Raaz 2” — but it set the right mood as he segued into faster material (“Aaja soniye”) and back again to the gentler strains of A.R. Rahman’s “Saathiya.” “Salaam-e-ishq” and “Om Shanti Om’s” “Main agar kahoon” were also highlights, and though Niigaam seemed at times distracted by sound problems with his earpiece monitor, it didn’t keep him from singing perfectly in tune and connecting earnestly with his audience.

Niigaam indulged the crowd’s love of old songs with “Bachna ae haseeno” and “Mere sapnon ki rani,” as well as a moving medley of Mohammed Rafi songs that included the powerful “O duniya ke rakhwale.”

Hard Kaur’s brazen blast of hip-hop was charmingly offset by a sweet grin. Accompanied by the show’s crack team of dancers, Kaur — India’s first female rapper — is a hit-maker who has appeared on the soundtracks to “Singh Is Kinng,” “Kismat Konnection” and “Ugli aur Pagli.”

She grinned nonstop as she and the dancers, in matching velour tracksuits or gold sequined hoodies, performed to the pounding beats of “Mr. Hero,” “Move your body” and “Ek glassi,” later whipping off her jacket to show off a large winged-dragon tattoo.

Saluting the Punjabis, Gujaratis and Pakistanis, Kaur laughed and said, “Don’t be segregating — South Asians in the house!”

After guest artist Gunjan sang a Pussycat Dolls version of “Jai ho,” Chauhan returned for a version of “Jhoom barabar jhoom” and “Bidi,” and Niigaam came back onstage to invite the audience to sing along to his “Kabhi alvida naa kehna.”

But the biggest surprise of the evening came when Niigaam sat by himself on a plain wooden box and beat out a pulse that morphed into the opening rhythms of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.”

Niigaam usually does impersonations of other Hindi singers at his live shows, but this time the audience was dazzled by the vocalist’s bold performance — purely Indian, but respectful of Jackson, and purely original.

Chauhan and Niigaam joined forces for a memorable, understated performance of “Mere haath mein” from “Fanaa.”

To close the show, organizers Deepak Mehta and Mannu Mehta of Mehta Entertainment, and national promoter Rocky Kaushal, joined the artists onstage, and the Mehtas announced the launch of Deepak Mehta’s new lifestyle magazine.

The show was preceded by the Global Bhangra Competition 2009, presented by Mehta Entertainment and Atwal Entertainment. The Bay Area Bhangra Club of San Jose took the top prize, followed by two Canadian troupes, PCBCA of Abbotsford, British Columbia, and Shan-e-Punjab of Surrey, B.C.

“Explosion 2009” will appear Aug. 16 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. For more information, visit www.superentertainmentinc.com or call (310) 829-2985.

By BY LISA TSERING
indiawest.com
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