For more than a decade it seemed impossible but as they say in showbiz ‘never say never’. Junoon finally reunited for a concert and gave Karachi a night to remember forever. Those of you who are living under a rock or had yet to grace the world with their birth during the 90’s, Junoon is known as South Asia’s biggest rock band and that’s truly saying something.

But as a fan of the rock band from the 90’s, it was almost surreal for me. I sang along to their timeless tunes, I danced and head-banged, I almost cried as I was overwhelmed by their music, surrounded by thousands of fans going through the same emotions. It was epic. I have to give it to Peek Freans Sooper for organizing it and putting it all together. For those of you who missed it, here’s how it went.

The trio of Salman Ahmed, Ali Azmat and Brian ‘O’ Connel took the stage and boy was it a sight to behold.

The sufi rock group’s entry on the main stage was enough to captivate the entire arena. Being accompanied by a poetic voice over the spectacle was surely surreal.  As soon as the voice-over ended, the band immediately started performing  ‘Junoon sey aur ishq sey..’ , which made even the most cynical us hope for a better tomorrow.  Following this, Junoon went on to wake up the ‘Shaheens’ , playing powerful numbers such as ‘Khudi ko kar buland itna‘ and ‘Zamanay kay andaz Badley Gaye‘ both of which are based on Iqbal’s poetry.

It was when the band played ‘Sayonee’ and ‘Saein’ that lit up the entire crowd

At this point the entire audience irrespective of age was completely mesmerized by Salman Ahmed’s psychedelic guitar tone accompanied  traditional tabla sound. You had 40-year-olds singing along word to word reminiscing about their youth on one hand. On the other, you had the millennial break out into ‘dhammal’ completely mind blown by what they had just discovered. Among other numbers the band also played tracks like Khwab and Sajna, a gift perhaps to the hardcore Junoonis in the crowd.

 

Let’s not forgot about the heartfelt tribute Junoon gave to the late Junaid Jamshed

Salman Ahmed midway through the event told the crowd about his last emotional encounter with Junaid Jamshed. He talked about how Junaid just a day before his unfortunate demise had a chat with him and told him how he longed for a Junoon reunion. Following the speech, the band performed Dil Dil Pakistan wherein Salman Ahmed did the vocals. The band dedicated the track to Junaid Jamshed and his family that was also present in the crowd.

 

Towards the end, the band performed Jazba Junoon and everything was on fire ….literally !!!!

Amazing fireworks accompanied the performance giving Karachi an early new year.

The opening acts  were pretty amazing too and perhaps a few of them could eventually take up the mantle from Junoon

Each band held its own. You had Lyari Underground, Khumariyaan, Sounds of Kolachi and Tamasha. All of them different from each other yet equally impressive.

Sooper hai Pakistan Ka Junoon was perhaps the grandest concert that took place in the country which could be seen not only as a resurrection for Junoon but for concert culture that died down in the past as well.

Were you there to attend the concert? What did you think about Junoon’s epic comeback? Let us know in the comments section below.

This post has been sponsored by Peek Freans Sooper.