Rocking the stage

Artcell (left) and Bohemian perform at the concert.

Finally, after four years, the Fu-Wang Club in Dhaka opened its gates for some headbanging and electrifying music. A concert, titled 'Rock the Stage,' featuring Artcell, Powersurge, Shunno, Arbovirus, Bohemian, Mechanix, Alternation and other bands was held at the club on October 9. The concert was organised by Ucchas Ltd.
Due to several fiascos in and around the venue, Fu-Wang Club had kept itself closed to rock concerts until now.
"It was kind of a risk, but we went for it and talked about it with the authorities. Of course, the security had to be beefed up and we took every possible measure to ensure that nothing goes wrong," said Rafatul Bari Labib, co-ordinator, Uchchas Ltd.
Mechanix brought a dose of heavy metal and had the headbangers moving with its covers of Metallica's "I disappear," Judas Priest's "Pain killer" and two of the band's original tracks -- "Dhruboshor" (from the recently released album "Rock 202") and "Oporajeyo" (the title track of their upcoming album).
Germantown's Mouri, Samwan, Nabil, Labib and Rizal gave the crowd a taste of classics. Maher from Nemesis was featured in the cover of "Sweet child of mine".
Bohemian, consisting of two of the organisers of the show -- Shams and Labib -- along with Farhan and Farshid performed "Cholo cholo" from the recent mixed album "Rock 303," as well as a cover of U2's "Elevation" and an unreleased original number called "Nana Primus".
Shunno's performance was a good mix of alternative rock. Their next album "Shoto Asha" is just around the corner. The band performed "Bedona," "Shopnoghuri," "Godhulir oparey" and "Shoto asha".
Down Break made its debut at the concert. They did a cover of Red Hot Chilli Peppers' "Californication". Aftermath's Sakib, Faheem, Shaikat, Naved and Brenton also rocked the stage. “It's a great experience performing here,” said Faheem.
Finally, after much anticipation, Artcell went on stage sometime after 8:30 pm. The crowd cheered on till the end.
The organisers thanked the sponsors Koyla Restaurant, Amadergaan.com, Chekers and Fahim Music.