ROCKNATION VI - RESURRECTING ROCK

Gulnaksha Hall, International Convention City Bashundhara was the place to be from half past three on September 18 if you are an avid rock fan. In a country where major rock concerts are a rarity, every time a 'Rocknation' event comes around, fans are excited with anticipation for a day of unadulterated musical extravaganza. 'Rocknation VI: The Resurrection' managed to live up to every bit of that expectation.  

Owned, opened the show and got the crowd warmed up. It's never easy to open when you've got legends waiting backstage but Owned did their job well. They gave away copies of their album One at the end of their performance. 

Minerva, another group who are tearing it apart in the scene, got the blood pumping through the veins. The first mosh pit of the day broke out when Minerva played Ashirbad, and they finished with the medley A Tribute to Bangladeshi Bands. 

Next in the line up were Powersurge, and Jamshed orchestrated the crowd to clear up space for some epic moshing he know was about to take place. They got the crowd headbanging and it was soon clear that Powersurge got the crazy out of people in concerts. The only time everyone wasn't headbanging was when people realised Samir Hafiz was playing a solo behind his back during Mitther Agrashon.

An onslaught of Minerva and Powersurge left many people exhausted when Nemesis took the stage. But that didn't stop the girls from moving to the front. The response they got was enough to realise that Nemesis' fan base right now is massive. Zohad was as exuberant as ever, hopping around, getting the crowd worked up. Nemesis played all the crowd favourites, finishing with the most favourite of them all, Kobe.

The one true disappointment of the day came when Shakib Chowdhury's face appeared on the screen to inform everyone that Cryptic Fate would not be able to make it. AvoidRafa and Indalo filled that slot, and as Rafa pointed out himself, their performance suffered because they didn't get to prepare. Indalo played songs from their new album, including ISD, which the crowd sang along to.

Arbovirus unsuccessfully attempted to make a dramatic entrance with covers down the front of the stage. They made up for it with their music though, and the typical antics one would expect from them. They hurled a signed guitar into the crowd after playing Hariye Jao and the crowd tore it apart. At one stage, drummer Nafeez Al Amin entered the crowd with a mic stand and smashed it at the far end of the hall, guitarist Ranjan followed him with a snare drum. 

Artcell took the stage next, amidst crazy cheering for the living legends of Bangladeshi rock music. It might've been a disappointment for many that Artcell didn't play Oniket Prantor. They started with Leen, played Onno Shomoy, Chiley Kothar Shepai, Smriti Sharok and a new track called Probhu. The crowd sang along to all the songs, in many cases drowning out Lincoln's vocals.

For Vikings, it was sort of a comeback after a hiatus of more than ten years. They took their time setting up but once they started, everyone forgot about the wait. With Somoy, Dusshopno, Tumi Kotha Dao and Opekkha, Vikings gave the crowd one of the best acts of the day.

Aurthohin was the headliner of 'Rocknation VI', and they managed to get the crowd off their tired feet, jumping up and down one last time with Chaitei Paro, Shurjo and Odbhut Shei Chheleti. Bassbaba Sumon took the stage looking stylish as ever, and a group of his female fans in the front row subsequently went crazy. He showed some wicked skills with the bass that the audience will remember for a long time.

This event was a massive boost to rock fans and artists alike, and was organised by Live Square, with partners Bikroy.com, Radio Foorti, Music Buzz and Occult.