Black Unplugged

Elita Karim

Unplugged music is like tasting music in your mouth. It's like getting a feel of the full blown raw piece of melody that rushes towards you. Its overwhelming effect gives you the chills and tightens your throat. Some even describe it as an experience close to ecstasy. Such is the power of the emotions dwelling within an unplugged musical abode.

With a full set up consisting of Pearl SRX pro drums with a percussion set, a Line 6 Variax guitar, a custom made MTD bass and a Yamaha Clavinova CLP electric guitar, the perfect picture looked tempting for any musician to delve in and explore the many dimensions of music. On the occasion of its second anniversary, Pizza Hut had organised an unplugged session for guests and customers. Sponsored by Pepsi, it was a great day for Black as well, when the band got to gear up all they had within and deliver flawlessly.

Starting off with their soothing fusion number 'Amar Prithibi', it was clear to everyone that with Black performing an unplugged, they had nowhere to hide! Their every note, strum and hum could be practically seen by those who had always heard them on record. Music lovers and major Black fans were awed by the fact that every element of music was simply coming together naturally and creating melodic bliss. Next was 'Chena Dukkho', one of their first hits that had everyone going down memory lane. With tracks from the early part of their music making career, 'Abhiman' and 'Blues n' Rodh', Black had a special treat with their title track 'Utsober Por' from their last album. Starting off with just Tahsan's piano and Sumon's bass, Jon sang from the heart along with Tony's feats on an earthen pot. The song came to its high when Jahan joined in with his plucking and Tony finally took the sticks to the drums. Followed by Tahsan's soothing number 'Ekhono', Black covered 'Yesterday' by the Beatles and 'Drive' by Incubus. The second half of the session was filled with their famous numbers like 'Mithya', 'Porahoto', 'Amra' and covers of 'Wake me up when September ends' by Greenday and 'With or Without You' by U2.

"We were in a trance while performing the unplugged," smiled Jon, the lead vocalist of Black. "Doing a closed room unplugged session is not a very easy job. You constantly have to be reminded of the notes that you are playing and they sort of merge in the words and tune with it" he said. "The best part about this concert was that we could hear the audience sing with us and I had a blast playing the Line 6 Variax!" said Jahan the guitarist.

At the end of the session, fans were crowding the band for pictures and autographs. "I have a soft corner for ethnic membrane instruments and like to experiment with earthen pots of all sizes in my compositions," says Tony the drummer of the band. Tahsan probably had the biggest challenge of all, playing the piano in numbers to modify their original alternative and hard rock flavour to a softer and melodious tone.

This was probably one of the most successful concerts done by Black after their fatal accident which occurred on their way back home form a concert in Chittagong. The famous Sumon from Aurthohin played the bass at the unplugged, since Miraj, the bassist of Black is still recovering from the injuries.

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