Popular band Renaissance performed at The Junction in Dhaka on Friday at an event titled “Renaissance and Friends.”
The event was small and exclusive, yet the allure of the music of the band’s six veteran musicians drew such a crowd, that people sat on plush cushions on the floor as all the seats in the venue were taken. Some late visitors even enjoyed the program standing throughout the evening.
Vocalist and guitarist Imran Rahman began the musical soiree with a sarcastic quip: “As you can see, we are a bunch of young people who do music. We formed in 1985 and we like to do music from the 60s and 70s.”
The famous band’s energy and spirit made the crowd sing along with them in all the covers from those decades.
The songs they covered included “Jealous Guy” by John Lennon, “Just the two of us” and “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers, “Moondance” by Van Morrison, “I wish” by Stevie Wonder, “You’ve got a friend” by James Taylor and many more.
Most powerful cover was that of the all-time classic “What a wonderful world.” Renaissance’s drummer Pilu Khan, who currently lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, sang the song himself, and received one of the loudest cheers.
The mystery of 'And Friends' in the title of the event was solved, when Chotu Khan and Mishu from Stone Free got on stage, to perform with Renaissance | Dhaka Tribune
Why rare performances?
Regarding the band’s perfect synchronicity even after all this years, Pilu told Showtime: “We have been doing music together for such a long time that songs come naturally from within us.
“If you look at our setup, you will see that it is more improvisational. The songs we perform have been done by each of us on our own, and also improvised upon so many different times that they flow out almost automatically when we are together. I would describe us as natural musicians.”
Talking about Renaissance’s rare public performances nowadays, Pilu said: “Well, there was a time in which, for 10 straight years, we regularly played at Spaghetti Jazz. There, it was more of a ‘party’ vibe, where the music accompanied the food.
“But after Holey Artisan incident and various other reasons, those performances stopped. We have become very busy with our own lives, and I have been living abroad for the past two years. This is why we do not perform as regularly as before.”
“However, our next performance will be in June this year,” he added.
Imran told Showtime: “The crowd response was amazing today [Friday]. I would say that we thrive in small settings. James and Miles are big crowd bands. But if you give us 100 to 150 people in a small pub or a restaurant, we will definitely entertain them.
“The fans you saw have been following us for the last 20 years. When they all gather, and give the support that you have seen, it definitely makes us play better.”
Regarding how he joined Renaissance, Imran said: “I joined the band in 1997, as there was an opportunity to join it at that time. When the band was formed in 1985, I had gone to Manchester in England for studies.
“However, I have been a regular attendee at their shows since 1992 onwards. I made guest appearances with them occasionally, before formally joining in 1997.”
As a last surprise of the evening, Faisal Siddiqi, who is a founder and one of the original vocalists of Renaissance, joined the band on stage to sing some classic Bangla and English hits | Jatrik
The friends
Midway into Friday’s concert, Chotu Khan and Mishu from classic rock cover band Stone Free joined Renaissance on the stage, and started doing covers.
After the duo got off stage, Renaissance performed a number of their own famous Bangla songs, including “O Nodi Re,” “Acchha Keno Manush,” “Rhidoy Kada Mati,” and “Bhalo Lage Jotsna Ratey.”
Faisal Siddiqi, another founding member of the band, had also joined the other members on stage right before the close, and rocked the audience with some more Bangla and English hits.
The evening came to a close with a massive applause from the audience, which might have been heard well across the entire length of Road No 8 of Niketon at Gulshan 1, where The Junction is located.
Renaissance is comprised of Naquib Khan on vocals and key-boards, Pilu Khan on vocals and drums, Reza Rahman on lead guitar, Imran Rahman on vocals and guitar, and Kaartik on bass.
They formed in 1985, and describe themselves as a band that plays music for their own enjoyment with a laidback style, which is rich in improvisation.
