Virtual concerts point the way for for Arab pop
▶ Regional artists could deliver livelier concerts post-pandemic and let go of old stiff ways,
Perhaps the positive reception for the virtual Eid concerts points the way forward to a new era of stripped-down performances
If a crisis breeds opportunity, then the Arabic pop industry may have found a new way forward this week. Over the Eid break, a slew of high-profile Arab pop stars took to online platforms, including Facebook and YouTube, to deliver bespoke concerts from empty venues, and the performances were both stirring and innovative enough to hopefully evolve the stagnant regional live music landscape post-pandemic.
Last Sunday, for example, Iraqi crooner Kadim Al Sahir delivered an unusually stripped-down solo set for Abu Dhabi’s Cultural Foundation. The “Caesar of Arabic Music” performed achingly intimate reworkings of his operatic hits on the oud, which was streamed live on the organisation’s Facebook page.
The following night, fellow Iraqi artist, Majid Al Mohandis, appeared on the Shahid streaming platform. Bereft of his usual 30-plus-piece backing orchestra, Al Mohandis was joined by a modest eight-piece band to deliver minimal takes on energetic Khaleeji pop hits.
Meanwhile, Lebanese pop star Nancy Ajram also kept it relatively low key with her Music Unites Us concert, streamed on
YouTube last Tuesday. Ajram’s gig – shot on a rooftop in Beirut – was also interestingly marked by a newfound air of intimacy.
With the camera a constant and swarming presence, the fast-paced show was engaging, and the stripped-down renderings of popular songs allowed Ajram’s under-appreciated vocals to shine.
All of this goes to prove that it is time to shed outdated perceptions of what a concert is and, judging by the enthusiastic social media responses, the three concerts were a success. Fans enthusiastically hailed the tasteful revisions of favourite hits, and expressed delight at seeing their musical heroes at their most natural and comfortable best.
If studied correctly by the artists and promoters, these shows could serve as landmarks for the regional music industry and herald a much-needed rejuvenation of the Arabic pop concert experience once venues reopen.
The pandemic has demonstrated that the workforce can be equally – if not more – potent from home, and so this crisis could also be an opportunity for Arabic pop artists and large event organisers to let go some of their old perceptions of what constitutes a good concert performance.
The pandemic is making people rethink the doldrums of the office cubicle, and it’s time for Arab pop stars to reconsider their own extravagant yet equally soulless work spaces.
Regional music lovers know exactly what I am talking about. There is that massive stage holding an incalculable orchestra, performers dressed in suits or all in black (depending on the budget), while the star of the show stands immobile for two hours singing from a digital lyric sheet on an iPad placed on a lectern.
It’s an experience we have somehow grown to accept, with the only pay-off being the quality of the vocals or the shimmering dresses being sported by the divas. A concert experience is often a tacit agreement between the fan and the artist, with the former willing to shell out cash and weather the discomfort of traffic and crowds, for the latter to deliver a euphoric and soul-enriching set.
When it comes to most concerts by Arab pop stars, that deal is infuriatingly one-sided, with shows often lacking in flair and spectacle. What is even more galling is they are often the total antithesis to the artists’ lives online, which often portray a career in constant motion. That pace somehow stops dead once they set foot on the concert stage, however, and they basically become singing automatons for two hours.
This is why I so thoroughly enjoyed Al Mohandis and Ajram’s recent Eid performances. As someone who has attended concerts by both musicians many times over the past decade, it was great to see them naturally enjoying themselves.
This was a far cry from the stiff Al Mohandis I saw in Dubai in 2017, when he barely moved from his iPad and microphone. Meanwhile, Ajram’s stage actions over the years have often been restricted to a few shimmies each side of the stage and air claps. To be fair, however, such performance antics do have a reason for being. And they used to make sense.
The stand-still-and-sing format is a relic from the golden age of classical Arabic music, a hallowed time when hits were 30-minute operatic suites performed with symphony orchestras and consisting of pages of dense and poetic lyricism. For such a format, no one expected legendary acts such as Umm Kulthum and Mohammed Abdel Wahab to groove along to the cellos or pander to the crowd.
Instead, by standing still in deep concentration they honoured their contract to the riveted audience by delivering music that was nothing short of high art.
Arabic pop music today is generally not of Kulthum calibre, however. And there is nothing wrong with that, because music sensibilities change over time. However, as the songs have become shorter and more up-tempo, artists also need to evolve and complement that material with an equally dynamic stage performance.
So, perhaps the positive reception for the virtual Eid concerts, with invisible audiences, points the way forward.
It could herald a new era in which stripped-down and fan-friendly acoustic performances are as important as gala and orchestral concerts. Perhaps we will see static and distant stage designs less often, and an embrace of new and engaging formats.
I hope this will lead to a new dawn, which sees modern Arab pop stars display more natural showmanship, instead of relying on the crutches of wellworn hits and a decent voice.
It is time: their fans deserve something fresh.