Puri

It was 5th July, 2013. At National Theater of Korea, Seoul I attended a very powerful and unique totally musical performance by a group named Puri.
This performance was one of the very best one of Yeowoorak Festival,July 2013.
Me with couple of my friends reached Dongguk University subway station, near from exit 6 we caught Shuttle bus service for National Theater of Korea.
This group is famous for composing a different type of music using many types of old, traditional music instruments mixed with some of the modern ones like electric guitar and piano thus combining both traditional and old music with a unique touch of modern music very beautifully. This group is internationally recognized and that show was also going live on T.V as many cameras were there for recording.
They composed some really amazing tracks using many different music instruments. the group leader also sung couple of traditional songs along with others.
Many types of instruments were used to create such music like different types of drums then flutes.
Song were in Korean language so we foreigners did know what was those all about but they seemed to be very motivating as one of the track moved all the audiences very much and it was very powerful and theatrical.
Stage overall was according to the theme and dressing by all group members was also traditional.

This group consisting of musicians like magicians. Every member of the group is very talented.
As each one can play more the one instrument and some of them can sing beautifully. This group is internationally famous for their unique style of music combining traditional Korean music and instruments with the modern music. This combination of new complex music with simple music is always difficult to compose and to make something worth enjoying. But as i said when professional and experts excel in any field they usually make masterpieces. So it was exactly there in Puri.

Once again a great performance arranged for me by KTO.

R 16 World B Boy Masters Championship 2013

 R 16 World B Boy Masters Championship 2013

It was yet another rainy day July 14. 2013, me with friends were excited to see the finals of world B Boy Master Championship. It was held at the “Olympic Hall” in one of the very beautiful parks in Seoul “Olympic Park”. This world championship was for two days but I managed to attend the 2^nd day only.

R 16 B Boys Championship has been a real craze in Korea for last many years now.  R 16 being the real passion of youth is mainly organized by Korean Tourism Organization (KTO) and thanks to KTO for the VIP tickets for me and my friends.

I have already attended couple of B Boys competitions so my excitement level was very high. And these R 16 finals were more than my expectations.

The show started with astonishingly wonderful B Boys Crew performances by all the teams. Those were so amazing and so perfectly synchronized that making it so theatrical and phenomenal. Team Australia started it and lifted the level of competition for other teams but each team was well prepared and ready to give its best. Chinese performance was very impressive and was competing really good performances by Russian, French, US and Japanese teams. My vote was for Chinese and French team. French team performance was a bit unique with respect to moves along with music. Last performance from Korea team was different from all. Its music, style, rhythm, moves, formations were totally different and having the flavor of Korean culture in it, which made the performance really fascinating. People loved it and were wonderstruck to see real fast moves synchronized with slow and fast unconventional music for such kind of performance.

After these performances, there was a GuestShow, as I attended the 2^nd day of final which was mainly about the B Boys Competitions so I missed the 1^st day of Poppin and Lockin Dancing Competitions, but the thanks for Khan n Moon and Blue Whale Brothers whose guest show performance Poppin and Lockin was best of this event. It was simply speechless.

After that the show moved towards B Boys Battles, Unfortunately for France team, named Melting Force, they had the real tough time against Korean tam “Morning of Owl” in the first match and so being knocked out. France team in my opinion was very tough like Russian and Australian teams who made turned the B Boys Battles into Wars many times, along with all spirits sportsmanship. After the nerve cracking semifinals there was thrilling, electrifying, hair rising, magnificent, wild and wondrous final between Korean team “Morning of Owl” and Japanese team “Body Carnival”. 

Morning of Owl showed some really stunning and impressive hidden moves and group formations which were of much higher level than that of all other teams there. Two girls members in the Body Carnivals if were the strength of their team but also sometimes became weakness, but they must me appreciated well in my opinion. While in the Korean team the little guy who spun their at the fastest speed for a longest time along with changing style and showing tricks while spinning was real gem of the team and was hero of the day. He removed his shirt while spinning so swiftly and perfectly and it was breathtaking like many other moves from Korea. Results were quite obvious the best among the teams Morning of Owl (Korea) were the deserving winners while Japan being the runners up.

Before results there was another speechless performance by day 1^st Judge, “Saleh”, this solo performance was fabulous, magnificent, mind blowing, spine tingling, heart stopping, marvelous and beautiful. He is one of the legends in the field of dancing. After results there was prize distribution leading to the party time. I missed Jay Park and Bgirl Terra as I have to come back to city Ansan so we rushed back to catch Subway.

It was indeed one of the best shows of my life, a beautiful addition in the treasure of life memories especially of Korean life.

 

Grim/Gongmyung Project Concert [Sea Forest]

Grim/Gongmyung Project Concert [Sea Forest]

And yet another marvelous event of magical music in Yeowoorak Festival, named Grim/Gongmyung Project Concert ( Sea Forest) on 13th July, 2013 at National Theater of Korea was attended by me with my friends Omer Mustapha and Muhammad Waqas.

Composing music is one of the difficult art and presenting it live with perfection and excellence makes it more difficult but it was seemed to be easy for this group who was playing music magically and beautifully there.

This group consists of about 12 member each one is an expert and so much talented to play no of different instruments or same kind of instrument differently.

There were about tens of various old and new instruments i did not even know many of them till then but now their sounds and music composed and developed by this group is still in my mind.

Their all tracks very unique and with various moods. If there was one track of slow music having a mystic and mysterious theme then after that there was a track full of joy and happiness named "Spring Dance". Some tracks were there using only few instruments like one track was composed using different types of drums, while other tracks were using almost all the instruments available. 

There was a big screen behind the performers, showing name of each track and for some track a video being played according to theme of the track. it was so theatrical and sensationally effective. I would like to call their music Melodiously Magical.

Each track was so deep and so catchy that each person in the audience was deeply indulged in their music.

I would like to appreciate and congrats the whole group for making such a heart touching music and I am really very happy to witness it,

Drum Cats

It was 29th June,2013 with one of my best buddies in Korea, Usman Ishfaq, i went to see a performance at Myungbo Art Hall near Chungmuro subway station in Seoul. It was a performance by a group of super active ladies in black playing music with drums and presenting as Drum Cats.
The performance was about different styles of drums and beating the drums with somehow differently. As the performers used drums music mainly as represented by the name of event so it was a sort of monotonous performance for me. Although there were various sessions of their performance but all were somehow same as all were only about drums.
Stage was a bit well decorated according to the type of event and lighting and sound system was also good enough. Precision, pace and style was somehow unique and must be appreciated but this whole concept can be used as a whole to attract spectators. I mean to say only drumming can not engage and entertain people for a longer run rather it should be the part of other performances like Korean martial arts, free style dancing or some traditional music mashed up with the modern music.

So the Drum Cat led us to a sort of boredom after sometime.
It was totally a girl show not even a single male performer was there and i think it was a kind of another missing element in the show. Any boy with some free style dancing and showing some b boys moves would have obviously put some spice in it. But it was all girly and all drummy.
There was a violin playing girl who participated in a couple of parts of the show and i think she did her best to make that show a bit changed because of here really good violin music and a few dance moves.

There was also a portion of audience involvement in playing music with a whistle...so cats tried to make something new out of drumming and whistling but not succeeded fully.
During a part of music the cats also tried to make some fun and to be funny but it was simply pathatic and went flat so i suggest not to do it again.

In the end i like to say that it was over drumming that made the show not to be recommended futhur but here i would like to appreciate the hard work of all the girls there as they did their best and their drum beating skills, fitness and style should be motivated.
Do not worry Girlz...it is not because of you...its just the whole concept that did not work exactly.
Using the same power drumming i hope the creative team will make something more exciting, worth seeing and newer soon.

I personally enjoyed the company of my friend as usual so my trip was not bad at all rather an other friends hangout which to memorized forever