Last night at opus was a complete blast. There were some incredible singers there and the range of songs was quite eclectic. From Neil Diamond (Oscar Menezes) and Frank Sinatra (Mark Rego) to Jim Morrison (Shaunak) and Wet Wet Wet (Mark Swaroop)...
So with such great music, it just beats the hell out of me to figure out why people still want to sing Hotel California. Don’t get me wrong, I like it as much as the next person but forgive me guys, isn’t it time to lay that song to rest? After the 14 year $#*@ing vacation they go on about ceaselessly, this one song of theirs also plays ceaselessly. I mean, it’s not even a very easy song. So if you truly like the song, do everyone a favour and don’t sing it. Let the memory of Don Henley and his eyrie glide pleasantly in everyones heads as just a memory.
Moving on to another of my pet peeves: Mark Swaroop is a prime example of how some people cant get the lyrics straight even when they’re staring at them in the face. In bright red and at approximately 80 point size no less. “Weepin your weepin eyes”? What the hell does that mean anyway? For those who came in late, watch Mark sing ‘Mustang Sally’ next week. And don’t worry that you might have missed it; he sings it every week.
Right! Now on to the truly spectacular moments of the evening. If you leave out the 2 Marks, who performed with their usual élan, (notwithstanding the flubbed line), there are 3 others I would like to mention.
First comes Samira Mohammed, popular singer/performer, front woman to first Clockwork Orange and now Hook who rocked the crowd with ‘I the myself for Loving You’ and ‘Its raining men’... funny but there seems to be a pattern to her choice of songs. But the point I’m trying to make here is, when you truly enjoy a song, it shows. Samira positively glows when she takes the mike and that takes her already superb performance into the league of the fabulous.
Next is an old friend of mine, the cantankerous, crabby Sharmon Ibrahim who has been rechristened ‘Red Hot Sharmon’ for the way he sang ‘Under the Bridge’. Its not a song that we see often at Opus and after last night, I wonder why. It’s an awesome song and if Sharmon can sing it, well it cant be all that difficult now can it?
But the cake, the bakery and all the womens hearts were ripped away in 2 shining moments. If you haven’t heard Oscar Menezes sing, you have surely missed something truly beautiful. ‘Sweet Caroline’ and then ‘Unchained Melody’ sung to perfection by this pony-tailed gentlemen (incongruously referred to as Uncle Oscar by some people) just kept guys and girls alike shrieking the lyrics out with him. Not that he needed any help I can tell you. If he comes in on Wednesdays, God help those contenders.
Vivek Madan
