Roozi ke raft bar bad, roozi ke mand dar yaad

It's exactly one year since I went to Kiosk's concert last year in Toronto. I had an amazing time, and heard some original persian music in an amazing crowd :) This year, I went to Mohsen Namjoo's much-anticipated concert in San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts. It was an amazing performance, an unforgettable experience, and again, a wonderful crowd :) I wish all my friends were there with me to share this!

It's amazing how creative Iranian musicians have become, each in their own genre, to produce such amazing and touching pieces of art. I love how the Iranian music is getting out of the ordinary, allowing new thoughts and new trends to be injected in our veins, to feed our hearts and our soul. You just have to open up your ears, your mind, and your heart :)

In Kiosk's concert, I went with a group of friends and we sang all the songs from the beginning to the end! The crowd was crazy for Kiosk, and they were amazing. We all sang out the "Bitarbiat" song, so loud that we couldn't even hear ourselves anymore. After the concert, we headed to the Distillery District with a larger group of friends, but the few of us knew that the rest were not excited enough about the music, and were not at all interested in meeting the band! So later we decided to chase the actors to the milestone's restaurant in North York, and we spent around an hour walking around the milstone's patio, discussing whether we should join the reception or avoid the embarrassment! And of course in the end we just decided to leave ;) Nevertheless, we had an amazing time :)

I went to 127's concert in March in Berkeley with a couple of my friends who were highly excited about the concert. I had an amazing night there as well. It was a much smaller concert in an underground bar, but the crowd energy level was extremely high, and the artists interacted with the audience at a more personal level. The trombone player was the best! Again, I sang all their songs out loud, and loved their performance :) I also got their autograph on my CD, as well as a photo with the band :)

Only a few days ago I went to Namjoo's concert in San Francisco with my family, who are extremely excited about Namjoo as well. I also met a lot of my friends there. The concert couldn't be better! Namjoo was perfect! His performance touched my heart and soul so deep that I wanted to cry. Though he appeared to be a bit nervous and shy in the beginning, he finally connected with the audience, and gave the most wonderful performance I have EVER seen in my ENTIRE life! You would be right to think that a two and a half hour SOLO concert would be boring, but not when Namjoo is on stage. He played setar, dotar and guitar! And of course his own voice is a complete musical instrument. He uses all these tools in such unimaginable ways to awaken all possible senses and feelings in you: awe, surprise, laughter, sadness, and love. You just have to be open and ready to be surprised by his magic, by the sounds he makes with his voice, and with his setar. You have to allow his poems to show you their own world. The world of pain, tragedies, love, and life. It's much more than a concert, it's a life-altering experience.

And of course the crowd was amazingly energetic! Though this time the concert was much larger than Kiosk and 127's concerts. However, there were some people in the crowd that were not exactly aware of his work, and did not understand his poems. I found it highly absurd when people laughed during the performance of "Diazpam". Though his words are intended to convey a dark humor, the tragedy strikes with such heavy hand that leaves no room for a mockery. Nevertheless, I think it was at least an opportunity for other people to learn about Namjoo's work, and maybe later, they would give a second thought to realize the true meaning of his poems.

After the concert, I had a chance to attend the reception. So I got a photo with him, and his signature on my CD. I wish him the best, he is an incredible person, and a wonderful artist.

I hope this pattern repeats next year :) I love being exposed to the kind of music that penetrates to the depth of my soul.