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The sprawling Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Meghalaya state capital
Shillong turned into a sea of humanity as the German heavy metal
band, Scorpions, kicked-off their Humanity World Tour amid a
record 45,000 plus spectators who descended in this Rock City from
various corners of the country for the mega event.
The dipping mercury levels failed to touch the swaying, screaming and
dancing crowd who had their eyes full and earful of the best rock
music in the world being played live in front of them.
Akhiya, the local band which was the winner of the AIRTEL Rocks North
East competition held in various parts of the region, opened the
show with some of their best and most favoured numbers. The city
streets city bore a deserted look since early noon, with people
queuing up at the entry gates hours before the show was slated
to start. Chaos went on increasing at the stadium gates as the
countdown to the show narrowed. A local State holiday on
Wednesday added to the crowd enthusiasm.
While there was no official announcement of the total tickets sold,
sources in Airtel, the sponsors, and Centre Point Entertainment
Network, the local promoters said the sale (all denominations – Rs
600, Rs 850 and Rs 1250) crossed the 40,000 mark. The stadium,
with a total capacity of roughly 40,000 (both standing and
sitting) was jam-packed even as spectators, including those with
tickets, were seen grouping outside after failing to enter.
The entry to the venue had four rings of security check. Two gates
comprising of six channels each led people inside the venue. Heavy
frisking was carried out by the police despite the massive rush.
Over 35 per cent of the crowd was said to have come from Assam
even as over 3,500 tickets were sold in Kolkata alone for the
event.
Dubbed by the organisers themselves as the 'monster rock show', the
Scorpions concert witnessed a mind-boggling 200 psychedelic moving
lights, powered by 1.5 lakh watts, thundering 50 tonnes of
backline music instruments and giant screens of 80,000 luminosity
clarity. The stadium was charged with 110 decibels of sound, which
helped the spectators who either failed to procure tickets or
enter the venue to enjoy the music from outside the stadium. Many
also gathered on roof-tops and tree-tops near the stadium for a
glimpse of the band.
The Scorpions kicked off their 'Humanity World Tour' with the show at
Shillong. Two other shows are also slated for Bangalore and Mumbai
as part of the tour. Reckoned to be the biggest musical shows ever
in the eastern region of the country, the organisers -
Entertainment 18 and Centre Point Entertainment Network (CPEN) –
felt the turn-out in Shillong is much more than what is expected
in the consecutive shows of the band in Bangalore and Mumbai.
The Shillong concert, expected to budget over Rs One crore, surpassed the
MLTR concert held here few years back. It was only in October end
that the hill city, also referred to as the music capital of the
country, hosted the Brazilian band Sepultura and Eric Martin of Mr
BIG. |
