PakMusic.Net Largest Pakistani Music Website on the net – Concerts coverage, news and media.
Best known for her backup work on Coke Studio, and more recently for a cover of ‘Mera Bichra Yaar’, Zoe Viccaji proved she has what it takes to walk down the solo path and come out a winner.
Source: Instep Today
After singing backup for the Coke Studio sessions, and creating a sensation with her cover of Strings’ ‘Bichra Yaar’, Zoe Viccaji, the impending sensation of Pakistan, performed solo, and live, for the first time in Karachi.
True, the ‘band’ mentioned on the ticket and poster for the concert, as Zoe pointed out, was none other than Aunty Disco Project, but that fact did not take anything away from Zoe’s performance.
PACC was jam packed with no place to move around, sit, or even stand anywhere with a view of the stage after a certain point. This is definitely not a criticism as though it became suffocating, the audience couldn’t care less, and clearly enjoyed every second. Kicking off the show with an original composition, Zoe covered various artists like Adele, which pushed the crowd into a mad frenzy of happiness, ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’ by Nazia Hassan, and ‘Fever’ by Peggy Lee and made them her own.
Zoe Viccaji is nothing like the conventional artists that our music industry comprises of today; she has her own style and sound which is very refreshing indeed and her talent speaks for itself as she has been making her mark in the industry for two years, more or less and has an admirable fan base. Pakistan did have some remarkable female musicians once upon a time like Nazia Hassan and Noor Jehan, who were genuine musicians and were passionate about what they did unlike the heavily commercial artists we have today who are trying so hard to make it big that they have lost sight of what they set out to do.
Zoe on the other hand is an authentic musician, and is passionate about performing, her concert was lively and entertaining, nothing like the concerts we usually get to see, where the singer comes sings a couple of songs, or should I say “syncs” a few songs, takes his pay cheque and leaves. She is a wholesome performer, as she was conversing and interacting with the crowd and cracking jokes alongside the ADP members. Her acting background obviously helps with the stage fright, as Zoe has been part of the casts of Made for Stage musicals, Chicago and Mamma Mia!. The crowd greatly appreciated Zoe and her music which was evident as they danced to her songs throughout the concert, literally.
To say Zoe does fabulous covers is one thing obviously, and that shows off her skill, but she is a pretty good songwriter too. Zoe sang a few original compositions as well, of which ‘Thinking About You’ is quite popular with her fans, and rightly so.
It’s nice to see a more established band like Aunty Disco Project supporting someone going it solo for the first time, and the fact that she had the support of a tremendous band like them says a lot about how exemplary her music can be. It was commendable to see them perform one of their last shows with the likes of Zoe, as they will formally cease to exist after the 25th of this month and it’s a hearty way to say goodbye. Zoe and ADP together merged and created a very informal and relaxed atmosphere which made the concert all the more captivating,
“You know there’s always room to do better, but considering it was my first solo show, I feel really happy with how it went and I genuinely enjoyed myself on stage,” said Zoe post her performance. Well, the feeling is mutual Zoe; we enjoyed it just as much as you did!
Unfortunately, we may not get to see more of her after she covers ‘Anjane’ with Bilal Khan for quite some time as she will be leaving to do an acting and music course in New York (she even sang ‘New York New York’ as a nod to that!). We look forward to hearing more of her self composed music soon; the fact that she is a positive addition to the industry is inarguable. We certainly hope that this was just a teaser and there is a lot more to come.
