If you get a chance to catch the trio in action while they are on their Love in Exile tour, don’t miss it. It’s an absolute delight to watch freakishly raw music being created right on stage, in front of your eyes. You can feel that it’s something special.
I’m sure the jams could’ve been stretched 2 or 3x longer, but you need the right type of evening–the right type of audience. Sadly, the audience at the Epstein Family Amphitheater was fairly geriatric, sprinkled with the occassional UCSD student/grandchild who might have accompanied one of the grandparents and of course, a few well-heeled Pakistani 40-somethings showing some national pride. Pakistan Zindabad!
Before anything else, I wanted to say that the amphitheater definitely qualifies as a reasonable candidate for a name change because I heard a number of attendees asking whether the main donor was Jefferey Epstein?—that’s never a good thing—never, never a good thing. Come on UCSD! Sincere apologies to Phyllis and Dan Epstein because their $10 million donation created a real thing of beauty, but I think it’s safe to say that Jefferey Epstein has ruined it for all Epsteins out there—yes, that even includes you, Epstyns! How about Phyllis and Dan’s Family Amphitheater? Definitely sounds more family-oriented.
Ok let’s get back to the show.
I’m not sure whether playing open air amphitheaters was the correct decision. I’m pretty sure the music will sound even more awesome when you can temporarily bottle up the tunes created by Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily as they accompany Arooj Aftab’s buttery vocals inside a reputable indoor venue. Some notes are all too subtle and easily get lost in the wind. Most tunes—especially those created by Mr. Musical Genius Shahzad Ismaily—are stretched super long and the jams can seemingly carry on for extended periods but the listener only gets a nibble. Then again, this music is super personal in nature and probably best enjoyed with pricey headphones while sitting in a nice garden somewhere admiring hummingbirds and butterflies—or maybe while on a solo sunset walk on the beach after a painful breakup.
My only suggestion to Arooj, Vijay and Shahzad would be to provide some flavorful pre-song context—a little story here and there, if you will. All three are unique personalities in their own right so maybe each can take the mic for a min and introduce a song or give a little story as a lead-in? At the very least a mini translation for the non-Urdu speakers b/c I heard some attendees asking their neighbors, “wait, what was that she said there?” without knowing that it was another language. I get it, music behind the vocals don’t need any translation, but the vocals will land better in my opinion—probably help build a larger following, if anything.
There you have it, my friends—an actual review of something that isn’t a book or geeky tech! I’ll close with a final plug. If you’re into Phish, Pink Floyd, Dave Mathews and similar acts, check out Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, and Shahzad Ismaily. They will grab hold of you and won’t let go for the duration of their set. It’s a thing of wonder.
Faisaling.com 
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