Tariq Mirza, aka the Sooji ka Halwa guy, has a huge following in Pakistan. Last year, Tee-M did a variety of concerts all over Pakistan
and formulated a cult fan-club. A packed house at T2F (The Second Floor) gig was the kick off show for Tee-M's Facebook Extravaganza Tour of Pakistan. The set was performed solo and included material from his debut album Earthiotic. The evening kicked off with "Last Night" a country/rock extravaganza that got the party started. Some of the songs that got a strong reaction from the crowd were "Man Without A Country" a folkish/rock ditty and the true story about a man (Mehran Karimi Nasseri) who was stuck at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris for over 15 years. Tee-M wrote this song in '95 when Nasseri was still at the airport. In 2003, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg made the movie, The Terminal, inspired by Mehran's story. Another top class live rendition was of "Hallucination", a slow rolling, groovy, psychedelic song with eastern elements in the middle. The latest single, "Disappeared" was greeted with crowd recognition.
Tee-M also performed the Beatles' "Nowhere Man" to perfection and got a rousing response from the crowd. At the end of the track, an attendee named Al Noor Madhani, standing next to me loudly said, "I'm sure the boys from Liverpool would've been proud of Tee-M's version of “Nowhere Man”. Brilliant performance again, Sir Tee-M."
Another cover that captivated the crowd was Mohd Rafi's "Jhuk Gaya Aasmaan Bhi". Tee-M closed the show with his global hit "Aao, Suji Ka Halwa Khao". The crowd went wild and showed its appreciation with a loud sing along. But upon great insistence from the crowd, Tee-M had to return with an encore of "Paan Kha Kay Dil May Taselli Aie" and finally had to stop the show with "Rock n Nachou" medley as the room was showing signs of exhaustion.
A fan, Mohd. Ali Kazmi who was also present that evening had this to say: "A truly brilliant performance indeed!! All hail the suji-king!! A one man army." And Sharik Bashir said, "Really amazing show, lots of fun. Thanks and have another concert soon."
Speaking to MAG post-concert, the singer expressed his feelings in the following lines: "It feels really good to be back in Karachi and if things go smoothly, I will take the show to Lahore, Islamabad and maybe to Multan and Peshawar."
