They kept the night young, unforgettable and ‘real’
On a high: Rohan and Ishan De Lanerolle at the BMICH.
The blend of warm baritone and rich bass enveloped the audience at the 3rd edition of “Keeping It Real” – the De Lanerolle Brothers’ much awaited concert on September 6 at the Main Hall of the BMICH.
The musical extravaganza opened with the all too familiar voice of compere Arun Dias Bandaranaike, setting the tone for a memorable evening.
The most peculiar thing happened (but then again this is a De Lanerolle Brothers’ performance!) – as Arun walked off stage and the red curtains opened to reveal the backing band in mardigras like masks – leaving audiences grinning as they attempted to identify the band members.
The Brothers didn’t hold back the charm as they serenaded audiences with popular classics from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Kickstarting the evening with Glen Campbell’s 1975 country hit “Rhinestone Cowboy”, Rohan and Ishan were in great form delivering “The Great Pretender”, “Save the Last Dance For Me” and even their own arrangement -Ishan’s smooth bass doing much justice to Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”.
Interacting with the audience and delivering some minor musical lessons (to the tone deaf crowd who were urged to sing along), witty humour and suave dance moves, the two had the stage overflowing with music, passion and a whole lot of “keeping it real”.
Well loved hits like Elvis Presley’s “It’s now or never”, Engelbert Humperdinck’s “The Last Waltz” and Harry Belafonte’s “Island in the Sun” were given the De Lanerolle touch and they also ventured into different genres from Willie Nelson country ballads “Help me make it through the night” to powerhouse Whitney Houston’s chart topping “One Moment in Time”. The Brothers also performed gentler versions like The Temptations “My Girl” and Ishan singing a heartwarming rendition of Nat King Cole’s “Smile” backed by only a guitar.
However, the Brothers weren’t the only famous artists on the stage! Masks thrown away, the 14-piece band was seen to comprise drummer Dennis Alwis (known to the Brothers as “Dennis the Menance”) , Christo Prins on percussion, Kamal Perera on lead guitar, Dilip Seneviratne on piano, Nuwan Galappathie on keyboard, Neville Davidson on second lead guitar, Manod Ratnayake on saxophone, flautist Tilanka Jayamanne and the only lady on stage that night Lydia Goonatilleke (on violin). The brass ensemble,adding a touch of flair to the band was made up of Saman Kularatne on French horn,Nishantha Premalal on trombone, Kalum Nishantha on trumpet led by Naveen Fernando as well on trumpet and music director for the evening Shobi Perera on bass guitar. Lighting production handled by Dhanushka Aruna and sound engineering by Shironne Mendis made the evening a musically star studded affair.
The Brothers also stayed true to their roots performing a local favourite, an almost lullaby-like version of Sunil Shantha’s “Olu Pipeela”.
However, it was by no means all mellow. Dancers Trisha and Joshua Fernandez joined the Brothers for a lively performance of Presley’s “Such a Night” presenting a fusion of dance moves!
With amazing backing production and sound Rohan and Ishan never fail to leave an audience wanting more. A show of theatre, music and much pizzazz, the De Lanerolle Brothers kept the night young, unforgettable and ‘real’. They now begin concert tours to Malaysia and London.