Sundays are not usually known for attracting crowds at the Lionel Wendt. However, a debut concert by Rukshan Perera, the hottest ‘new’ name to hit Colombo’s music scene, proved to be an exception and on January 9, the auditorium drew packed crowds - musicians and enthusiasts alike.
The audience came in with great expectations and they were not disappointed. ‘Rukshan Perera Live in Concert’ featured Triloka – with Eshantha Peiris (Piano), Harshana Gallage (Drums), Sarani Perera (Guitar), Uvindu Perera (Bass) and Milan John (Keyboards) – all seasoned pros who backed Rukshan by playing it loud ‘n’ proud, like there was no tomorrow! The concert took off from the word go and the usually staid auditorium was set ablaze. Taking the stage soon after 7 p.m. (after a brief introduction by compere Savithri Rodrigo) Rukshan dominated the performance, amalgamating the sounds of smoking blues with jazz, pop with fusion, and a myriad rhythms in between.
Rukshan was joined by some powerful guest vocalists like Natasha Rathnayake, the De Lanerolle brothers, Voice Print and Little Sopranos. Also coming in at various intervals to add an interesting dimension to his compositions were Mahen and Prashalini Peiris and the extended Perera family. Holding up the sounds were a number of guest instrumentalists like Sheehan Perera on Guitar, Chrys Wikramanayake on Piano, Nuwan Balasuriya on Flute, Gavin Senn on Saxophone, Alston Joachim and Benji Ranabahu on Bass. Inspired by Rukshan, every one of them made absolute magic on stage - and each track bore a distinct stamp of their fire-power. It was sheer spontaneous combustion between these musicians, and the ‘going wild’ fan-club in the audience warmed up to this amazing interplay which lasted about an hour and a half in the opening set.
Rukshan returned for the second half after a 15 minute well-deserved break, simply to blow the roof off with every track . His repertoire included an up-tempo version of a Sinhala lullaby as well as a collection of local nursery rhymes arranged to the format of Bohemian Rhapsody, no less. A tribute to Michael Jackson sung by his extended family – Sheehan (son), Nadina (daughter), Melantha (brother), Devshan (nephew) and Michelle (niece) - went down really well, and we were duly impressed when we learned that this CD had been handed over by Rukshan to Jermaine Jackson in December 2009.
Responding enthusiastically to the vibrant sonic mix, the audience held up their hands and clapped to the sensational variety of rhythm and sound. Rukshan’s solos, a’cappellas, scatting and a two-part harmony-whistling (seeing is believing!) seemed to be conjured out of thin air, thrilling an audience that could feel the energy being generated on stage. Rukshan, looking boyishly charming yet maintaining slick professionalism, seemed to be having an equally great time, interchanging his arsenal of instruments from guitar to harmonica to piano, creating some amazing sounds. His powerful vocals had the same energy level as his musical instruments and he seemed to have been born just to belt out those blues and jazz sounds with perfect voice control.
The last track, ‘One Land for All’, brought back on stage all the guest artistes for a dramatic and moving finale – soon followed by another couple of songs, thanks to an insistent audience’s loud calls for encores. The show eventually concluded with a standing ovation from Rukshan’s fans who were treated to a world-class act of flawless music right here in Colombo.
Rukshan – multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, composer and arranger - is a unique artiste who blends into his music a diversity of genres and life’s influences. With his powerful yet perfectly controlled voice, infectious smile and warm bonhomie, he captivated the public in this, his first (but by no means last!) concert in Colombo. The setting was simple and intimate, with only an impressive backdrop of a blown up image of Rukshan unobtrusively placed to the far right, and a giant central screen which occasionally showed some relevant scenic image but mostly displayed a close up of the performers. There were no unnecessary gimmicks and the lighting was effective in its simplicity.
It was an outstanding performance where he sang up a storm, ripping it up for the huge crowd that attended. A great night of very professional high-energy entertainment, it was an intoxicating performance.
Most of the audience stayed back to meet Rukshan, long after the final strains of his music had dissolved into the cool evening air. It is a credit to him that, even after his energetic three-hour performance, he had the grace to meet and greet all his fans with his typical unfailing good-natured geniality. Talk about star quality!
Rukshan has donated proceeds from his show to Samutthana – a charity affiliated to King’s College London, dealing with trauma, displacement and mental well-being for both children and adults in Sri Lanka.
As the night drew to an end, we purchased Rukshan’s debut CD and drove home to his dulcet tone playing on the car stereo. Rukshan has truly mastered the art of combining vocal and instrumental sounds to produce beauty of form, harmony and expression of emotion. We look forward to seeing a lot more of this truly talented musician who has performed world-wide – in the USA, Canada, Europe, Middle-East, Asia, Australia – and now in Sri Lanka. Colombo, take note: Rukshan has arrived! |
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