MY IMPRESSIONS ON MANGA'S IS SANAT CONCERT ON FEB.7TH, 2013

MaNga Is Sanat Concert / 7 Feb 2013

 Finally I have watched the maNga's half acoustic half electronic concert at Is Sanat on Feb. 7th. I was accompanied by my cousin at this concert.

The concert has started just on time at 20:00. The audience generally consists of young children, accompanied by their parents. At first glance, it seems like a school's theater hall. :) I didn't think that they have still so many young fans. This concert was as if it were a holiday gift for them. There were also elderly spectators. Their music also appeals to the older listeners now probably thanks to their 2012 "e-akustik" album.

They will perform "e-akustik" album in the first half of the concert and in the second half they'll go back to their usual electronic setup. It will be a little weird to watch a maNga concert sitting down in our comfortable seats.

I look forward to 2 songs in this concert: the one of them is their brand-new song "Today" and the other song is that fabulous Greek song everybody loves and wants it to be included in the new album. I'll listen to this song for the first time on stage.

MaNga performed the new song "Today" at Feb 1's Roxy Bar concert for the first time. We don't know anything about the song, except that it's fast and hard. It wasn't allowed to take pictures in Roxy Bar, so we couldn't find even a secretly taken video of the song on YouTube. So everybody was very curious about the new song and they think that the song could provide us with some tips about the new album.

The day before the concert, they put a video to the official Facebook of maNga. It was taken during the rehearsals and the musicians and maNga were playing that Greek song very beautifully in allaturca style. So all the fans on Twitter asked those who will go to the concert to record this song if they can.

The problem is that, it is not allowed to take pictures in this concert, either. The fans will have to wait for the next regular concert, I guess.

We settled in our seats! We're comfortable. But what's that?! The person who sat right next to me is no other than Nathalie Marrable, Yagmur's dancer wife and unforgettable robot girl of "We Could Be The Same"! I can't believe this is just a coincidence! I have to say something! I lean over my cousin and say to her "Nathalie, I'm a big fan of you!". I can't think of anything else! She thanks very prettily. I ask for a picture of her. She says OK, but she doesn't want to be taken alone, so we take a picture together. She looks fantastically beautiful in the picture. Inci looks so-so.

Nathalie and Inci

I lean to her and say that I'm the one who translated Kulaktan Kulaga episodes. I expect her to understand what I'm talking about. Because Yagmur is following me on Twitter and he sometimes retweets my blog links. And at one time Nathalie favorited a KK episode link. She doesn't understand KK in Turkish, so I say "Ferman's TV program". Then she understands what I meant and says "Oh, that blog, I know that! We're fans of your blog and we read all of them!". I can't believe this! She asks me the title of my blog and I say it. And she says, "Oh, I just tweeted you!" and she shows me the said tweet! I don't understand what it is but I thank her anyway.

Well, the stage darkens and the acoustic musicians come onto stage. MaNga will be accompanied by 7 musicians during the acoustic part of the concert. After them, maNga boys are on stage. Yagmur is very stylish tonight and he looks great on Is Sanat stage in his white suit and black shirt. He combed his prolonged hair down. This hair looks perfect on him. Ferman is wearing his new beige coat. It's the same coat that he wore on NTV's GeceGunduz interview on Jan 31. He has a gray tshirt inside. Efe is wearing a black tshirt and Cem a bordeaux tshirt. Ozgur is wearing his usual vest.

 

The opening song is "Hosgeldin" of "e-akustik", as in every acoustic concert. After that, they continue with "Rezalet Cikarasim Var". Tonight the powerful intro with Ozgur's drums is a little different, but still attractive. I love them retouching their songs. That's why their concerts aren't boring at all. They have always little musical surprises on stage for us. In fact this is not a song to listen in a seated position. It's a kind of song that make you feel like dancing and swaying to the rhythm of the music. Especially it's not possible to resist the rhythm of the drums and the darbuka. A girl two rows in front of us, is practically dancing in her seat and makes us smile! :)

After "Rezalet Cikarasim Var", Ferman announces the Greek song "Ti Einai Auto Pou Mas Enwnei" by Greek rock band Pyx Lax. He says, "if you listen carefully, there are some parts in the lyrics that concerns us". That's it. He doesn't say what they are. Does he think that everybody in the hall understands Greek? :) Well, let me give you some ideas about the lyrics. We can translate the song's title as "What's that unites us?". The lyrics are quite sentimental and very poetic. It contains the words "Aegean Sea" and "Izmir". The song is likely about an impossible love story of a Greek and a Turk. With some allaturca touches, the song has become very "from us", and the Greek lyrics go very well with this song "from us". :) I want to thank you to all who wrote it, played it and sang it.

Maestro Yagmur

And we hear Yagmur's voice after the song ends. What?!!! A talking Yagmur on stage?? Now this is a real surprise! And he says, "Dear Ferman, can we play "Beni Benimle Birak", too?". Ferman who seems puzzled for a moment looks at the paper and says "Oh, I just skipped it, sorry!". Yagmur prettily says, "No problem!". I love them! Ferman apparently mixed the order of the songs, but the orchestra kept pace with him cold-bloodedly! Good for them!

Beni Benimle Birak was a clean studio-quality performance.

When the first notes of the next song was heard, Ferman said that it was one of their oldest songs. He doesn't need to say the title of the song. The audience knows which one it is and started whispering "Yalan!". It's enough to hear the first notes to recognize the maNga songs. Both the beginning and the end of acoustic "Yalan" taste completely different and it's about complains of love. The song contains one of the wisest sayings: "To be loved and for love, it wasn't enough to be good".

Our disguised ESC 2010 Song "We Could Be The Same" is album-quality. It's totally different song now, but it gives a weird sense of peace.

The next song is one of the most fascinating songs ever written about İstanbul: "Hayat Bu İste" that I heard for the first time in "e-akustik" and fell in love. The song's chorus is like a free fall for the listener. I like the "e-akustik" version of it the most. But I haven't thought that Ferman would leave the most striking part of the song to the audience: the chorus! I thought, "Oh, you can't do this!", but Ferman stated afterwards that since he was very excited he often forgot the lyrics and the audience saved him! Fortunately, the young audience's accompaniment is very good tonight, more than I've ever expected.

Next we have "Hani Biz". It was named "Duet of the Year" in 2012 by Blue Jean Magazine. Yıldız Tilbe is not here tonight, but we don't feel the absence of her, unlike Göksel. I don't understand why Ferman is now skipping "çırılçıplak" (stark naked) part in the second half of the song. Is it a kind of self-censorship? I love the song's drum parts.

I love acoustic "Fly to Stay Alive" very much. I had fallen in love with the electronic version at first. This is my second listening to the acoustic version on stage after Soundclash, but I like tonight's performance better. Because we hadn't heard the violin and the cello at Soundclash! But tonight the sound system is really good, we can perfectly hear every instrument and Ferman on stage.

The next song is the legendary song of maNga, "Dursun Zaman". No Göksel again, but the amazing audience is filling the gap perfectly left by Goksel's absence. An accompaniment could only have been this beautiful without rehearsing.

When the song ends, a boy sitting on the left side of the hall shouts, "Yagmur Abi, let us see your face!". Ferman doesn't understand and asks, "What?". The boy repeats his request. A woman on the front seat repeats it for Ferman. And Yagmur does what the boy asks for and turns a little to the left side, "Like this?". The audience is thrilled to see Yagmur talking to the audience. In the meantime, Ferman is busy sorting the papers in front of him.

After that, Ferman starts whistling the touching intro of "Ben Bir Palyaçoyum". They usually perform this song with just one guitar, but tonight they prefer to perform its full "e-akustik" version. A great song all along! I love the violins at the background.

Ferman and Yagmur on "Cevapsız Sorular"

The next song is maNga's classic break-up song, "Cevapsiz Sorular". The spotlights go out above the musicians. Tonight, we're going to hear this song from Yagmur, his guitar and Ferman again. Last time we heard it, it was at the Soundclash and it was "Sehr-i Huzun" version and Athena turned the song into an unexpected reggae! I prefer the original version, of course. Ferman stands up and goes to the keyboard where Yagmur is sitting to stand by him.

But what is it? Ferman is making a mistake and sings the wrong verse of the lyrics! Oh my God! And the audience have to sing in accordance with his wrong lyrics! Funny! The audience is doing incredible job tonight. Tonight's audience accompaniment is arguably the best at the concerts that I went to. Ferman's performance is superb again in spite of his mistake at the beginning.

maNga Acoustic Orchestra

With the presentation of the acoustic musicians, the acoustic part of the concert is concluded. Ferman presents them looking at their names on the paper. But first he apologizes for this. "I know it's a shame to look at the paper, but tonight I even forget the lyrics, because I'm so excited. I don't wanna say the names wrong". Then he presents the musicians in order. When it's Cagatay's turn, he presents him to us as "And our very close friend, our comrade from 100 years ago, Cagatay Sen!". :) We know and love Cagatay very much. He is an inseparable part of maNga and Kulaktan Kulaga. And why is Ferman so excited tonight? Just because they are performing on İş Sanat stage? They were once on Eurovision stage for God's sake!

An "intermission" sounds so weird in a maNga concert. :) Since I don't get a 3G signal in the concert hall, I get out to the foyer to tweet about the acoustic part of the concert to my friends. My first tweet is about Nathalie sitting next to me. :)

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The electronic part of the concert starts with "Her Aşk Ölümü Tadacak". This song is also in the "e-akustik" album, but tonight they perform its "Sehr-i Hüzün" version. The lyrics of the song is like an enlightment for me. :) What the songwriter says is very true. "Every love fed with tears will taste death!"

Ferman gets back to his usual black sleeveless undershirt. Yagmur is now in black leather pants/black shirt and he looks more like a "rocker" now! :) The others are the same.

Ferman doesn't like this kind of concert with sitting people. So he orders us "let's stand up now!". With his order, the young fans leap up to their feet from their seats and run to the front screaming! The security people are shocked and scratching their heads! Apparently they are not used to rock concerts and their fans at İş Sanat! :) Now it's more like a maNga concert with all the rocking and jumping fans in front of the stage. My cousin is also among them. The parents and the older spectators are still sitting of course.

The next song is the brand-new song "Today" which will probably be in the new album. They performed this song for the first time at Roxy Bar concert on Feb.1st. According to the tweets from Roxy that night, the song is hard and fast old-maNga style, as expected. Ferman says that they'll perform a new song now and there will be a Turkish version of this song. He doesn't say the name of the song, but the audience know, await and whisper "Today" in the hall.

Yes, it's really hard. But in a pleasant way. The old maNga did it again! An attractive and catchy chorus!

"Today, I feel so lazy;
Don't know what to do with you;
Today, I feel so dirty;
Don't wanna make love with you".

The remaining lyrics can't be understood precisely because of the fans' screams, but I'm sure we'll try to hear better the rest of the lyrics at future concerts. I liked the song. I am not disappointed. This song is pure maNga! I'm sure this will be #1 song of this summer. Well done, guys!

Again, I'm sure all the maNga fans around the globe are dying to listen to this song now. They have to wait for the next concert where it's allowed to take videos.

After "Today", the concert continues with all the classic maNga songs: Dunyanin Sonuna Dogmusum, Evdeki Ses, Gangsta's Paradise, All We Need is Everyone, Bir Kadin Cizeceksin, and the usual closing song: Alisirim Gozlerimi Kapamaya.

My first note about the second part of the concert is why Efe didn't accompany Ferman on "Evdeki Ses". It's rather curious that he doesn't appear on recent TV interviews with the rest of the band , in group photos from maNga's studio. So definitely there is something wrong with Efe! Maybe he's just sick.

One more thing that I don't understand is why Ferman always has to fight with his in-ears and earphone cables at almost every concert. He fought with them again and this time a staff has to help him. :)

Ferman performing "All We Need is Everyone"

(photo by Asena Sonbay - Thanks so much, Asena!)

"All We Need is Everyone" is superb again. The drums are wonderful! It will be one of the most expected songs of the new album.

The closing song is the magnificent "Alisirim Gozlerimi Kapamaya" with fantastic drum show again. The maNga staff bring the side drums with lights inside. Just then a security staff jumps on the stage! Apparently he attempts to protect Yagmur who crouched down towards the fans. Ferman cracks jokes with him. "What's wrong?" And he extends the microphone to him and says "Wanna say something? Everything's fine up here!". Then the staff gets off the stage. Ferman needs to make a speech again: "It was very important to play at İş Sanat. Thanks so much for sharing our excitement tonight. We didn't play much at concert halls with seating order before. When we played, I always forced all the audience to stand up, jump up and down with us. But you give us a very nice energy from back there so much that you don't even have to stand up. Thanks very much for your smiling faces!" Yes, he's talking to us, the people who didn't stand up. :)

When we waited for the concert to start at the foyer, the Wildcard of maNga at Soundclash, drummer Cem Bergamali and his company walked past us to the backstage, so I understood what the big surprise is they were talking about on NTV interview. The young fans who couldn't go the Soundclash because of the age limit, will witness that spectacular drum show for the first time. The drummers make the crowd frenzied again. Everybody watch the show fascinatedly. The harmony among the drums and the side drums of maNga boys are wonderful. Ozgur does a solo in the meantime. Ferman sings the rap part tonight. The audience accompanies again beautifully. The duet song with children of İzmir MEV College that maNga announced at MEV College concert will be magnificent, because the kids are very good at accompaniment, better than the elders. When they finish, a thunderous applause immediately arises.

At the end, to my surprise, there is no maNga Bow! They forget to bow! I don't understand why! Big disappointment for me!

Setlist of İş Sanat Concert

After the concert, we attempt to go backstage, but we can't go inside because of the big fight among the kids, the parents and the bodyguards! Apparently they are under the orders of the management of maNga and they don't let anybody inside. This causes a big quarrel among them. But they don't leave. They want to take pictures with maNga boys. The bodyguards don't let them inside no matter what. This is so boring. I had thought that this was not a piece of cake. We give up and leave. And I wish a silent good luck to the maNga boys. This is not a easy job.

When we go outside, there are still some fans waiting who don't give up. After a while Efe gets out. He is leaving with his pretty wife. But he gets caught and had to take some pics with the young fans. After a couple of shots, the fans leave Efe alone and they walk to the parking lot.

We grab a taxi to Uskudar. After a rock concert, we're too tired to take subway to Taksim and then bus to Besiktas, and ferry to Uskudar. :) In the taxi, I tweet little reports of the second part. I review "Today". I tell about the meaningless big fight in front of the backstage door. :)

This time I'll share some pictures with my impressions of the concert. If it would have been recorded, it could be easily a concert album. Acoustic music went very well with maNga. Some fans don't think this way and they want the hard maNga back, but acoustic albums, songs and concerts are always prestigious for every band. The fans have to understand this. MaNga will be back again. Patience, guys, patience a little more!

The next maNga concert will be at Santral İstanbul on Feb.24. I'll take my 12 year old niece to this concert if I can, as a birthday gift to her. She's been singing "Bir Kadin Cizeceksin" since she was 4! This will be her second maNga concert and I'm sure she'll jump up and down like she did at Caddebostan concert.

I apologize for being late in translating. But I appreciate your comments, guys! Thanks in advance...:)

CLASH OF THE TITANS: RED BULL SOUNDCLASH / THE LONG-EXPECTED NIGHT

CLASH OF THE TITANS / THE LONG-EXPECTED NIGHT

Finally we have experienced that night! Oh, what a night it was! From now on, the regular concerts will be very monotonous, tasteless for us! Soundclash was like no other music event I've ever seen. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The paragraph below from the Red Bull web site describes what Red Bull Soundclash is:

Red Bull Soundclash is a unique live musical experience that brings two bands with different sounds, styles and influences together under one roof to compete for the devotion of a room full of fans. With the bands set up on opposite stages, each group takes it in turn to improvise around a groove and then wait as the opposing band has to answer. Which band will call the tune? Which band will lift the crowd? Which band will be the ultimate winner?

I was wondering what kind of clash it would be between maNga and Athena since the first newspaper article about the Soundclash was appeared. Last week's NTV interview with both bands gave us some hints about what would happen that night, but nothing exclusive. There would be surprises and really good music from both bands, that's for sure. But what I didn't expect was some interesting and unexpected choreographed shows and the cute verbal duels between the lead singers of both bands. We liked these cute interactions between the bands as much as the performances.

Red Bull Soundclash was a first for Turkey, but I hope it won't be the last! There aren't many rock bands, courageous enough to accept such an offer in our country, so we have to congratulate both bands for accepting such an offer without blinking an eye.

Now I'll do my best to share my excitement of that night. Of course it won't be like being there in person, but if I could give you some idea how brilliant the concert was, I would be happy. Here is how it all went down.

CLASH OF THE TITANS

We reach the gate of the Soundclash arena around 18:45. It's very cold, but we won't have to wait in the open air long, because the gates will be opened around 19:30. There is a TV crew, interviewing with the young group of girls and boys in front of me about how they feel about the Soundclash. The girl says that they are very excited because this is a new concept.

The Soundclash Gate

Around 19:20, after strict controls, we are allowed inside the arena. First thing we do is to locate maNga stage. Two separate stages set up at the far ends of the arena. One is illuminated with blue spotlights and this belongs to maNga; the other one is lit by red spotlights and this is the Athena stage. I don't know why, but somehow I like maNga stage to be in blue. :)

The Blue Stage of maNga

The Red Stage of Athena 

We settle in front of the blue stage. We're up front and very very close to the stage. This is the first time in a long time that I'll watch a concert this close. There are obsessive fans around us, such as a girl who takes pics with maNga boys at every concert, or another girl who always takes Cem's water from him at concerts. :)

The Soundclash Arena

I even come across coincidentally one of my Twitter followers! :) I tweet some pics from the arena to my Twitter followers, as I promised them. I know a lot of people who can't come to the concert follow my tweets tonight. I'll be one of the live Twitter correspondents of the Soundclash to the world. :)

Towards 21:00, there is a little stir on stage. We see maNga boys at the backstage, waiting to come onto the stage. Ozgur is jumping up and down. The others are looking cool. My friend says that she saw Nathalie, too. The host of the event is cute TV talent, Alp Kirsan.

At 21:15, maNga come onto the stage. We have no interest in the Athena stage at all. MaNga's performance is all we care about. Soundclash is starting!

maNga on stage

Yagmur has a transparent tshirt and tight-fitting trousers with rhinestone-studded parts on it. Ozgur is in a vest with rhinestone-studded shoulder straps. Efe and Cem are wearing regular tshirts. Ferman is in his favorite black sleeveless undershirt that everybody loved and he had a funny beanie (probably QUE's) on his new bald head.

maNga's Frontline

Soundclash has some rules. We know them. First of all, there will be warm-up for each group, where they perform their 3 songs by turns to present themselves. In the warm-up, maNga performs their usual opening song "Rezalet Cikarasim Var", and then "Bir Kadin Cizeceksin" which was released this very day 8 years ago; and "Evdeki Ses". They are in pretty good shape as usual.

Athena's warm-up songs included "Aşk Kafasi", "Sen de Yap!", "Arsız Gönül". I'm not familiar with the latest Athena songs very much, so I can't review their warm-up songs. But during their warm-up, maNga boys watch them from their stage.

maNga watching Athena's warm-up

Step 1 : The Cover

Each band is to do its own previously rehearsed version of a song selected in advance.

The first round of the night will be "The Cover" and the real show begins. We were very curious about which song will be selected as "The Cover" before the Soundclash. MaNga and Athena were so careful and meticulous not to give any hint even mistakenly about the Cover Song during the NTV interview, but Red Bull TR website revealed the cover song one day before the Soundclash and spoiled all the surprise for us. Yes, now we know what the cover song is like and we have done our homework. It's Chemical Brothers' "Galvanize".

Round 1 / The Cover / maNga Galvanize

It's a rap song with an attractive well-known intro. We aren't worried, because Ferman is very good at rap songs. But we didn't expect such a stage show at all! This is a choreographed show with all the dancers and costumes etc. Probably their first show ever since Eurovision 2010 for maNga. This must be the thing that Ferman called "surprise at the beginning". The dancers look like the sand creatures with glowing eyes in the Star Wars movies. And Ferman comes onto the stage in overalls with a rhinestone-studded hoodie and he's holding a leash of a dancer crawling like a dog! Ferman's performance is very harsh. And then we have 2 burlesque showgirls on the stage as well. They're maybe Nathalie's friends and maybe this is even Nathalie's own choreography. :) This is nothing what I have expected from the Cover at all. But it looks very cool on stage. The audience loved the show very much.

Ferman and the showgirls on "Galvanize"

Athena's belly dancers on "Galvanize"

On the far stage, Athena is ready for their own version of "Galvanize". In the meantime, I tweet and let my Twitter friends know about the warm-up and the Cover, so I can't pay attention to Athena's performance on stage as much as I want. But towards the end of the song, there is a noise from the audience and I raise my head from my cell phone and look up at the big screen on the right side of me. Wow! There are 3 belly dancers on Athena stage!! Athena was like trying to say "We have girls, too! How about that?". :) The crowd liked the belly dancers as well, because a burst of applause arises from the crowd in the arena. Athena knows how to play to the crowd as usual.

Ferman in a duel of words with Athena's Gökhan

In the meantime, there are a very cute verbal duel between the two lead singers of the both bands across the arena and this is very fun to watch. Ferman says that the belly dancers really surprised him and he didn't expect them at all. Gokhan, Athena's lead singer asks Ferman, "Did you like it?" :) Gokhan continues his banter, "you know why it happened!". Ferman doesn't know and he asks,"why?" but Gokhan, intentionally or unintentionally doesn't answer the question and Ferman doesn't pursue it. Gokhan was about to explain why they brought the belly dancers up, but we won't be able to know that any more!

Step 2 : The Takeover

Each band starts one of their own songs and then stops mid track and lets the other band finish.

The next round is The Takeover. The duel of words is continuing. Gokhan says, "The real thing is starting right now! Let's see how we take over your song! That song which you're about to play will be ours!". Ferman shoots back, "You're firing us up big time!". We are really anxious about which song they will hand over to Athena!

And the song that I'm in love with, Cevapsiz Sorular, its album version's familiar intro with piano begins to flow. There is an enthusiastic applause from the crowd. We missed this version, because we have listened only to the acoustic version of it since last year. So we're all ears! I admit this is a surprise for me. I haven't expected it at all to be a takeover song. Will it be a fast takeover, or slow like the original? We don't know it yet. Ferman's duel with words is continuing: "We're playing this song for Athena!". And then he points his hand to us, "...and for you, too!". Ferman is singing in a relaxed fashion. The accompaniment of the audience is excellent as always. And then Yagmur extends his hand to the other stage and Athena's taking the song over. ..but how??! The music is in reggae form! Just the Athena style! But a little slow. Everybody's surprised! This is a real surprise now! I haven't thought that this song could be performed in reggae form. It's a very good experimental effort from Athena and they transform the song into a mixture of a ballad and reggae. Ferman can't stand still and goes with the reggae rhythm and dancing all over the stage!

Efe writes something on a paper, he shows it first to Ferman and then to the camera at the back. I'm not sure what was on the paper but it looks like "Athena...". We'll surely see it on TV!

Round 2 Takeover - Devralma 1

maNga Cevapsız Sorular + Athena Serseri Mayın

When Gokhan sings "Cevapsiz Sorular", the full accompaniment of the audience was again perfect. After the song is completed, Gokhan says, "I'd like to admit something: This song is one of the best Turkish songs ever. Thank you so much, guys, for sharing it with us!". That's right, Cevapsiz Sorular is now a classic, mother of all the romantic and sad break-up songs! This must be something that maNga is proud of.

Ferman in verbal duel with Gökhan & performs Cevapsız Sorular

It's Ferman's turn to duel: "Gokhan, you played it differently so much so that from now on, how can I sing it without remembering this version?" :) Yes, that's gonna be tough! Gokhan jokes again, "That's how we'll sing it from now on!" and asks for permission to sing this version in their concerts. Ferman extends his arms forward laughing and says "you have it!" :)

Now it's Athena's turn for the takeover. They choose their well-known song "Serseri Mayin" (Floating Mine). After an exhilarating performance from Athena, maNga takes over the song with Yagmur's brilliant electro guitar riffs and Ferman's harsh voice. MaNga's frontline get the crowd energized more and more. On the last chorus, Ferman makes the pitch of his voice lower than the rest of the song and says to us "sway your hands from right to left or from left to right...now that's what we call trance!". And then again his voice gets louder and harsher and the song is abruptly over! Wow! What a takeover it is!

Round 2 Takeover - Devralma 2 maNga - Athena Dursun Zaman

Both bands have to do this twice, so it's maNga's turn again. This time the song will be the wonderful "Dursun Zaman". A part of the song will always be missing without Göksel's original unique accompaniment, so the unforgettable intro begins with Yagmur and Cem's guitar solos instead of Göksel's voice. And then Ferman starts to sing it. After the first chorus, Yagmur forwards the song to the red stage extending his hand.

This time, we hear the intro from Hakan's guitar and it is a very good maNga cover from Athena. It's eerily the same version! The same tempo, the same guitar riffs, maybe a little something extra from Gökhan's unique style of singing. I really like it! So do Yagmur and Ferman, I think. Because Yagmur salutes Athena with a little bow across the arena and Ferman stands still like a statue without blinking an eye! It was an emotional moment that gives goosebumps!

Round 2 Takeover - Devralma 2

Athena'dan maNga'ya Bazil 1.Kısım Athena

 Round 2 Takeover - Devralma 2

Athena'dan maNga'ya Bazil 2.Kısım Athena
 

The next song from Athena to maNga is "Korsanlar Krali Bazil" (The King of the Pirates, Bazil) , one of the hardest songs of Athena from 1993. MaNga's takeover was excellent again. When it is over, Ferman says "What a bizarrely fantastic song it is!". Gökhan's comment is "It was like a bulldozer!". Ferman asks permission to play the song at their concerts from now on. Gökhan says, "Let's trade them!".

The lead singers banters with the audience this time. Gökhan asks us "Are you tired? We have just started!". Ferman starts, "The audience is a little...", but leaves it off unfinished. Hmm...what are we?

Now it's the time for the round 3: The Clash.

Step 3 : The Clash

Each band is to take one of their own tunes and transforms it into a different genre.

The bands have to play their 3 songs in different styles. The genres are acoustic, electronica and metal. Three genres which maNga is not stranger at all. I am curious about Athena's interpretation.

Round 3 The Clash / 1.Genre Acoustic /

Athena - Kayip with maNga standing by

Athena starts with an acoustic version of one of their hard songs: "Kayıp" (Missing). But this time it's a very soft and romantic song. I love it. This is the first time they perform it in acoustic form. During their performance, I take video of their performance on the big screen. On maNga stage, the set up of maNga acoustic song continues. I'm curious about which song they will perform in acoustic form. Not Cevapsiz Sorular this time of course. I'd like them to perform a first-time acoustic version of one of the older songs. Two additional instrumentalists come onto the stage. A female violinist and a female cellist. When I see them, I realize which song it will be! And this is somewhat a little disappointment for me.

Ferman having a chat with fans during Athena's acoustic performance of "Kayıp"

 

I notice a stir around me and I have a look at the maNga stage and wow! Ferman is right in front of us and he is asking very seriously "How are we doing? Are we any good?". And we all give him our thumbs up! A girl shouts to him, "I'm thirsty!" and Ferman gives her one of the Cem's pet bottles. :) The girl explains us that she gets Cem's water in every concert, but this time it was Ferman's hand to give her Cem's water! Some fans are obsessive, yes. :) The male fans want his wrist watch from him, but he ignores them! I remember Avcilar concert in October where Ferman lost his hat. So he is right to ignore them.

He goes back to the stage leaving us. He just has a brief chat with the female instrumentalists and gives a hug to Yagmur, I don't know why. But it is cute! I love their friendship!

Round 3 The Clash /

1.Genre Acoustic / maNga Fly To Stay Alive

Now it's time for maNga acoustic! They are used to acoustic performances. On the frontline, there are 3 high chairs for Yagmur, Ferman and Cem. And the touching guitar solo of "Fly To Stay Alive" starts! It's a fine acoustic performance of the song as usual, but why can't we hear the violin and the cello?

The second genre is electronica. Athena performs their 2010 song "Kalb-i". I have no idea what kind of song it was before this, so I can't comment on this new version. I'm anxious about seeing it on TV broadcast on Dec 28. In the meantime, I'm busy with tweeting my comments on the first rounds to my Twitter friends.

Round 3 The Clash - Carpışma /

2.Genre Electronic / maNga We Could be The Same

In fact, we're curious about which maNga song will be transformed into electronica. Ferman is getting ready to use the keyboard right by the microphone from the very beginning of the concert. He asks several times, "Are we gonna jump?". And a music we can't recognize until we hear Ferman starts like a remix. I have seen Ferman playing keyboard for the first time. He can play it. And the song is no other than famous ESC 2010's runner-up "We Could Be The Same". :) But this time it's a disco version of it. On the chorus part, we accompany him as usual: "Foooor all this tiiiiime!". The crowd get carried away with the song!

The third genre is metal. Athena's choice for metal is their 2002 song "Öpücük" (Kiss). I can't say how much this song transformed into metal, but it sounds pretty hard across the arena. :)

Round 3 The Clash Metal maNga Beni Benimle Birak 1.Kısım

Round 3 The Clash Metal maNga Beni Benimle Birak 2.Kısım
 

On the other hand, maNga's 3rd song for metal starts with a unrecognizable arrangement. When Ferman starts to sing, we realize it's "Beni Benimle Bırak". In this new metal form, they can easily put it into their new album as a new song! :) It's quite hard in metal.

After this, Gökhan and Ferman duels in words again. Gökhan jokes that in fact they're not so friendly; since we, the audience is here, they're keeping calm. But after the concert they're gonna slug it out outside! :)

Ferman responds jokingly: "If possible, let's not see one another at the backstage! The greenrooms are so close to each other! Please make room between them if you can!" :) I love them bantering!

Now it's time for the most exciting and most anticipated round of all: The Wildcard.

Step 4 : The Wildcard

This final round allows each band to bring a "surprise" guest on stage.

Yes, they're allowed to bring a special guest and it'll be a complete surprise!

MaNga starts again. Before the song starts, Ferman jokes with Gökhan again, "Gökhan, after this performance we'll still be friends, right?". Gökhan, "What are you talking about? Our friendship is eternal!" :)

We don't have any clues at all as to who might be the guest stars tonight. This is a complete secret! I don't expect anyone extremely famous, but it never occurred to me that the guests would be this surprising!

Round 4 / The Wildcard - Joker /

maNga - Alisirim Gozlerimi Kapamaya 1.Kısım

Round 4 / The Wildcard - Joker /

maNga - Alisirim Gozlerimi Kapamaya 1.Kısım

MaNga's song is not a surprise at all. It's their usual closing song of all their concerts. The magnificent "Alışırım Gözlerimi Kapamaya" with that fantastic drum show at the end. The surprise will be when the guest joins them on the stage. Their famous drums with lights inside are already on stage. But something bothers Ferman. He starts, "Oh, this song is ...." and then says something to Cem. What? We don't know what bothers him. He wrestles with his in-ears for a while as usual. :) The song is a complete success again, with the drum show and all, but where is the guest? I'm thinking about something to do with drums and percussion. And I remember the only name I can think of : Percussion master Burhan Öçal. If it's him, he will definitely surprise all of us! We're waiting for the big moment!

maNga - Cem Bergamalı Drum Show

And...what?! A group of 5 Ramadan drummers make a dash onto the stage! Just as I half guessed anyway! Their chief has a long hair like an American Indian and his name is Cem Bergamalı. We found out his name afterwards from the host Alp Kırşan. I think I've heard his name before but how? maNga boys and the guest drummers start an extra spectacular drum show and make the crowd frenzied with enjoyment! We watch this rhythmic drum show fascinatedly! When they finish, an enthusiastic burst of applause arises from the crowd. And then as usual they throw their rods to the crowd. Efe's rod flies over my head and it is grabbed by a boy behind me. After one of the Cem's rods is grabbed by a fan at the right side of me, my friend shouts at Cem, "Throw that at me, please!!!". And then an something incredible happens and as if Cem heard my friend and locked on target, he gently throws the rod in our direction and...and...my friend grabs it incredibly!! Wow! I say "that's too much!" and we hug each other out of joy!

Athena and the Mehter

Athena's "Holigan" Performance feat.Mehter

Round 4 Joker / Athena - Holigan feat.Mehter (in front of the far maNga stage)

Now it's time for Athena's last round! While we were enjoying the prolonged drum show of maNga, we totally forgot Athena! We turn around and look at the Athena stage, our eyebrows are raised and our mouths drop open! Because Mehter, Ottoman Ceremonial Military Band had been set up on the stage in full regalia. A roar of astonishment comes from the crowd. Nobody expected to see them on the stage at all, I'm sure. And with the "Hasdur!" ("Get Ready" or "Attention") of the band chief, the most stirring song ever written by Athena "Holigan" starts! Who can resist this song? Noone! Everybody including maNga fans start jumping up and down all of a sudden! After the intro, we hear the zournas of The Mehter. Athena acts very smart. With this soccer march, they know how to capture the attention of the crowd. It's their job to compose sporting marches. They prove one more time that they know what they do. We are the Turks! We can't resist the belly dancers and the Mehter music! The song stimulates the national sentiments of the crowd and the whole arena burst into a thunderous applause. With this performance, Athena takes the spotlight away from maNga.

Athena + maNga Brotherhood on stage

After "Holigan" is over, we notice that maNga also go onto the Athena stage. Tonight the winner is the music and the friendship! The two bands capture the hearts of the crowd one more time with the final speeches from both lead singers full of friendship and brotherhood. At the end, "maNga Bow" transforms into a "Athena+maNga Bow" and ends this unforgettable night of good creative music!

Athena+maNga Bow

The people listened to real pure music tonight. We heard the songs of our favorite bands in the forms that we've never heard before and can never hear again. Now the regular concerts will be tasteless for me and for many people who were here tonight. I realized one more time that we, Turks love the concerts we can dance wildly.

I had fun tonight! I was right in front of the maNga stage and I could manage to take HD videos of all the performances of maNga. I have used up 5 memory cards and 2 extra batteries. I have lots of raw materials to share with the world again!

Cem's rod

And we have a little souvenir from tonight: Cem's rod! My friend will take it home with her of course, but I can at least take a photo of it in my hand!

Soundclash was a first for Turkey. We don't want it to be the last. This concert opened our horizon to new ideas and concepts in music which is very interesting and we liked it. Let's see which bands will clash in next year's Soundclash. We'll be looking forward to it.

Before going to bed, I notice that a little tweet arrived all the way from Colombia! The Colombian maNga fan says, "you have done a great job tonight! Thanks from Colombia!". Yes, it's a small world!




PS. The Soundclash partial concert will be on Dream TV at 21:00 on Dec 28, 2012. You can watch it online as well : http://www.dreamtv.com.tr/canli-yayin/

And then the whole Soundclash concert will be broadcasted on TMB TV very soon. The date hasn't been fixed yet. You can watch it online, too : http://tmb.tv/izle.aspx

My Impressions on maNga Avcilar Concert on OCt.10, 2012

It was excellent...My first night concert of maNga. 2 hours with them! A music feast! Wow!

The concert was generally a long version of Caddebostan concert almost a month ago. They played usual old songs from Sehr-i Huzun and from their self-titled first album. They didn't play new cover "Ya Evde Yoksan" unfortunately. But the surprise song for me is "All We Need is Everyone". Because they played the rock version of this song which was PERFECT!! I loved it so much!
This song is for ESC2010 which they prepared on order from TRT. From among 3 songs they chose "We Could Be The Same". By the way, the other one is "Fly To Stay Alive" which was called "Run" then.

All We Need Is Everyone

They could participate in ESC any time again with this version, it's that good in my opinion!
I have listened just the acoustic versions of "All We Need is Everyone" before. So the rock version impressed me very much. On Youtube, you can find Akustikhane and MTV Express versions of it. I have listened to it live for the first time, and it was remarkably excellent! Ferman once said that they would think to include it in the new albums in a radio interview, so I think this version will suit very well in the new album which will probably have a rock sound.

Fly To Stay Alive

They arrived on the stage 20 minutes late, due to the Istanbul's infamous super traffic jam! But Ozgur and Cem tweeted from the road saying that they had been in the traffic fighting to reach the campus for 5 hours and almost there! I got this news thru Twitter but not that everyone has mobile Twitter, so at 21:05 everyone started to whistle and clap which meant where the hell they were! Thank God, they were on stage at 21:20!

First songs were from this year's "e-akustik" album, Hosgeldin and Rezalet Cikarasim Var. Then they performed from Sehr-i Huzun and their first album, such as Dunyanin Sonuna Dogmusum, Tek Yon Sectigin Tum Yollar, Her Ask Olumu Tadacak, Uryan Geldim, Bir Kadin Cizeceksin, Bitti Ruya...

"Cevapsiz Sorular" and "Ben Bir Palyacoyum" were acoustic as usual with just Yagmur and Ferman...and the audience, of course! :)

Between these songs, Ferman who was very impressed by the fans' accompaniment during "Cevapsiz Sorular", made a little thank-you speech. He said that now he wanted to say something very sincerely and that the best part of being famous and recognized by people, making music & albums is sharing their songs with us.

CevapSiz Sorular / Ben Bir Palyacoyum

They played their old songs too hard. They were as if they wanted to tell us "we haven't changed our sound at all, we are the same hard maNga"!
They also performed some solos. Efe did a DJ performance and after that Cem did his solo on his bass and Yagmur joined him, too. After their solos, came "Dursun Zaman", which was a much-acclaimed hit song from their first album. It was a duet song with female pop singer Goksel. Goksel's contribution in the song with her unique voice was undeniable. Even though we like Ferman's voice very much, every time maNga performs this song without her, you feel something is missing. Once I have seen a video of a concert of Goksel in which she performed this song on stage with another no-name male vocal, still something was missing. I mean it's a Ferman-Goksel thing, it's like it's not meant to be performed with someone else!

Cem&Yagmur Solo / Dursun Zaman

When it was the turn for "We Could Be The Same", Ferman started to sing the slow intro, just like the duet with Orphaned Land at Ankara's AnkiRock Festival on Sept.21. Everybody in the arena joined and accompanied him as usual.
In the middle, he suddenly stopped his friends saying "one second, one second...I liked it very much! I want to do this part again! One more time? For me?" And he started the slow intro again. Everybody sang the intro along with him, again. Then he thanked the fans and the ESC version of WCBTS has started normally. In the middle of the song he tried to dance like a belly dancer which was very cute! :) Not the belly part but neck part was almost there! :)

We Could Be The Same

The concert has some interesting moments. One of them was about Ferman and his hat!
At the beginning, he came to the stage with an interesting hat on his head. This was a new hat on him. It was a bit chilly night, so he had a coat, a sweatshirt on him and underneath he had his usual black sleeveless undershirt that everybody loved. He had his hat on his head during the most part of the concert.

Everything has started when Ferman got down off the stage among the fans during the performance of "Evdeki Ses" (Noise in the House)! This was a first for me. I haven't seen anything like that before in any maNga concert videos, so I was so surprised that he was among the fans. We were a little behind, so I couldn't see what they did to him, but everybody especially girls was screaming and shrieking! :) You can see what they are doing to him in the official picture below. :)

When he got back to the stage, he hadn't got his precious hat on his head. He hastily finished the first half of the song (The video below was taken from the moment he was on the stage again).


And he asked unexpectedly "who took my hat?" in an angry-sounded voice a couple of times. He called the fan who took the hat to the stage, still angry-sounding, "Come on up here with the hat!" he said. The fan threw the hat back to him, but Ferman still wanted to have the fan on the stage. :) He said, "I didn't want it back, I said "come on up here!" laughing this time. In the meantime, Cem joined Ferman in the front and he called him too, pointing him.

Finally the boy came on the stage unwillingly. Ferman and Cem welcomed him on the stage, and Ferman shouted to us "He came all the way from Iraq!! Cheer for him, Istanbul!!" And he gave him a big hug! After that, he sang the last part of the song with his arms around the Iraqi boy's shoulders, "Sizin gibi delilere her gun bayram", which means "Every day is like bayram for the crazy people like you!". While singing this part, he was pointing the boy out with his finger! So was Cem! As if he wanted to mean that he was crazy enough to come all the way from Iraq to the concert! But we don't know the details about the boy. Maybe he was just a guest student at Istanbul University where the concert was held in the campus area. :)

But it was very spot-on that the boy was from so far away Iraq during just the right song for the situation! (Ferman named the fans "crazy people" (deli) on Twitter, because the fans are following them anywhere no matter what, so the Iraqi boy was also crazy!)
Well, after Ferman finished the song, he presented his hat to the boy with a very cute bow, like their signature "maNga Bow"! With a final hug, he saw him off from the stage.

The last trivial moment that needs to be mentioned was at the end. The last song was "Beni Benimle Birak". When it finished, they prepared to say finishing goodbyes. Ferman put his sweatshirt back on. They were still on the stage, but there were incredible noise and applause. The fans started to shout "One more! One more!". They wanted encore! Ferman said laughing "We didn't even get off the stage!".

And without any reluctance, when they took their instruments back again, Ferman said very nicely with a smile, "Friends, there is an accepted way of doing this encore thing! We finish our regular program, get off the stage, and then you applause and we come back! This is the way it should be! I think we are the first music band that give encore before even getting off the stage!" That was very funny! :) As an encore, they performed "Alisirim Gozlerimi Kapamaya". After that came their concert signature "maNga Bow", that they do at the closing of every concert and this is their way of showing respect to the audience which is very nice! It also shows how strong the bond among them is and together they're one! With their usual "maNga Bow", the 2-hour maNga feast was over! Now it was time to go back home with a feeling of emptiness inside and lots of visual material to share with the world! :)

Alisirim Gozlerimi Kapamaya

maNga 10 Ekim 2012 Avcilar Konseri Izlenimlerim

 Konser Oncesi

10 Ekim'de ilk defa bir maNga gece konserine gittim. Uskudar'dan dusununce benim icin dunyanin obur ucu gibi bir lokasyon olan Avcilar'daki Ist.Universitesi kampusundeydi konser ve ben gittim, evet! Ferman hakli fanlara "deli" lakabini takmakta. :) Ben uzun zamandir boyle bir delilik yapmamistim. :)

Kadikoy Sogutlucesme'den metrobusle gittik Avcilar'a. Umdugumdan kolay oldugunu itiraf ediyorum. Ilk defa metrobuse bindim ve iyi ki varmis dedim laf aramizda. Trafik kesmekesiyle hic bir ilgimiz olmadan Avcilar'a vardik.

Sadece 1 saatte ordaydik saat 17:30'da. Buraya en son 1990'da gelmistim diplomami almaya. I.U. Isletme Fakultesi'nden mezun oldum ben, ama Avcilar'da okumadim hic. Ben Rumeli Hisarustu'ndeki, simdi Bogazici Universitesi'ne ait olan ve Kuzey Kampusu olarak adlandirilan binadan mezunum. O yuzden sanslilardanim, Avcilar'a gidip gelmem hic gerekmedi. :)
Ama gordugum kadariyla aradan gecen bunca yila ragmen, kampuste hic bir degisiklik, hic bir goze gorunen gelisme yok. Bu beni buyuk hayal kirikligina ugratti. Gordugum en ruhsuz kampuslerden biri burasi. Yesillik yok, hala cevre insaat halinde. I.U.'ye hic yakismiyor. Neyse, ben konser icin burdayim. Universite su anda beni cok da ilgilendirmiyor. :)

BiDoluFest kapsamindaydi maNga konseri. O yuzden festival adi altinda bazi etkinlikler gorunuyor. Ufak standlarda genellikle yiyecek yerleri, kebapcilar, misircilar, aksesuarcilar, vs...siralanmislar. Ufak kafecikler olusturulmus, gencler sohbet ediyor, gulusuyor, egleniyor...

Oncelikle su konser alanini bir mimleyelim dedik. Saat 17:45. Lunapark bile yapmislar festival icin. :) Belki de hep var, bilmiyorum. Konser alanini bulduk. Giriste bir grup ergen kiz siraya girmisler, beklemeye baslamislar bile. 20:00'de acilacakmis kapilar. O saate kadar burda durmayalim, eski okulum Isletme Fakultesi'ne bir bakalim dedik. Aa, o da ne! Okulda Soslu Makarna Gunu varmis! Bahcede bir ufak sahne kurulu ve hafif muzik orkestra duzeni var sahnede. 19:30'da konser varmis. Ne guzel, burda vakit gecirebiliriz maNga'ya kadar dedik.

Ferman yine hakli! Cunku biz festival, senlik duzenlemeyi bilmiyoruz. Ayni gun birbirine bu kadar yakin saatlerde iki konser olur mu? Bu kadar mi birbirinden habersiz ayni mekani kullanan organizatorler? Turkiye'de konserlerin olmazsa olmazi gecikmeleri de hesaba katinca iki konserin ustuste binecegi asikar. Neyse, ortamin tadini cikaralim dedik, beklemeye basladik. Eski mezun olarak orda olmak da guzeldi ama yillarin hizla gecisi bayagi bir dokundu bana.
Bir organizasyon aksakligi daha! Saat 19:30'a geliyor ama muzisyenler sahnede yer alacaklarina, okul binasina dogru gidiyorlar grup halinde. Allah Allah! ...Megerse muzisyenlere icerde yemek veriyorlarmis konser oncesi! Burasi Turkiye, olur boyle seyler! :)

Bu arada arasira Twitter'a bakiyorum, onemli bir haber var mi diye. Aa, o da ne?! MaNga'dan Ozgur tweet atmis, "trafik.." yazmis sadece. Demek ki trafikte kalmislar, gecikeceklerinin gostergesi! Aa, sonra Cem'den bir tweet: "Avcilar'a gitmek Ankara'ya gitmekten zormus" diyor. 5 saattir yoldalarmis, kampuse ulasmaya calisiyorlarmis. Sonra resmi maNga Twitter hesabindan bir tweet: "Trafikteyiz, cok bunaldik ama az kaldi..." Hadi bakalim...

Saat 20:00'ye yaklasiyor, hafif muzik konseri baslamak uzere. E bari bu kadar bekledik, biraz bakalim da, oyle maNga'ya gidelim dedik. Onlar nasilsa trafikteler, gecikecekler. :) Asla tam 21:00'de baslayamazlar bu durumda.

Konser klasik bati muzigi tarzinda bir parcayla baslangic yapti; taniyorum ama su anda aklima gelmiyor adi. Sonra 4 solist geldi ve Abba'dan 2 parca, sonra Grease soundtrack'inden 2 parcadan sonra 20:20 gibi artik maNga'ya gitmemiz gerektiginden ciktik ordan. Grup gecikecek, ama alan dolmustur coktan. Cok arkalara kalmayalim dedik. Ama aklimin Isletme'de kaldigini da itiraf edecegim izninizle. :)

Alan bayagi buyukmus. Hali saha gibi bir yer. Kampusun etkinlik alani herhalde. Bir onceki aksamki Duman konserinde burda 55.000 kisi varmis diye duymustum. Wow! Erken gelen gencler yerlere yayilmis bekliyorlar. Biz trafikte olduklarini yani konserin gec baslayacagini biliyoruz, ama bunu bilmeden beklemenin rahatligi da bir baska oluyordur herhalde diye dusunuyorum! :)

Sahne onu dolmus elbette. Insanlari yara yara onlere dogru geliyoruz. Universiteliler bayagi uzun boylular. Bu kadar cok erkek fan gorecegimi ummuyordum. Kizlarin sayisi dusuk geldi bana. Neyse, ben rahat goruntu alabilecegim bir aralik bulup yerlesmeye calisiyorum. Video cekecegim cunku. Artik oldugu kadar. :)

Saat 21:05 oldu. MaNga yok! Normal! Ama nedenini bilmeyen gencler isliklamaya, alkislamaya ve soylenmeye basliyorlar. Sahnede duzen hazirliklari ve arka muzik devam ediyor. Ben bagira bagira "hala trafikteler!" demek istiyorum ama bana ne diye dusunuyorum bir yandan da.

21:15. Hala yoklar! Trafigin neresindeler acaba diye meraklanmaya basliyorum. :)

21:20! Ondeki kizli erkekli gruptan bir ciglik yukseliyor! Sahnede bir hareketlenme var. Tamam, yetisip sahneye cikti iste maNga! Neyse, cok gecikmediler yine de!

(12/10 Ek: Bugun maNga'nin Kral TV'ye verdigi bir roportaj izledim. Konser oncesi cekilmis. Demek ki gecikmelerinin nedeni trafik + roportajmis! Roportajda Turkce +Ingilizce album hazirliklarinda olduklarini ve sonra bir turneye cikacaklarini soyluyorlar. Sonra Ing album gelecekmis. Bir guncelleme aliyoruz son calismalari hakkinda bu sayede. Konserdeki gecikmeye sevineyim mi, uzuleyim mi bilemedim simdi. :)

Havada ic urperten bir serinlik var. Grup uyeleri kalin gelmisler. Ama Ferman biraz abartmis gorunuyor. Palto, icinde bir esorfman ustu ve neredeyse gozlerine kadar inen bir garip sapka var basinda. :) Konserin ilerleyen dakikalarinda bu sapka konserin maskotu gibi olacak ve bir hosluk yaratacak! :) Artik Avcilar konseri bu sapkayla hatirlanacak! :)

Konser

Konser, her zamanki gibi 2012 albumleri "e-akustik'ten "Hosgeldin" ve arkasindan albumun gaz parcasi "Rezalet Cikarasim Var" ile basliyor...Ben acaba Gencebay cover'lari "Ya Evde Yoksan"i soylerler mi acaba diye heyecanliyim!

2004'teki ilk album ve 2009'daki 2.albumleri Sehr-i Huzun'den hizli hit parcalarla devam ediyorlar. Ferman her zamanki gibi enerjik. Tavsan gibi ordan oraya sicriyor. Seyircileri nasil costuracagini cok iyi biliyor. Zaman zaman "ziiiplaaaa!"diye bagiriyor bizlere ve universiteli gencler basliyorlar cidden ziplamaya, eller havada ve rock forever isareti. Bir yandan da Ferman'in vokaline sonuna kadar ezberlenmis sozlerle eslik ediyorlar. Yagmur ciddiyetle gitarini ve klavyesini konusturuyor. Ozgur, Efe ve Cem de oyleler yine.

Havaya kalkan ellerin kimilerinde cep telefonlari, fotograf makineleri, resim ve video cekiyorlar. 21.yy konserlerinde bunu seviyorum. Artik resim ve video cekme yasaklari kalkmis gibi. Konser oncesi "cekim yapmak yasaktir" duyurulari yok. Bizler 90'li yillarda gizlice cekerdik, sadece kendi zevkimiz icin, ama artik You Tube devri ve herkes video ve resimlerini baskalariyla paylasmak istiyor! Eskiden romantik parcalarda cakmaklar veya ozel dagitilan isikli susler havalara kalkardi; ama artik onlarin yerini cep telefonlari ve digital fotograf makinelerinin parlak ekranlari aldi! :)

Ben de bir kac resim cekeyim diyorum, ama cevremdeki ziplayan insanlardan, rock forever parmaklarindan sakinmaktan, cektigim resimlerin hepsi titrek cikiyor. Vazgeciyorum. Gucumu video icin saklayacagim. :)

Neyse...Bu gece maNga bayagi sert caliyor. 2012 "e-akustik" albumleriyle biraz durulmus gibi gorunen ve bu yuzden bir kisim sadik hayranlarin tepkileriyle karsi karsiya kalan maNga, sanki "biz degismedik, stilimiz yine ayni, yine eski sert maNga'yiz" demek istiyor gibiler.

Bu arada anti parantez belirtmek isterim ki, ben "e-akustik" ile maNga'yi kesfettim denebilir. Bu albumun en buyuk savunucularindan biriyim. Uzun zamandir bu kadar tek bir parca bile atlamadan dinlemesi zevkli, ozenli ve uzerinde bu kadar kafa yorulmus bir album dinlememistim diyebilirim. Ilk albumlerinden cikan enerjik hit parcalarinin muzikal yapisini tumden yikip sarkilari yeniden Ferman'in deyisiyle elektrikli akustik olarak yapilandirdiklari bu album, bazi hayranlar ne derlerse desinler (no matter what they say :)), bence 2012'nin en dikkat cekici, en cesur albumlerinden biri oldu ve beni maNga'ya yeni bir hayran olarak kazandirdi.

Boylece sert sololar basliyor. Once Cem. Daha once onun bas solosuna hic rastlamamistim. Iyi oldu. Aslinda onun da iyi bir sesi var. Vokallerde Cem'i daha cok duymak isteriz. 3 dakikalik solosundan sonra, Yagmur gorunuyor gitariyla ve onun solosu basliyor. Elekto gitarini bayagi bir aglatiyor. Sonra da ilk albumlerinin klasik hit parcasi "Dursun Zaman"a basliyorlar alkislar arasinda. Nerdeyse butun sarkiyi Ferman'dan cok seyirciler soyluyor desem yeridir. Bu iyi bir sarkinin yillar gecse de unutulmayacaginin bir gostergesi. Bu sarki, maNga'nin Goksel ile yaptigi bir duet calismasi. Goksel'in benzersiz sesiyle sarkiya yaptigi katki oylesine inkar edilemez ki, maNga'nin bu sarkiyi her onsuz icrasinda sanki bir eksiklik var gibi hissediliyor. Goksel'in kendi konserlerinden birindeki bu sarkinin yorumunun videosunu izlemistim. Ferman'in yerinde baska bir erkek vokal vardi ve ayni sey, yani bir eksiklik duygusu o yorumda da soz konusuydu. Demek ki bu sarkiyi Ferman ve Goksel hep birlikte soylemeliler. :) Baskalarini karistirmadan. :)

Cem ve Yagmur Solo / Dursun Zaman

Arka arkaya calinan sert enerjik hit parcalardan sonra, sahne bir ara karariyor ve grup sahneden ayriliyor. Seyirciler "n'oluyor yav?! Nereye gittiler simdi?" diyorlar, bu kadar erken bir ara mi olacak acaba diye. Teknik ekipten biri akustik gitari getirip standina yerlestiriyor, 2 adet yuksek sandalye getirip yanyana koyuyorlar. Baska maNga konserlerine gitmis veya videolarini izlemis olanlar tabii hemen anliyorlar durumu. Akustik zamani. Simdi biraz yavaslayacaklar. Arkamdan bir kiz diyor ki, "akustik yapacaklar simdi abi!" Aferin, anladiniz!

Evet, Yagmur ve Ferman cikageliyor. Ferman paltosunu atmis. Fermuarli mor esorfman ustu ve o sapka basinda yine. Yagmur'da gri kapisonlu sweatshirt var. Ben kamerami hazirliyorum, kolumu havaya kaldiriyorum ve sarkiyi bekliyorum. Hangisinin gelecegini biliyorum cunku. :) Nerdeyse grubun muzigini temsil eden hit parcalari, bitmis bir iliskiye yakilmis bir agit olarak algiladigim "Cevapsiz Sorular" mukemmel icra ediliyor, her zamanki gibi. Bu sarkiya ozel ilgim var, kendi bitmis iliskimle iliskilendirdigim icin. Sozleri beni cok etkiliyor ve her performansini izlemek istiyorum. Bu gece cektigim video kisisel "Cevapsiz Sorular" koleksiyonumun 2.parcasi olacak. :)

Cevapsiz Sorular / Ben Bir Palyacoyum



Ferman alt perdeden kisik sesle basliyor, seyirciler de onunla birlikte. Artik herkes bu sarkida Ferman'a nasil eslik edilecegini biliyor. Hatasiz bir eslikle sarki bitiyor; neyse ki seyircilerin sesi bu sefer akortlu cikiyor. :) Yagmur yine gitarina konsantre, dokturuyor kendinden gecerek. Ferman'in mukemmel nagmeleri yine bol alkis aliyor. Kisisel bir not olarak diyorum ki, umarim Yagmur ve Ferman yillar sonra kir sacli amcalar olarak da bu parcayi sahnede yine bu sekliyle akustik olarak tek gitarla soylerler. Tipki Simon ve Garfunkel'in "The Sound of Silence" ile yillar sonra 1981'de New York Central Park'ta yaptiklari gibi. Tek gitar ve ikisi. Paha bicilmez bir 5 dakika! Bence "Cevapsiz Sorular" da maNga'nin "The Sound of Silence"i olacak. Yillar sonra onlardan hala bu parca bis olarak istenecek!

Sarki bitiyor, sahne karariyor. Karanlikta Ferman'in sesi duyuluyor. Seyircinin bu geceki esliginden son derece memnun kalmis olacak ki, ufak bir tesekkur konusmasi yapiyor. "Cok samimi bir sey soylemek istiyorum burda. Album yapmanin, taninmanin, unlu olmanin verdigi en buyuk keyif, sizinle yaptigimiz sarkilari paylasmak. Cok tesekkur ederiz!" Biz de size tesekkur ediyoruz, Ferman, bu guzel muzigi bize tattirdiginiz icin! :)

Sonrasinda bana ve bazi elestirmenlere gore "e-akustik" albumunun zirve noktasi "Ben Bir Palyacoyum"un huzunlu isligi basliyor. Gunumuz Turkiye'sine elestirel bir yorum getirdikleri parca yine huzunlu, yine vurucu, yine mukemmel. Seyirci esligi de oyle, tam kivaminda alcak perdeden. Bu sarkiya yakin zamanda klip cekildigini biliyoruz. Umarim ayni huznu tasiyan bir klip olmustur.

Yine cosma zamani. Ferman isiniyor ve esorfman ustunu de atiyor ve her zamanki siyah atletiyle ve sapkasiyla kaliyor. Elektro gitarini da aliyor eline. Benim icin konserin surpriz parcasi, 2010 Eurovison zamanindan kalma "All We Need is Everyone". Bu parca, maNga'nin TRT'ye Eurovision icin hazirladigi 3 parcadan birisi. Daha once bu parcanin akustik versiyonlarini dinleyebilmistim sadece ve ilk kez tanik oldugum rock versiyonunu acayip sevdim! Cok oynak, costurucu bir muzikal alt yapi koymuslar buna. Sarki bittiginde "aa, bitti ya!" diye dusunmeden edemiyor insan. Ferman'in "Hazir misiniz?...Kooooopp!" cigligiyla yukselen coskuya tam kapilmisken sarki bitiyor! :) O derece icine ceken bir parca! Eline saglik, Yagmur diyeyim. Yeni albumlerine cok yakisacagina eminim. Umarim suresini biraz daha uzun tutarlar. :)

All We Need is Everyone

"Fly To Stay Alive", Eurovision icin hazirladiklari 3.parcaydi. O zaman henuz adi "Run" idi, ama ertesi yil yeni bir duzenleme ve sozlerle "Fly To Stay Alive" olarak karsimiza ciktiginda taninmaz haldeydi ve Avrupa listelerinde 1 numaraya kadar yukseldi. Insanin tuylerini diken diken eden bir parca ve dinlemesi her zaman cok keyifli. Yine oyleydi. Sanirim ses duzeninin de iyi olmasindan, son derece keyif veren guzel bir performans oldu.

Fly To Stay Alive

Sonra 2010 Eurovision'da zafer kazandiklari "We Could Be The Same" geliyor. Slow intro ile basliyorlar parcaya. Ferman'la birlikte seyirciler de eslige, her zamanki gibi. Ama birden Ferman arkadaslarini durduruyor, "bi dakka, bi dakka!" diyerek. Sonra seyircilere donerek, "Hakikaten harikasiniz! Bunu ben bi daha yapmak istiyorum!" diyor. "Cok guzeldi, gercekten! Hadi, benim icin!" Ve slow introya herkes onunla birlikte tekrar basliyor! Ferman'in seyirciyle iletisimi gercekten mukemmel! Onlar kadar sahnesi guclu, dunya standartlarinda muzik yapan baska bir Turk grup var mi, gercekten bilmek istiyorum! Ve sonra da Ferman'in "Hazir misiniz ziplamaya??!" davetiyle birlikte, "We Could Be The Same"in Eurovision versiyonunun guclu coskulu ezgileri basliyor. Ilk dizeyle birlikte bu parcayi ne kadar ozlemis oldugumu hatirliyorum. O zafer gecesini kacirmis oldugum icin hala uzulurum!

We Could Be The Same

Sirada "Evdeki Ses" var. Cartel cover'i ve maNga konserlerinin olmazsa olmazi. Ferman yine formunda bu sarkida. Bu sarkiya ozel alisilmis mimikleriyle sarkinin ilk kismini bitiriyor ve...ve...inanilmaz bir sey yapip seyirciler arasina atliyor! Yani...atladigini tahmin ediyoruz. Seyircilerin onu cekip sahneden asagiya almalari mumkun mu? :) Sanmam. Korumalar falan...Mumkun degil. :) Arkadan goremiyoruz durumu tam uzun boylu arkadaslar yuzunden. On taraftaki seyircilerden bir ciglik kopuyor o anda! Boyle bir sey yapacagini hic tahmin etmedigim icin agzim acik kaliyor! Hic bir videoda boyle bir sey yaptigini gormemistim. Acaba son zamanlardaki Twitter'daki hayranlarla bundan sonra daha yakin olma muhabbetinden anladigi bu mu? :)

maNga'nin kendi resmi sitelerinde paylastigi yukardaki resmi ben de burda paylasayim da, durum anlasilsin.

Bir sure sonra Ferman sahneye donuyor, ama o da ne?! Sapka yok kafasinda! Sarkinin devamini da bitirdikten sonra sahne onune geliyor ve birden bire kimsenin ummadigi bir soru soruyor! "Kim aldi benim sapkami?!" diye bir kac kere tekrarlayip, parmagiyla birisini isaret ediyor. Sesi biraz kizmis gibi. Gercekten kim aldi o hengamede cocugun sapkasini? Ayipliyorum dogrusu! Ferman "Gel gel, sapkayla gel!" diye devam ediyor. Hala parmagiyla birini isaret ediyor. Ben de merak ediyorum aslinda, ne yapacak ona sahnede diye. Bir kac saniye sonra sapka sahneye Ferman'a geri firlatiliyor! Ferman, gulerek sapkayi giyiyor ve "Hayir, sapkayi ver demedim, buraya gel dedim" diyor. :)

Sapka Muhabbeti ve Ferman'in Jesti
(You Tube'da Evren Ozguner adli kullanicinin videosudur)

Sonunda, cocuk gonulsuzce sahneye geliyor. Cem ve Ferman onu sahne kenarinda karsiliyorlar, Ferman cocugu kucakliyor. One gelirlerken Ferman, bize "Irak'tan gelmis!! Kaldir elini, Istanbul!" diye bagiriyor. Arkadas, Irak'liymis, bak sen! Sanirim konsere taa Irak'tan gelmis gibi bir hava dogdu, ama buyuk olasilikla arkadas Irak'li bir konuk ogrenci burda. Bunu bilmiyoruz. Neyse, Ferman sarkinin son bolumunu, kolunu cocugun omzuna dolamis sekilde soyluyor, "Sizin gibi delilere her gun bayram!". :) Bir yandan da, Cem'le birlikte parmagiyla cocugu isaret ediyor, "bu da deli" der gibi. :) Bitirince de sevimli bir reverans ile sapkayi cikarip cocuga takdim ediyor. :) Eminim cocugun hayatinda aldigi en ilginc hediyedir. Sahnede dayak yemeyi umarken, Ferman'la kucaklasip bir de ustune ondan hediye almis oldu! :)
Sapka muhabbeti, konserden ilginc ve komik bir enstantaneydi. :) Artik bu konser bu sapkayla hatirlanacak. :)

Konserin guya son parcasi, bir diger hit parcalari olan "Beni Benimle Birak" idi. Performans sirasinda fotograf makinemdeki hafiza kartinin bitmis oldugunu farkedip kolumu indiriyorum. Anliyorum ki hic cekime baslamamis makine bu parcada. Hay Allah ya! Sonra eve geldikten sonra farkediyorum ki, "We Could Be The Same"in son kisminda bitmis kartim. :)

Beni Benimle Birak ve Ferman'in Konusmasi
(You Tube'da hayall21 adli kullanicinin videosudur)

Gecen ayki Caddebostan konserini de bu parcayla bitirmislerdi, demek sona geldik diye dusunuyorum. Napalim? Bu da olmayiversin. Epeyce video cektim sayilir.
Her zamanki mukemmellikte bir performanstan sonra parca bitiyor. Grup uyeleri sahneden ayrilma hazirliklari yapiyorlar. Ben simdi klasik "maNga Selami" ile konserin sonuna imzalarini atip bitirecekler diye dusunuyorum. Kalabaliktan inanilmaz bir alkis kopuyor, "bir daha, bir daha!" sesleri yukseliyor her yandan. Ferman esorfman ustunu giyerken, "Daha inmeden mi?" diye soruyor gulumseyerek. :) Alkislar devam ediyor. Grup uyeleri birbirlerine bakiyorlar; sahneden inmekten vazgecip bis hazirligina basliyor ve enstrumanlarini geri aliyorlar ellerine. Bu arada Ferman yine konusmadan duramiyor. :) "Arkadaslar, bu isin raconunda grup iner, sonra seyirciler bi daha der, grup cikar. Bu ilk defa...inanilmaz bi sey..yani inmeden...cok tesekkur ederiz! :) Gercekten sasirmis ve bu cok hosuna gitmis gibiydi. :) Seni sasirtmayi seviyoruz, Ferman! :) Hem boylesi daha iyi. Saat zaten gec oldu, zaman kaybetmemis olduk. :)

Alisirim Gozlerimi Kapamaya

Ve asil "son sarki" ondan sonra basliyor. MaNga'nin protest parcalarindan "Alisirim Gozlerimi Kapamaya". Sahne performanslarini merak ettigim bir sarki da buydu. Ve parcanin sonundaki o muhtesem trampet sovu! Hemen aklima cep telefonumla da video cekebilecegim geliyor. Bu sarkiyi da cekmem lazim! Hemen cep telefonunu yukari kaldiriyorum son bir kez daha! Performans yine mukemmel. Ama grup bu gece neden parcadaki rap kisimlari cikarmisti, bunu anlayamadim dogrusu. Parcayi daha yumusatma cabasi miydi bilemiyorum. Ama rapten cok da hoslanmadigim icin daha sonra bunu farkettim, o da ayri konu! :)

Son olarak imzalari olan "maNga Selami"ni cakarak bitiriyorlar. Yanyana dizilerek ve kollarini birbirlerinin omuzlarina atarak verdikleri bu selami asla unutmuyorlar konserlerinde. Bu onlarin seyirciye olan saygilarinin, ayrica aralarindaki bagin ne kadar guclu oldugunun ve birlikte tek vucut olduklarinin da bir gostergesi.

Kisaca, benim icin son derece doyurucu bir konserdi. Keske biraz daha uzun olsaydi! Ama olmadigi belki iyi oldu, cunku bunun bir de donusu var ve metrobus 00:30'dan sonra yarim saatte bire iniyormus. Bu isimize gelmezdi. Tek hayal kirikligim, canli dinlemeyi sabirsizlikla bekledigim yeni cover parcalari olan "Ya Evde Yoksan"in calinmamis olmasi oldu. Bakalim bu enfes cover hangi konsere nasip olacak?

Metrobus duragina dogru kalabalikla birlikte yururken, video cekerken kipirdamamak icin sanki oldugum yere deyim yerindeyse civiledigimden bacaklarim kaskati kesilmisti ve yurumekte zorlaniyordum, neredeyse topalliyordum; ama icimde kus gibi bir hafiflik de hissetmiyor degildim. Sonunda onlari uzun bir gece konserinde izleyebilmistim ve dunyayla paylasmak uzere bolca gorsel malzemeyle evime donuyordum. :)

Sahnede canli izleyince, boyle bir muzik grubuna sahip oldugumuz icin bir kere daha muthis bir gurur duydum. Gelebilecekleri yerleri dusununce heyecanlaniyorum. Kariyerlerini takip etmeye devam edecegim. Ve elbette turlarimda Japonlara maNga dinletmeye ve onlari tanitmaya da. :)

Yolunuz acik olsun, maNga! Biz her zaman arkanizdayiz!