Atif Aslam and Neha Kakkar Concert: Was it really worth the FOMO?!

Photographed by Vinod

I’ll be the first to admit that I have FOMO (fear of missing out) to the max. Yes, I recognize that this is a growing [millennial] epidemic, but what can I say, we all have our shortcomings. The Atlanta concert scene is pretty big, and I’m not talking about Tomorrowland, Shakey Beats, or Music Midtown (though, all of those that I’ve been dying to go to) — I’m talking about the Atlanta Bollywood scene.

Music TIME!

Atlanta has a very prominent and ever-growing South Asian population (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Sri Lankan to say the least — but definitely going to throw some Gujju Pride out there too!), and man-oh-man do we like a good excuse to go out party — Bollywood style; in fact, Atlanta has its own Bollywood Nights at a premier club downtown — but that’s for another post.

I recently moved to New York (yes, dreams do come true), and have missed the last couple of concerts at the historic Fox Theater, so when my friends told me there was a Neha Kakkar and Atif Aslam concert happening while I was in town visiting, I figured, well I like a lot of both of their songs and have heard great things about both of them in concert, so why not? I rescheduled my plans for that evening and ended up at the Fox box office buying a last-minute ticket right before the show started.

The concert, as expected, was running on IST (Indian Standard Time) meaning that it got started about 30 mins late, but no biggie — that’s, well .. standard. You know the saying, big things come in little packages, well that is literally the best way to describe Neha Kakkar. She is a cute, fun, confident, and feisty little powerhouse! Neha came out within a little red halter maxi (looked hella sexy!) and had the audience on its feet within in seconds (literally) and kept them on their feet throughout the duration of her portion.

She was singing her heart out and dancing the night away! From her vivacious dance moves to her audience interactions to her selection of songs (Mile Ho Tum to Kala Chasma), she had EVERYONE – from little kids to old uncles and aunties – on their feet. Neha did an amazing job starting off the night and getting everyone hype!!

Unfortunately, all of her efforts were for nothing because Atif Aslam was the biggest disappointment and snoozefest I’ve ever seen in concert. He came out in a white and black ensemble (sorry dude, butchya white pants were a little to tight for everyone’s comfort), and it seemed like he had just woken up. No joke, the guy was so zoned out and was lip singing in the first half of his show. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was high or drunk or on something else when he first came out. Everyone around me, and I mean EVERYONE was like “what the actual f***.” A couple of songs in, he got started singing some hits and “waking up” and whatever he was on finally wore off or kicked in.

To be honest, I left the concert feeling like I should’ve just stuck to my original plans for the night. I felt bad for people who paid a lot of money and got good seats; I mean the concert didn’t even sell out and the ushers were letting people come forward just to fill up space! Everyone I spoke to around me was highly disappointed by Atif and loved Neha, but what sucked more than his performance was the lack of a duet! We all expected Neha and Atif to do a duet and jugal-bandi but, nothing. The concert should’ve had just ended with Neha Kakkar and we all would’ve left happy.

ugh!

In my opinion, Atif is struggling to stay relevant and I see Neha gaining more success and fame in the coming years. If Neha were to be in concert again, I would definitely recommend seeing her. But do yourself a favor and don’t waste your money seeing Atif in concert. Instead, go pour yourself a nice glass of wine and listen to him on YouTube — you’re better off that way! It’s really not worth the FOMO.

P.S. – I had videos on my IG @RandomlyRunal (don’t’ forget to follow me!) of the concert but didn’t feel like wasting precious [selfie] storage space on the useless material, so I didn’t save anything. Plus, I figured I’d spare you all the agony. You’re welcome! #SorryNotSorry #SAVAGE