Written by: Sania Ahmed Khan
Posted on: December 11, 2019 | 
In Time Band Playing for the Crowd
Setting Commune Artist Colony as the destination on Google Maps, I left my house at 9pm on Saturday night to attend “Retro Vibes with In Time Band”. The organizers had promised a night of grooving and swinging to jazz music, and advised attendees to dress “western casual”. Expecting to arrive at a well-lit, hip club, you can imagine my surprise when the directions instead led me to old warehouses in the middle of Miskeen Gali.
I had arrived at a residential area, whose residents (judging by the silence and darkness) had hit the hay many hours ago. My attention soon turned to a gate painted in colors of the Pakistani flag, which slid open to make way for a Toyota Landcruiser. I followed suit and entered a mini convention center, noticing murals of Allama Iqbal and Abdul Sattar Eidhi in the dim moonlight. A chirpy team member of the organizers, Crow’s Mind, matched the serial number on my ticket to her list on a clipboard, and showed me the way to a small hall. One look at the animated dance floor told me I had come to the right place.
The Band Performing
Organized by Crow’s Mind, a new arts collective founded in 2018 by Karachi-based Ali Diwan (Ion Audio Video) and Abid Merchant (Sanat Initiative), Retro Vibes--a yesteryear concert at Commune Artist Colony--was the first event in a series. Through the Crow's Mind programming, Ali and Abid aim to make opportunities for creative expression—not only for talented visual and performing artists, but also for Karachi’s art- and fun-lovers.
Back in the 1960s, the music scene in Karachi was abuzz with so much talent. One very recognizable name was The Moonglows, the resident band at the Beach Luxury hotel, where Norman D’Souza served up the vocals and rhythm on guitars. After a long successful run, he parted ways with The Moonglows and was joined by Colin D’Souza, Charlie D’Souza, and Ronnie Rangel to form The Talismen. A valuable addition to The Talismen, was bass guitarist Johnny Miranda, who played a custom-made Höfner, the first violin-shaped bass guitar to be used in Karachi. At that time, the only other in use was on the other side of the globe by none other than Paul McCartney, during The Beatles’ heydays.
The Moonglowers in 1960s Karachi (photo credits to LMKonline)
The Talismen played at Beach Luxury as resident band for the 007 nightclub, covering genres of rock n’ roll, jazz and commercial pop music. Norman also played at the Metropole disco in the early 1970s as part of a new band called The InCrowd, before rejoining The Talismen on a tour of the Far East in 1974. This took him to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Bangkok.
In Time Band Now
Today, Norman plays various gigs with Maxwell Dias and Glenn Dcruze as part of the In Time Band. They are joined by Hillary Rodrigues, the grandson of the saxophone and violin maestro Alex Rodrigues. While keyboardist Clifford Lucas has been playing since 1984 (starting with his own band, Parent’s Problem), Rodney is the baby of the group, who just recently shifted from Heavy Metal to Jazz Music.
Keyboardist Clifford Lucas
With tickets priced at Rs. 2,000, there is no denying the fact that the event was intended for and accessible to a certain segment of society. The activity inside Commune offered a stark contrast to the cold, barren atmosphere of Miskeen Gali. It was certainly a sight to watch so many people still grooving to the old classics in modern day Karachi.
Lead Norman D'Souza
People were seen swaying to In Time’s rendition of Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, as well as making requests for hit songs of John Denver, Louis Armstrong, Stevie Wonder and Tom Jones. The band encouraged people to fill up the dance floor, and the young willingly responded to the request. Perhaps as a wild card, the band played “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins, which got everyone on their feet, for no one can escape the energy of this number.
If you missed this, Crow’s Mind says that there is a Lollywood Night coming up!
All Photo credits go to Tapu Javeri and the Crow’s Mind.
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