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Junoon rocks Kresge (MIT)
Tuesday, May 1, 2002
Junoon in concert at MIT
Junoon, called “the U2 of Pakistan” by The New York Times, successfully finished
off Spring Weekend with a sold-out show in Kresge Auditorium on Sunday evening.
The concert was sponsored by PAKSMIT (Pakistani Students at MIT), and the
proceeds will go to SOS Children’s Villages in Pakistan. The organization sets
up villages for orphan children. Surrogate mothers are trained to raise and
provide support for the children.
“This concert was to show that young people transcend [the clash of cultures].
We all want to share the message that we [young people] are all one,” said Bilal
Zuberi G, one of the organizers of the event.
“It was a great example of unity and diversity,” said Aziz H. Hassanali ’02,
another event planner.
Zuberi said that the band was thrilled with their MIT performance.
“They loved it. They are actually now thinking of doing a CD of concerts at
colleges. ... This was the best show they’ve ever done in the U.S. ... It went
perfect. It was a sold-out show. Everyone loved it,” Zuberi said.
Zuberi expected approximately 600 concert-goers. Instead, all 1,100 seats of
Kresge were filled with students from MIT and many other colleges in the region,
including Wellesley College and Columbia University. Zuberi estimates that the
concert will raise a few thousand dollars for SOS Children’s Villages.
Zuberi wishes that the concert could have been held in a larger venue.
“I would have done it [held the concert] in a much bigger hall because we sold
out. That means that there were people outside who couldn’t get in. We had the
interest, we just didn’t have the logistics,” he said. He lamented that more
funding could not be obtained from the Institute to subsidize the cost of the
concert. This would have lowered the ticket price and thus made the concert more
accessible to the general public. Zuberi said that this would have allowed
people who may not be big fans of Junoon to attend the concert.
Christine R. Fry
The Tech - MIT
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