Tonight we watched Sonu Nigam in concert in Constitution Hall. It was amazing!!

We had great seats in orchestra -- 8th row, the first row after the aisle, middle of the row seats. Lots of legroom and a fantastic view of the stage, smack in Sonu's face. Venky, Rama and her sister accompanied Mona, Meena and I. We didn't get any pictures because they weren't allowing cameras into the theatre. (Some people snuck theirs in, though, and there were enough camera-phones around that I seem to have been the only shmuck to have listened.)

It was an energetic concert with Sonu dancing all over the stage, hair flying everywhere and singing in his, er... Sonu voice. He sang all the songs one could have wished for (except "Good Morning, India" which I kept yelling for at the top of my voice, but he didn't want to sing it). He started the night with Suraj Hua Maddham and ended with Kal Ho Na Ho with all the favourites like Saathiya, Main Hoon Na, even Let's Chill in the middle.

He kept saying how he had almost not come to Washington because there were people who tried to dissuade him. But he said that the audience was so good that he was glad he didn't listen to those who said that he was cutting other people. We didn't get it for a while but then Meena said that Himesh Reshammiya was coming in September and perhaps Vijay Taneja's people were concerned that Sonu's concert would cut into HRs' ticket sales. Well, let me take this opportunity to assure whoever cares to know that Sonu's concert did not have any affect on our going to the Reshammiya concert. We wouldn't dream of going to a Himesh concert. I don't suppose anyone with the kind of musical sense to attend a Sonu concert would be seen dead in the noise of a night of HR music.

He brought two vocalists with him -- Sowmya Raoh is a good singer; no Alka Yagnik, but nice. An older gentleman came after the intermission and sang three Rafi songs. He was good. I will try and find out his name and remember it. [Later: I just discovered that the "older gentleman" whom Sonu introduced only by name is Agam Kumar. Agam Kumar Nigam. Sonu's father. Now I know why Sonu was such a Rafi fan -- his dad's rendering of mohabbat zinda rahti hai was second only to the original.]