HIV, AIDS and Lebanon (part 2)

Location: Forum De Beyrouth
Date: December 1st, 2004 @ 8:30pm
Operation: HIV/AIDS fundraiser

I got there a bit late, around 9:30 pm.
Bought tickets for 12,000LL each and headed for the entrance. A young girl handed me around 9 Trojan condoms, a promotion by the company to promote safe sex among the Lebanese youth.

The show had already started, and SEVEN SPIRITS were playing their great music, with the crowd getting bigger and bigger. I loved their music, unfortunatly, they were almost done.
I headed with a friend to the Heineken stand for some refreshing beer, and watched the band finish their show in style.

After a small pause , the audience became wild... Rayiss Beyk and his band AKS'SER got on stage, and started to sing their famous Lebanese Rap songs. Uncensored, they started to talk about the Lebanese society and way of life through their music, not shy to show their finger or shouting the equivalents of "fuck you" or "screw you" in Lebanese, sometimes giving the fans the pleasure of continuing the words of bigger insults. All in all, they were awesome, and one thing that caught my attention was when they started to say "3roft kif" with an o, the way the syrian people say it. After they thanked the audience for such a warm welcome, we started to hear their fans shouting "pizza msa23a, pepsi sokhneh" (cold pizza, hot pepsi).
It was all it took for them to finish again with this hit song which lyrics are really amazing.

Another pause, longer this time, and the Lebanese rock band BLEND appeared. It was already late and lots of people had already left, but those who were still there were applauding the strong and beautiful voice of the lead singer. I listened to three of their songs, but I was very tired and decided to leave.

During all three performances, pictures and messages to explain about the HIV/AIDS disease were being projected on a large screen. A short movie showing a discussion taking place between young Lebanese on the threats of this disease was also played on the first pause.

We have to give full credit to the organizers of this successful event.
The best way to prevent HIV is to learn about it and to know how to protect ourseleves.
And as AKS'SER said: "...proceeds from this concert aren't for the sida, but against the sida..."

Below are some pictures, click on them to enlarge


Seven Spirits


AKS'SER


BLEND