Celebrating their silver jubilee, Mirage unleashed the magic in their music at the Grand Ballroom in Hotel Galadari on Sunday, 22 December.

With Christmas around the corner, the venue was beautifully adorned with twinkling lights, Christmas trees, tinsel and mistletoe. The stage was not too flashy and the red, white and black combination brought out the christmacy atmosphere very well.

The concert commenced with a clap of thunder in the background screen as the band took center stage. The band’s lead vocalist Donald then performed one of the band favourites ‘Magic.’

This was followed by the band’s only female vocalist performing ‘you can’t give me love,’ which received a few wolf whistles and cat calls from the audience afterwards.

What followed next was an oldies song with an oriental drum beat in the background. The clash of music was both innovative and entertaining.

The audience loved it when the guitarist, Benjy performed his favourite song, ‘you’re the king.’ Benji brought out his jovial persona throughout the show by entertaining and humoring the audience with his carefree dance moves and witty remarks during intervals.

The band’s lead guitarist from 1988 Kamal, together with Benjy then entertained the audience with an electrifying performance with their guitars. Although the two guitarists played at breakneck speed, they didn’t miss a beat, and that was simply mind blowing.
Hitting a somber note Benjy then sang ‘I’m going home,’ which was originally sung by Chris Daughtry.

The Acapella was performed with excellent precision and coordination. Donald’s singing was loud and clear, not exactly an easy task to accomplish with no music in the background.

Entertaining the audience with a variety of genres in the musical industry Mirage kept the audience on their toes. As many viewers said later ‘They are a multi talented band. You never know what to expect and that makes them all the more thrilling.’

Former band members also graced the occasion. Chamal Perera, Gavin Senn and Derek Wickremanayike added their voices and contributed to the exuberant performance.

Mirage also mentioned that their new album ‘Music’ featuring beautiful Sri Lanka would be launched soon. They played a few clips from the album which showcased the members of the band performing amidst the wonders of Sri Lanka in the background.

It was indeed an evening well spent and I guess many individuals in the audience would have been happy to know that the proceeds of the event would be given to the pediatric division in the cancer hospital in Maharagama. Christmasis all about having fun and sharing. In their 25th anniversary celebrations, Mirage managed to do both.

I am not exactly a huge fan of Sri Lankan bands performing English songs, but the performance by Mirage was very well executed and it changed my impression. The band was both classy and entertaining, catering to a crowd that clearly appreciated the golden age of music.

Comments:

Athula Perera

“When I heard that they were performing to mark their 25th anniversary celebrations, I came all the way from Dubaii just to see them. They are a brilliant band and their performance today was magnificent.”
 

Felicia Dean

“It was a multifaceted performance. You don’t know what to expect and that made it more thrilling. The musicians the saxophone players all performed well and were great. Benjy the guitarist was very entertaining!”
 

Rukshan Perera

“Their performance today was mesmerizing. The band has come a long was and they are doing well.”
 

Gehan Amaratunga

“I use to watch them play at the Blue Magarita and I didn’t want to miss their 25th anniversary performance. They are a fantastic band and they put on a good show today.”
 

Melinda Cooray

“It’s really nice and I loved the way they started the show.”
 

Sesathrie Atthanayake
“It was fantastic. This is my first time seeing them perform and I loved it.”

By Rumana Razick

Pics by Kithsiri de Mel