I was the lucky one ☘ to escort a younger family member to this concert . It took place at the ABHA arena . I knew it was free and no tickets were issued . It made me 😥skeptical about our chances of getting in . I am very weak when it is about pushing , skipping the line etc .
I was pleasantly surprised that everything went smoothly without the above mentioned practice .
We just walked in with five minutes standing in the lines .
Inside we found restaurants , cafes ,play zones for children of different ages . Some seats and more places to stand .
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Cheb Khaled is an Arab singer who sings also in mixed languages - French - Arabic mostly . I am not an expert of the Arab pop music .However I share here my impressions .
The concert started with some instrumental music . It was some pleasant North African traditional melody - it filled my heart with joy and totally enchanted me . It took me far far away in the time and space . Five minutes later the singer entered the scene as well .
The crowd greeted him with great ovation . Hundreds of mobile phones were switched in to catch the moment .
I was disappointed . The singer not only looked tired but he sounded so .
But the crowd - mostly expat Arabs - was very enthusiastic . At least they understand the lyrics - I thought . I heard about the Arab music that many times it is just a background for some poetry or ballads .
The singer got better and better as singing . His voice came back . After the break he was truly himself . Some music sounded like traditional village wedding music others were slow and melancholic pieces .
Cheb Khalid was wonderful performer at one of these sad songs I was nearly crying though I could not really understand his words . If someone tells me before that such things is possible I would not believe it .
The end of the concert was close and a lots of fans went closer to the stage . Many of them. holding the flags of their countries - North African countries - I guess . The singer took the flags and wrapped them around himself - representing the dream of many of his fans - the unity of the Arabs .
The atmosphere became really hot at Aisha and C'est la vie . These are the most famous hits .
Nobody was sitting anymore went close to the stage - they were cheering and dancing mildly .
When the lights went back and the crowd asked for some more music -Cheb Khalid answered them with an apologetic smile and he limped out of the stage . I liked that the people understood it and let him go . Cheb means "young man " . But he is nearly sixty and standing so long must be tiring .
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going out should have been made easier - though the building has many exits - we were allowed to use only one .... I really disliked that
as we got out we saw one kilometer long line of men waiting for entry ... I was shocked to see that fan zone -soccer on huge screen - attracts so many here ...but this is another story
I feel it is important to notice that all the staff of the arena was extremely nice with the audience - as we were clients of a five star hotel ... we were not ... the ones who got money spent the time in suites provided by the W hotel at the top seats area .
