Tag Archives | ziad rahbani

Ziad Rahbani to Perform at The Grand Opening of Beiteddine Art Festival

By Rami on April 27, 2018 in Events, Music

Beiteddine festival is taking place this year from July 12th till August 15th, and Ziad Rahbani will be opening it with a couple of concerts on July 12th and 13th.

According to the Beiteddine.org, Ziad will be reviving songs from his 40 years’ repertoire which basically promises that this concert is going to be one of the best since many years. Apart from releasing Bennesbe Labokra Shou and Film Ameriki Tawil in cinemas, the last time Ziad really amazed was back in 2008 when he presented Mni7a at the UNESCO Palace in Beirut and in 2007 when he performed in Damascus. The songs selection was great, there were several hilarious moments, and the singers who were with him were also incredible. Since then I attended one concert he held at the sea front but to be honest it was quite dull compared to the previous ones.

I already got my tickets for Beiteddine and I really hope the it will be up to everybody’s expectations! If you’re interested then tickets are on sale at Virgin Ticketing.

“Bebalee” Is An Insult to Fayrouz’s Career

By Rami on September 26, 2017 in Music

Fayrouz’s new album “Bebalee” has been out for three days, but unlike her previous albums, this one is yet to make any buzz be it online or on radio stations.

I did listen to the album and was unfortunately quite disappointed. Adaptation of foreign songs using silly lyrics is the worst you can expect from an icon like Fayrouz, and the only one to blame is definitely her daughter Reema Rahbani who seems to have produced this album to just prove to her brother Ziad that she can actually create something regardless the quality or the artistic value. “Elak aw eli aw mish la shi, mish la shi, wala ayy shi” is exactly what you would in Arabic call saff 7akeh.

Fayrouz did perform songs with light lyrics in the past (e.g. Kifak enta malla enta) but in my opinion she never delivered something as mediocre as Bebalee.

I really hope she makes it up in the near future by working again with her son Ziad.

Are You Following M Media’s Growing Collection?

By Rami on May 20, 2017 in Movies, Television, Videos

I subscribed to M Media a few months ago for the sole purpose of watching Bennesbe Labokra Chou again, but soon after I did it I found it hard to cancel my subscription because of their growing collection with titles that never cease to impress me. (They’re soon adding Film Ameriki Tawil by the way)

I personally usually avoid watching Lebanese movies in theaters unless they’re REALLY good, but I still like to watch them in the comfort of my living room (yes even the likes of BéBé). However unlike western movies/series, Lebanese ones are much harder to find online, and M Media has been recently making some great effort adding titles that were produced over the last few years ranging from drama to comedy and documentaries, in addition to famous old plays from the 90s such as “3ammti Najibeh” and “3arisein midreh men wein” with all content being in very good quality. So I have lately been spending time watching stuff that I missed in theater over the last few years (and also learned that Carlos Azar always lands the Jagal roles in his movies).

At $5/month I guess it’s a good deal, and while I know the people at M are doing their best to get more productions onto their platform, I wish they also add old movies from the 70s and 80s such as the ones by the late Maroun Baghdadi for example, I always read he made some great movies during that era but I rarely had access to them. I also don’t think anyone would mind watching Ahmad El-Zein and Mohamad El-Mawla all over again in those cool action movies from the early civil war days!

Review – “Film Ameriki Tawil” 36 Years Later

By Rami on October 11, 2016 in Cinema, Reviews

Last night was the avant premiere for the highly anticipated Film Ameriki Tawil and I had the privilege to be among the attendees. Needless to say, it was really awesome to finally see the original footage of this play since I have always enjoyed listening to this masterpiece by Ziad Rahbani on the radio!

As in the case with Bennesbe Labokra Chou, M Media did a fantastic job by reconstructing several old videos in order to create this movie. However, unlike last year’s end result, Film Ameriki Tawil has a better image quality, looks much smoother thanks to the use of fixed cameras during the original recording, and has an almost consistent audio level and quality. So if you felt annoyed by the shaky image in “Bennesbe Labokra Chou” then I can guarantee this one is much more better and has much better scene transitions. In my opinion, this movie does more justice to Ziad Rahbani’s work than the previous one.

As far as the acting is concerned, I believe I would be stating the obvious by telling it was impressive. I mostly loved the authentic performance by Joseph Sakr, Ziad Abou Absi and Rafik Najem. Watching Sakr singing three time during the play/movie was alone a treat for me! So, to make a long story short, I highly recommend you go watch it and take older people like your parents with you because they’ll definitely get some good memories and laughs back! The official release date is set for October 20th, and for those who would like to get a sneak peak of it I have shared a beautiful video on Facebook of “Raj3a bi iznillah” with the whole cast dancing to it. (link)

However, as I recommended last year, do yourself a favor and delay booking your tickets a bit, Ziad’s diehard fans will naturally attend the early screenings and my opinion about them still stands, they’re annoying! One guy was sitting behind us last night and almost recited the whole scenario while the movie was playing.

On another note, I have a good new to whoever missed watching Bennesbe Labokra Chou last year, the guys from M Media will soon be officially launching their streaming service which will allow you to watch their productions for $5 per month (think of it as a Lebanese Netflix) and that includes Bennesbe Labokra Chou which will also be available for watching on their website.

Film Ameriki Tawil is Coming Out in October

By Rami on September 5, 2016 in Cinema, Theater

film ameriki tawil

When Bennesbe Labokra Shou started showing earlier this year, M Media promised that Film Ameriki Tawil will hit the theater next, and they just released their trailer for it both on their website and on Facebook announcing that it is coming out in October.

Judging from the trailer and the footage they released earlier, the image quality seems to be significantly better and more stable than that of Bennesbe Labokra Shou.

I personally never get bored of listening to Film Ameriki Tawil on the radio and can’t wait for the release date. Let’s hope Shi Feshil is next on the list for M Media as I guess we are all eager to know how tiny was that gypsum waterfall in the play!

The trailer is available here and here.

3 Reasons to Avoid The Early Screenings of Bennesbeh Labokra Chou

By Rami on January 14, 2016 in Lebanon

Don’t get me wrong, just as you guys probably felt, I was also super excited to learn that Ziad is finally releasing Bennesbeh Labokra Chou in cinemas and I’m already planning to go see it but I personally really prefer to skip to the first few screenings for these reasons.

Ziad fanatics

We all have that one annoying friend who literally worships Ziad Rahbani and takes every possible opportunity to quote a line from his plays. Some even take it a bit further and imitate the way Ziad speaks. These guys have definitely already booked their tickets and will be all present at the early screenings. Chances are no one wants to be present wherever these people gather and start talking to each other… at least I dont!
The joke spoilers

Some people can recite the play like the alphabet since they know it by heart. To prove their skills, they will be spoiling every single joke before the actors even start with it. These ones will also be there for the early shows and you probably don’t want to be with them in the same theater!
We all know the ending anyway

There’s no way for someone to ruin the play for you since we’ve almost all heard it a thousand times and know how it ends. I personally want to go see it because it’s a privilege seeing Ziad Rahbani and Joseph Sakr performing together after 35 years of hearing them on the radio, so waiting a little until the craze cools down a little bit won’t hurt.

Ziad Rahbani 24/7

By Rami on January 8, 2016 in Music

ziad-rahbani

I’m a fan of Ziad Rahbani, not the kind of fans that consider him a god, but I do love his work and I was glad to stumble upon a new cool radio station that airs nothing but his plays and music!

The station is broadcasting on 105.7 MHz and I’ve been listening to it on my way to work or home over the last few days to enjoy Ziad’s jokes that never get old.

I’m not sure until when the broadcast will remain the same but I believe it won’t be long until a new radio station is launched. So for now, just enjoy the laughs and good music before trendy Arabic songs take over!

Ziad Rahbani in concerts at NDU and Zouk Mikael Festival

By Rami on May 31, 2013 in Events

Ziad Rahbani Zouk Mikael concert

Ziad Rahbani will be performing in two concerts next week on June 7th and 8th at Notre Dame University in Zouk Mosbeh, in addition to another concert next month on July 25th at Zouk Mikael International Festival.

For those who are interested, tickets for NDU concert are available at all branches of Malik’s Bookshop, while tickets for Zouk Mikael concert will be available at Virgin Megastore.

AUB Students vs Ziad Rahbani

By Rami on April 10, 2013 in Lebanon

Ziad Rahbani in concert at Las Salinas Anfeh

By Rami on March 11, 2013 in Events

For those of you who live in the north, Ziad Rahbani and his band will be performing for 3 nights on March 14, 15, and 16 at Las Salinas Anfeh.

Tickets will be on sale at Sa7 Se7 Cafe Tripoli, Boueri Press Kaslik, and Las Salinas.

via MWNader

Update:

As per the below comments, tonight’s concert (March 14th) has unfortunately been canceled due to security reasons, and tickets can be either refunded or used at the 2 upcoming concerts on Friday and Saturday.

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Tag Archives | ziad rahbani

Ziad fanatics

The joke spoilers

We all know the ending anyway