Over the past few years, several times I have had the honor of facilitating musical performances which could not have happened without the dedicated help of many. Many of these concerts or performances had to do with as-yet-unknown artists, but a few also had to do with very well-known artists who needed to make a come-back of sorts.

There is a phenomenal feeling when that artist/artists finally take to the stage. The air is filled with magic and it is as though every musical note, every beat, every single sound is not only audible, but touchable and feel-able! I have been known to choke up and start sobbing in concert halls, or to start dancing in my seat, depending on the circumstances. I know I'm not alone in this. As I write these words, I can remember the faces of many others who helped me help those artists and who bought tickets to these very special performances, and I can tell you that they were with me in these feelings all the way.

I don't have to be present or even instrumental in all such appearances to choke up or to start dancing in my seat, however! This is how I felt after seeing this clip a member of the audience posted of Ohum's concert in Tehran last week, their first appearance on stage after years. The rock band had been denied performance permits for years.

In the clip description field on YouTube, the poster wrote:

"Everything was perfect, the performance, the vocals, the melody, everthing! I just wanted to beat up two of the security guards! Bastards! This can't be done in a half-assed way! You should either deny giving a performance permit for a rock concert, or if you do, don't do it like this! They kept nagging and saying "don't bang your head," "don't clap," "don't scream!" As if this weren't a rock concert! Anyway, we really missed you there! We sat in VIP chairs with regular tickets!"

Can you just feel what this guy is saying? I do. Viva rock!

The song's title is "Saghi," and it's based on a Hafez poem. You can hear a recorded version of it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1_NYAWumU0

بستی چشم یعنی وقت خوابست/ نه خواب است ان حریفان را جواب است

تو می دانی که ما چندان نپاییم/ولیکن چشم مستت را شتاب است

جفا کن جفایت لطف است/خطا کن خطایت صواب است

تو چشم آتشین در خواب می کن/ که ما را چشم و دل باری کبابست

بسی سرها ربوده چشم ساقی/به شمشیری که ان یک قطره ی آبست

یکی گوید که این از عشق ساقیست/ یکی گوید که این از فعل شراب است

می و ساقی چه باشد نیست جز حق/خدا داند که این عشق از چه بابست

بسی سرها ربوده چشم ساقی/به شمشیری که ان یک قطره ی آبست

یکی گوید که این از عشق ساقیست/ یکی گوید که این از فعل شراب است

ی گوید که این از فعل شراب است

And here's a report about the concert and the photo source.