CAIRO: Calls of “we love you SimpleXity!” echoed through Sakia's River Hall on Sunday night as the band prepared to take to the stage. Fans milled about the room, some gathered at the back or outside the hall, others filling the rows of seating set out for the event. As the lights dimmed and the band began to play a cheering crowd of fans, two to three people deep, lined the front of the stage. Hands reached out toward guitarist and lead singer Omar el-Deeb and fists formed the infamous ‘rock fist.' Photographers wove through the crowd and backstage. Noor Ayman's intricate bass lines wove through the smoke and colored lights filling the stage. Keyboardist Hatem Ghaleb gave a great performance and drummer Aly Hassab el-Naby was equally impressive. Drawing influences from hard rock to classical to jazz to death metal, SimpleXity combines intimate understanding of dissonance and consonance with complex composition. Sunday night was SimpleXity's first show in Cairo since the final round of Sakia's Rock Festival in October 2009, and their hometown fans were clearly thrilled to see the band back on stage. The appreciation was reciprocated by the band, which gave a particularly spectacular performance Originally the brainchild of el-Deeb and Ghaleb, SimpleXity's lineup was completed in 2007 by Ayman and el-Naby. Before placing second in Sakia's first Rock Festival in 2009, SimpleXity won Best Rock Band in the Nokia Xpressmusic Festival in 2008. SimpleXity followed fellow musicians Azrak Samawy on Sunday night during the second leg of the “Winner of the Sakia Rock Festival mini-tour.” The first leg took place the previous week in Alexandria, hometown of Azrak Samawy. Winner of the 2009 Sakia Rock Festival, Azrak Samawy calls itself a mixture of progressive Arabic and instrumental rock. The band brings a distinctively new flavor to the Egyptian Rock scene, fusing progressive rock and Arab influences with excellent musicianship. Their performance was excellent, and the band was warmly greeted by fans in Cairo. As the band's final notes faded and the smoke dissipated from the stage, fans and friends congregated around. Thanks and congratulations were given. The set was dismantled and equipment collected. Friends departed with promises to meet up later, and slowly the hall emptied. In the spirit of hometown shows, it was clear that Sunday's performance belonged to SimpleXity. BM
