Despite bad weather, thousands of Cairo music fans gathered at the third SOS Concert on Friday at the Cairo International Conference Center to root for their favorite bands. "We have been here since the doors opened at two in the afternoon. We love the music at these concerts. I'd come here even if it was snowing, Dina, 19, told The Daily Star Egypt. The "SOS Let's Go Original! concerts aim to provide creative Egyptian music talents and their fans with a platform. The first concert was held in Cairo last September and attracted around 10,000 fans. "SOS is an abbreviation for 'Save Our Souls'. We promote this scene to support original Egyptian talents and musicians and to create an opportunity for music lovers in Egypt to enjoy their performances, representatives from SOS said. Friday's performers included a lineup of eight bands from array of music genres; ranging from Salalem's oriental beats to rocky Chromatics. Even Grammy-winner vocal Fathy Salama gave a performance. The audience swayed and cheered to the Nubia-influenced tunes of Black Theama while Arabian Knights provided hiphop lovers with a number of groovy beats. A loud roar erupted among the audience as Wust El Balad, one of Cairo's most prominent underground bands, hit the stage to do what they do best, combining traditional Arabic music with contemporary western sounds. The only ones not cheering were a group of young Egyptian girls sitting on the wet ground sporting fake nose and tongue rings. "We are a little disappointed with the music this time. Where are the rock and metal groups? There's too much soft rock and hiphop here, one of them complained But Friday's concert appears to have attracted a large number of Cairo's foreign residents as several different languages could be heard among the crowd. "This is a pretty cool event. I just wish they would sell beer here. It's not the same thing drinking tea and eating chips at a music concert, John from Britain sighed. SOS concerts are conveniently free but you need to get a pass by filling out a questionnaire on the company website. "It is actually not too complicated. You just go to the SOS website, fill out a form about your music interests and then you get the tickets almost immediately, Dalia 20, said. Katie, however, a 20-year-old student at AUC was not so happy with the ticketing system. "It was a hassle to get these tickets. Not only do you have to answer questions online, but you actually need to go to a random location in Heliopolis to pick them up. I would have almost preferred to pay instead, she said. For more information about the next SOS concert, visit www.sosmusicfestival.org.
