With over 100 gigs to their credit, a record deal with an Indian label, namely HOM records (who also launched Call) and an entry card in Bollywood via Mahesh Bhatt's upcoming film Awarapan (slated for an April 2007 release), Roxen, it seems, is making all the right moves.

Hailing from Lahore, Roxen is Mustafa Zahid on vocals, Haider Halim on lead guitars, Jawad Mohammed on rhythm guitars and Omar Farooq on bass. Their debut album, Rozen-e-Deewar, which was recently released got rave reviews and in a relatively small time span, Roxen has found its market amongst the plethora of the many rock bands that rule the scene. Musically, Roxen is very much in accordance with the meaning of Rozen. Their music is about hope and freshness, even if it is rock. On their tour to Karachi for their album signing and launch show, Roxen proved to Karachiites that when it comes to live performances, they are second to none.

As Roxen continued to play with the sound, it also had its pulse on the crowd that night. Throughout Mustafa continued to entice the audience into joining in.

With hard hitting bass line, an art at which Omar excels at, and fused awesomely with Haider's sky scrapping guitar waves paired with Jawad's continuous support on rhythm, Musti delivered the title track ('Rozen-e-Deewar') with unfathomable power and he brought the crowd on its toes. This was probably one of the highlights of the evening. The interlude part was classy and to add more spice to the song, the band ended it with an incredible melange of all the instruments as well as some alaaps thrown in for good measure.

Soothing yet blistering guitar chords influenced 'Tau Phir Aao' - to be featured in the Indian flick Awarapan - which was a pleasant change from the boom crash bang that one is normally confronted with at such events. The track definitely brought this heavy rock fuelled evening to its mellowest point. If one thing is clear about Roxen, it's their ability to change moods with melodies and that is a must feat for all live acts.
Another track, which threatened to damage Evolution, was 'Mujhko Satao'. It blasted off with appealing humming by Musti and Haider soon joined in with jaw tumbling guitaring, masterfully combined with some hard slap drum sounds by the stick master Kenny. 'Mujhko Satao' was a bouncy electrifying version of their mellow smash hit 'Tau Phir Aao'. As Roxen was performing this rocky version, the crowd was out of control, dancing in the isles and humming along.

At this point of the evening, the crowd was seriously charged up, as was the band. Roxen knew what this crowd wanted and they gave it to them. Thus came the band's most famous, well-known track to date, 'Sapnay'. Jawad was impeccable on rhythms and Haider proved his wizardry with the guitar once again, overpowering everyone else. Roxen's inimitable stage presence paired with the popularity of the number won the band a tremendous round of applause, perhaps the biggest that night. The energy was pumped back into the show with a laudable performance of an extended version of 'Sapnay' on the insistence of the audience that lasted for nearly 10 minutes. Musti interacted with his fans with the screams of "Awaz Do!" and lured the crowd in the musical fiesta fluently.

Excitement rippled through the masses as Musti announced the final act for the evening, and the crowd yelled "WE WANT MORE", but truly the treasure was suitably preserved for the tail end. 'Chaltay Rahay' concluded the night that can be termed as a terrific assortment of Roxen's latest sure fit hit album launch.
The launch show was followed by an album signing spree. The band was bombarded by their fans brandishing albums and posters. The quartet thanked the audience for showing up and urged them to buy the CD, which is available all over.

Kudos must go to the organizers for a well-disciplined event that thankfully started on time. Here's hoping Karachi gets to see more of Roxen in the future. Long live rock 'n' roll!