Shillongites buy concert tickets on Thursday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Shillong, Sept. 29: Passion is in the air of this music-crazy city as it waits with bated breath to welcome one of the world?s most famous bands, Michael Learns to Rock.

The group from Denmark with chartbusters like The Actor and Sleeping Child will perform live at the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex here on Saturday.

The live concert in Shillong ? the only city in eastern India to figure in the band?s itinerary ? is part of the group?s second world tour, which began this month. Their first world tour took place 10 years ago.

The band performed in Mumbai on Thursday and rocked Bangalore on Sunday. The concert in Shillong is being organised by ace tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi?s entertainment and celebrity management company, Globosport, along with Centre Point Entertainment Networks and the Shillong Press Club.

With no available rooms in hotels and guesthouses, people from as far as Sweden and the Caribbean are prepared to rough it out on the streets under the open sky to be a part of the concert. ?I will do anything to croon from Sleeping Child to The Actor and Someday, that too, in Shillong,? Greg D?Costa, who has come from Margao in Goa said.

Greg is not the only one. There are thousands like him who have been craving to see ?the once-in-a-lifetime show? in Shillong. Ask anyone and the answer is ?Yes, there is an adrenaline rush. It will be great to watch them ? lead vocalist Jascha Ritcher, guitarist Mikhel Lentz and drummer Kare Wanscher ? perform live in a place which dreams and sleeps music.?

The organisers are working overtime to ensure that the concert makes up for one of the ?most memorable and the best gigs?. The district administration and police, too, have chipped in to ensure elaborate security and traffic arrangements around the city.

?The Danish band occupies a special place in the hearts of not just Shillongites, but people from all over the country. Almost every room in hotels and guesthouses are occupied by music buffs who have come from far-off places to see the band members perform,? said Larsing Ming, managing director of the Centre Point Entertainment Networks.

At a tele-press conference, Bhupathi expressed confidence that the MLTR concert in Shillong ?would definitely be a blast?. Prior to picking Shillong as the venue from among the cities of eastern India, Globosport had done intensive research and found that the city was ?the ideal location considering the fact that the people here are totally involved with music?.

MLTR albums have started selling like hot cakes here.

The chartbuster album Actor has been playing at most cyber cafes and in local taxis all over Shillong. ?With just one day left for this internationally-renowned band to play in Shillong, the musical fever is palpable,? general secretary of Shillong Press Club, D.L. Siangshai, said.