Author Archives: Arjun Sathe
I have fond, yet fuzzy memories of the first time I had heard Sridhar and Thayil play live. It was an insanely crowded, power-packed sauna-like atmosphere at a predominantly punk-oriented night at B69, and they were up next after a brilliant performance by Zero. Unfortunately, that is all I remember of that night. My curiosity was piqued by the few songs of theirs that I’d listened to online before heading for the gig, and I felt that the Blue Frog sound system and ambience would certainly do justice to their brand of music. I settled in quite early, but the duo arrived on stage only at about a quarter past ten. Gigs often…
Tuesday nights at the Blue Frog often promise something special. And this one was no exception, as Dischordian launched their much-awaited and long overdue debut album, The Feni Farm Riot. I made my way to the venue after a hard day’s work, and reached there well in time. At the pass counter, I spotted a fair amount of merchandise up for sale, including posters and coasters featuring the impressive artwork on the album cover, and of course copies of the album itself. In keeping with the creative title, the band had arranged for free Feni shots for everyone who entered, and I promptly claimed mine. Feeling distinctly happier, I settled down at the bar…
The Bombay Rock Project, although being a new entrant into Mumbai’s music scene, comprises a line-up of musicians who are well established in their own right, each of whom plays for a number of city bands. The gig they were playing today was at a mall, and I didn’t really know what to expect from them in terms of music, or the venue’s sound setup. It was a typically windy and rainy June evening in Vashi, as the band set themselves up in the Inorbit Mall compound, close to the entrance. The place was sheltered by an unusually psychedelic looking ceiling way above, and kept out most of the rain. There was…
The rather clichéd title of Two Night somehow made me feel like I was heading for a grind-house kung-fu double-feature. I’d never heard either of the featured bands before and I hoped to be pleasantly surprised. The introduction to the Max Clouth Trio that I’d glanced at on the Blue Frog’s event page was interesting to say the least. The lineup was formidable and highly accomplished, with the widely respected Karl Peters on bass, the very accomplished and experienced jazz musician Benny Soans on drums, and Max Clouth of course, on guitars, with a highly impressive resume at a relatively young age. The gig began without much ado, and at a fairly decent time for…
As I made my way to the Blue Frog on Sunday evening, I was clearly still recovering from the effects of the power-packed previous night at B69. It was the second leg of Vasuda Sharma’s farewell tour that I was headed for and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, given that I’d never watched Vasuda live in concert before, and that her initial claim to fame was being a part of the group Aasma, a product of Channel V’s ‘Pop Stars’ project. However, her more recent foray as an independent artist, combined with the stellar lineup of guest artists and supporting band for the night, had certainly roused my curiosity. Admittedly, I’ve…
B69 Bajaao was at its best again on the 23rd of April, when it hosted the second edition of the alternative rock fest, Ctrl Alt Delete, presented by Sidestand. Looking at it from a rock enthusiast’s point of view, this gig had something special for everyone, with the lineup of bands playing Punk rock, Punk metal, Hardcore, Alternative metal and some Jazz Funk. The motive behind the gig was, and I quote, “We aim to slowly but steadily build a fan base for the Alternative bands all across India and to help the scene grow as a collective.” And with gigs like these, I’m sure that this aim will be achieved very soon. The…
There was something rather strange about last Thursday night’s 6th Annual JD Rock Awards, held in Mumbai at the Hard Rock Cafe. I’m not sure if it was the oddball MC-ing, the long list of small-time celebrities hanging around, the highly overpriced beer, or possibly a combination of all of these that left me slightly puzzled at the whole shindig. The presentation of awards began almost as soon as I entered, admittedly quite late. I was already miffed at missing out on Demonic Resurrection, Split and Tough on Tobacco who had already played some brilliant sets as I was told, and now it was Luke Kenny dressed in a bizarre ensemble, who…
After a very lively and insightful late evening interview with Zero (in the Hard Rock Cafe parking lot, nothing less), I waited eagerly for the start of the gig. I’d somehow always missed Zero’s concerts whenever they’d played in the city, so I was considerably curious and excited to know how they sounded live, having only their album recordings (which i’d listened to a gazillion times) and some YouTube videos as reference. By the time the band went up on stage, the place was packed. The larger of the two stages was in use, and a steam machine that had been going off every few minutes until then seemed to be increasing the anticipation levels in the…
