I am annoyed with the organizers of Octoberfest 2010. Here is this glorious opportunity to call a musical event ‘Rocktober’ and they passed it up. This sort of chance comes only once a year! The Great Indian Octoberfest is an annual 3 day event that happens in Bangalore with loads of music, beer and entertainment. I am quite quite kicked about this years edition as the bandlist is very impressive.
I walk in on Saturday to find the meanest, most bad-ass 3 man moshpit Ive ever seen. Theorized are the first band on stage and the crowd hasnt come in yet. Vocalist Madhav vanishes from the stage to join the mosh which brings the total crowd there to a numerologically sound 4. I head to grab a beer as Theorized finish their consistent set. The cunning plan is to get suitably drunk before Shaan performs later on.
I manage to rush back before Slain have started their set (without spilling the beer, mind you), They include songs from their new album Here and Beyond in their set. ‘Tis a pity these guys werent around in the 80s. They would have sold out stadiums (a band like Boston did!) easily. These young chaps are very talented. Technical metal act Eccentric Pendulum are up next and introduce their new guitarist whos 19 years old. FML. The debut songs from their upcoming album. All the song titles are significantly longer than their earlier works and vocalist Nikhil stumbles while introducing the songs. GRE/GMAT prep eh boys? But their set is tight and ends with a trippy song from said album. They are also the third band in a row to crack a Shaan joke.
I bunk Verses performance to head to the outdoor stage. Ive made fun of em before anyway. Outside, therere mechanical bulls to ride and beer pong to be played. No one is really paying attention to the horrendous ‘Pinball Wizard’ cover by Freedoms Price. I conveniently tune out till Swarathma are on stage. I have high expectations for this performance so I make my way right up to the front row. As they start their set, I am a tad disappointed by Vasu Dixits vocals, which arent as strong as they usually are. The bassist Jishnu is on fire with his infectious and catchy basslines. The real star of the show is artist Vilas Nayak who paints a lifesize portrait of Vasu during the interval of a single song. The audience seem to love their earwormy songs and are very appreciative. Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale are the act scheduled to perform next but they take 30 minutes to setup. I conveniently help myself to a lot of beer in the meanwhile. Drinking on the job! The rest of the concert is a blur although the objective to get drunk before Shaan performs is achieved comfortably.
(Advice to lazy writers: saying you were drunk is a nice way to keep that word-count down)
