Tag Archives: Malhar Jam

Agam and Aks at CounterCulture, Bangalore

When two bands of national acclaim are gathered to play at a popular venue, you can expect the early animated crowd to fill in way before the concert. This night was no different. Each table had an excitable someone telling their friends about the bands that were to perform. One of the most heartening things about the Indian music scene is getting to see fans pointing to band members (who are almost always part of the audience, sipping on their pre-gig drinks) in awe. And so it was that when Aks took the stage, the audience cheered them with a fervour that came from finally not having to mutter their appreciation at dinner-table volume.

Without wasting any time on the soundcheck, Aks played their first song a track about a traveler moving through life while trusting god with their good graces. The vocals were very slightly off-key at the start, but as the song picked up, the track blossomed into a powerful anthem. The bands characteristic blending of aalaps towards the end of rugged vocals was reminiscent of their Coke Studio days that were well-favoured by everyone. Audience engagement also started early as the band urged everyone to sing the chorus.

Their next track was called ‘O ji re‘. It had all the undertones of a sweet folk love song, complete with a peppy flute solo. Xaviers vocal acrobatics on this one did not fail to impress, although his breath control did seem to waver around the high notes. After a bluesy ‘Panchi‘ which was a song about freedom, packed in with a flute and a guitar solo, a deceptively long flute intro led the audience to believe a smooth song was up. What did play was a cover of the Agosh classic ‘Paisa‘. There was a very long drawn-out instrumental section in the middle that wasnt devoid of technical brilliance at all but seemed patchy in composition. ?

Their next song ‘Baavla‘ was dedicated to the heavy metal band Anvil. It was a smooth number with a catchy acoustic solo. However, much of the rhythm was held together by the flautist. They then played a new track that started with a drum intro and proceeded into becoming the perfect, upbeat final song that ended their set.

The crowd cheered on as they left the stage and their hearts wanting for more. After a short break, Agam took the stage. After a brief soundcheck, they got the ball rolling by playing their usual set opener ‘Brahmas Dance‘. Other than a few glitches that were barely noticeable, their set was as good as it gets. They played ‘Dhanashree Thillana‘, ‘Seventh Ocean‘, ‘Ishq Labaa‘, ‘Swans of Saraswati‘, ‘Boat Song‘, a really great version of ‘Dil Se Re‘ followed by a genuinely innovative cover of ‘Aaromale‘, to then end with ‘Malhar Jam‘, which is also the last song on their album The Inner Self Awakens.

There could not have been a more phenomenal ending to the evening with a long-drawn percussion solo in the middle of ‘Malhar Jam‘, followed by Dappankuthu. The audience really got what they came for, and there was not a single unsmiling face. Their youngest fan was a two year old who caught everyones eye as she sat on her fathers shoulders jumping to every beat.
If Aks set the tone for the evening, Agam turned things up a notch higher. A gig well executed, and an evening to remember.

Swati Nair

Swati is a writer/sub-editor for What'sTheScene. She enjoys most kinds of music and spends all of her time scouting the Internet and re-watching Star Trek and Swat Kats.

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The Inner Self Awakens by Agam

Software engineers by day and musicians by evening or at least over the weekend – such is the story of Agam. Formed in 2006, following a few compositions (which were mere experiments then) by a bunch of friends in an apartment studio, Agam has become a powerful force with their brand of music since then. This Bangalore-based ensemble features Harish on vocals, Praveen on lead guitars, Swamy on keyboards, Vignesh on bass guitar, Jagadish on rhythm guitars, Ganesh on drums and Sivakumar on ethnic percussions.

From winning a musical reality show helmed by maestro A. R. Rahman himself to collaborating with Shreya Ghoshal, the band has had a glorious journey thus far. Though, a performance on the fabled Coke Studio stage has been the talking point for a while now and makes a perfect setting for the release of their debut album. Agam literally translates to the inner self and hence the album gets the name The Inner Self Awakens. Each song in the album pivots around a central Raga and is embellished by the elements of progressive rock, which brings into perspective a completely unheard of and unexplored genre – Carnatic Progressive rock. With the songs quite often delving into religious themes, the cover art of the album has been aptly chosen to depict the Keralite festival of Theyyam.

Bramhas Dance starts off with a vedic chant accompanied by war-field percussions and roaring bass-lines that provide a worthy build up to this terrific album – almost as if calling out to awaken the enormous beast from its Carnatic foregrounds. Harishs violin is subtle but adds the most mellifluous of touches to the song. The appropriate use of cymbals, the ghatam and Praveens electric guitar are in complete sync with the vocals as the song goes through a plethora of moods and tempos.

Dhanashree Thillana is the progressive rock rendition of a Swathi Thirunal composition based on the Dhanashree Raga and is perhaps one of the finest tracks in the entire album. This one kicks off as a typical rock ballad but gradually transcends into melodic taranaas moving over an entertaining rhythm structure. The guitar sounds magnificent and the jugalbandi with Harishs vocals leads to a perfect finish.

Inherently violent in nature and composition, Rudra fits the bill for Tandava or what the more mainstream metal-heads call it – head-banging. Like any regular metal song, it is loud, noisy and all about the heavy guitar lines and percussions. But a funky and rather jazzy bass solo, high-pitched melodies and the wonderful usage of the conch towards the end, for me, stole the show.

Justifying the moniker, Boat Song is for vallamkalli or the Boat Race during Onam. The song has got an extremely happy ring to it and you wont be alone in thinking that the song sounds like something out of a Malayalam movie. But thats only till Praveen churns out a breath-taking guitar solo that dispels all clichés.

The start to the song Swans of Saraswati is an incoherent feature here and perhaps a tad overdone for the sake of rock. Though, it soon takes shape in a beautiful guitar solo, like any other song in the album, this song relies predominantly on Harishs vocals and his numerous alaaps. This enormously brave endeavour to give Thyagarajas Bantureethi a rock makeover is an absolute stunner. Its unbelievable how Rock gets weaved into Carnatic Classical music with such ease – as if they werent ever different entities, just like a perfect marriage.

Malhar Jam is the most refreshing, energetic and undoubtedly the best composition on this album. This song also featured in a multi-producer episode of Coke studio, though a very different rendition of it. This one has got no israj in it and the flute segment by Annada Prasanna Patnaik (who does a cameo here too) is subtle and barely forms the highlight. This ones got more room for Swamys wonderful work on the keyboard, taranaas and Vigneshs heavy bass lines. The song forms a grandstand finish to this magnificent thirty-eight minute album.

The sonorous vocals of Harish stand apart throughout the album and the percussions, bass and guitar lines complement each other well. Their experiments with a few classics may make a staunch Carnatic listener think twice, but for a generation thriving on a healthy blend of sensibilities, its a guaranteed treat. The rock may have got a little too heavy for fusion here and there in the album but the underlying beauty of a raga has barely been compromised. Six years has been a rather tantalizing wait but when sated by such an eclectic experience, it has been worth it. For a debut, this is a scintillating start by Agam and may go down as one of the top albums to be released this year. The album goes through the various textures of a human brain and listening to it is a spiritually uplifting experience – all this for a meager amount of Rs. 90 – who wouldnt want to buy it?

Shubhodeep Datta

Shubhodeep is home to a lunatic in his head, who is on his own with no direction home. Tell him about his grammatical errors! Follow him on Twitter @datta_shubho

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Vibha Dhwani at St. John’s Auditorium, Bangalore

I did not know much about Vibha.org, a charitable organization founded in 1991, when I entered the St. John’s Auditorium on Saturday. By the end of the evening, however, I developed great respect and admiration for the work they do. The event was called Vibha Dhwani where bands that strongly personify Indian culture – The Raghu Dixit Project (TRDP), Agam and La Pongal were invited to perform.

Until Saturday afternoon, I was to watch TRDP, Agam and Yodhakaa play; however, due to slight confusion, as it was put, La Pongal, a Tamil folk rock band, replaced Yodhakaa in the line-up. The band which contained two key members from Yodhakaa was in the middle of their sound check when I entered the disinfectant-smelling auditorium. The stage setting had a nice rustic touch to it, with kites and hay, certain to remind you about the fun times that you had as a kid back in your village. Considering how the whole evening eventually panned out, the stage design intent was spot-on. About an hour to go before the start of the event and Agam, except one member, was nowhere to be seen. Not really a bad thing, as I’ve known Agam to do their sound checks a day before the event, something they did at the Big Junction Jam back in June.

I had met Darbuka Siva backstage for a short interview. He talked about taking Tamil culture wherever he went, the importance of attire to a performance and musicians as entertainers. A while later, I was in the middle of my interview with the man who symbolizes the beginning of folk rock in modern India, Raghu Dixit backstage when La Pongal started their act. BANG on time! I took a seat in the front row as La Pongal dived into their second song ‘Killiamma‘. Pradeep on the vox and acoustic guitar and Darbuka Siva on the bass co-fronted the band. Pradeep who has a background in Carnatic is a real joy to listen to and was easily La Pongal’s stand-out performer that evening. In my book, he’s got the right voice timbre to become indispensable to La Pongal’s overall sound. The first few songs had a similar structure about them – an acoustic guitar start, bass-drums-tavil joining in and the lead guitarist Vikram providing the fills, a mellow interlude and a crescendo finish. I must also credit Pankajan on the tavil because the folksy touch of La Pongal would have been non-existent if it weren’t for him. David on the drums was having an absolute ball if the sound on the PA was similar to what he heard on his monitors. I assumed that it was, considering he executed a crisp drum solo (and by the looks of it, enjoyed it too) before La Pongal went onto their next song, ‘Vandiyilla Nella Varum’.

Later, La Pongal broke their song pattern to play a song derived from a Tamil folk standard known as ‘Kuravan Kurathi Aatam‘ which was relatively less hard-hitting and mellower. Thumbs up to this one! Pradeep improvised with a guitar solo of his own. At this point of time, I had noticed that the lighting of the stage was also neatly done as it reflected the soft nature of the song. One of their last songs which Siva said was borrowed from a kid’s game, had a nice reggae feel to it. The little inputs to the song were so apt that it did seem like children playing in the background!

Overall, La Pongal still showed signs of starting off as they suffered issues in tightness in some songs. However, of the three bands they had the most rustic sound and I daresay that, with songs like the aforementioned, they were the closest to the theme of the whole event.

After La Pongal made their exit from the stage, Vibha showcased their work through a short movie. I was impressed with some of their innovative concepts like School on Wheels. There were actual clips from how teachers teach the students, a few short classes in Marathi and interviews with the children’s parents. Having their children educated and display the confidence that it brings in their daily life activities put a genuine smile on their faces. Ten minutes after the movie, Agam were ready with their act.

Before you notice any likely bias from this point on, I must warn you that I’m a huge fan of Harish, the frontman of Agam. Trained in Carnatic, he was on that day, confident and charismatic. He does give the impression of being in a hurry though. But coming to the whole band, Agam were really tight, demonstrating great communication, sync and not to mention, loads of practice! They started off with ‘Brahma’s Dance’, a song in the raga Revathi and which incorporated the well-known ‘Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu‘ shloka. Harish’s voice modulations and Vignesh’s slap bass were memorable from that song. They followed it up with a thillana in Raga Dhanashri. This is the same thillana, composed by Sri Swathi Thirunal and made popular by the evergreen voice of M.S Subbulakshmi. Pity not many realize how dry our culture would be if it weren’t for them, but I’m glad that the people took note of Agam’s extraordinary rendition.

Agam then launched into song they were performing live for the first time, a song in Malayalam called ‘The Boat Song’. Praveen, the lead guitarist, was at the center of this piece with some real good work on the guitar. The song was catchy and you should be able to hear more of it in the future. Agam went on to perform a song in the raga Nattai before launching onto an Urdu number called ‘Muqammal’. It seemed to bear a stark resemblance to the kind of songs A.R Rahman would compose. The song had a jazzy opening, with Agam breaking free from their hard-hitting openings and Harish alaaped in raga Ahirr Bhairav. Strangely though, following a dholak interlude the song threatened to end as ‘Lagan Lagi’ from the movie Tere Naam, but thankfully, the band ended it as the original piece should. I noticed a slight echo in Harish’s vocals, hopefully intentional, in their next song, ‘Bandurithi Kolu‘, a Thyagaraja Swamigal composition in the raga Hamsanadham. The song was interspersed with complicated proggy stuff and a good show of tightness and Harish’s vocals backed up by Vignesh’s were brilliant along with some accidentals in the overall song! Here, I could be a cynic and disregard the progressive stuff that a non-elite crowd seldom relates to, but I’m as happy as a frog in the rain that a rock band played Thyagaraja! More of that please!

And how can an Agam gig be complete without their ace song, ‘Rudra‘? Their second Revathi song of the evening, ‘Rudra‘ was a mind-blowing hit and it won over the crowd. At a point, it seemed that Harish overdid his vocal roller coaster, but it was a definitive display of skill, energy and stamina. To be at the end of a 90-minute show and still be able to stretch your voice better than minute one deserves applause. Their last song, ‘Malhar Jam‘, was where the crowd was able to recognize the prowess of Ganesh on the drums and Shiva on the percussions who indulged in a jugalbandi with various sounds that people instantly related to and enjoyed. Swami on the keys and Suraj on the rhythm guitar did not appear to take a central role, but I’m certain that without them, Agam’s sound wouldn’t be what it was that evening. Overall, I am overjoyed that a carnatic rock band exists, but a greedy person like me wants more. I would love it if they render more Carnatic compositions in a less hard-hitting style and experiment with other styles of rock. And before I forget to mention, they received a 20-second standing ovation as the curtains closed on an exhilarating performance!

If La Pongal received a huge applause and Agam received a standing ovation, then The Raghu Dixit Project went one level further. I’m not sure if people sat at all during his act! I especially loved the lighting during his opening song ‘Hey Bhagwaan’ wherein, we could only see silhouettes! When the song started, there was a deafening roar of approval from the crowd. Maybe it was the moment, but I did feel TRDP were the tightest of the lot. There was a surprise addition to the line-up as Slain’s lead guitarist Bryden Stephen Lewis joined the crew in his debut lungi attire. Sandeep on the flute was mesmerizing, his sound complemented the band perfectly and his solos were out of this world! He would occasionally step up to the podium where Wilfred played the drums and engage in a sort of a telepathic conversation while playing. TRDP kicked on with the Kannada number ‘Gudugudiya‘. Occasionally, Raghu would march with his ghungroos giving the songs an extra dimension. Then finally, TRDP became the first band of the evening, to engage the crowd in their song as everyone yelled out the lyrics to ‘Lokat Kalaji‘, Raghu adding his humourous touch to the explanation of the song’s meaning. Just off the stage, a crowd had gathered and they jumped and danced with gay abandon, while the crowd from the balcony seats gathered and stood in the tier below.

As happy I was when Agam played Swathi Thirunal and Thyagaraja, I was happy when TRDP played songs by Sant Shishunala Sharif, whose poems are widely compared to those of Kabir. Kids in Karnataka learn his poems in school and it was a trip down memory lane for the arguably not-so-many in the cosmopolitan crowd. Coming back to the band, Gaurav Vaz on the bass was impressive with some licks to keep the crowd grooving while Bryden’s solos were jazzy and he made it look absolutely effortless. As a frontman, you really have to admire Raghu. There’s a lot upcoming musicians can learn about carrying themselves confidently on stage.

TRDP went on to their next song, ‘Sajna‘, a softer number composed by Neeraj Singh in the 7/4 time signature (or Mishra Chapu for carnatic enthusiasts). This song was arguably TRDP’s standout piece of the whole act. People who came to dance near the front of the stage did not mind one bit to camp on the floor, soaking in the soft tunes of ‘Sajna‘. The crowd didn’t have to wait long to start dancing again and singing along to ‘Har Saans mein, Har Dhadkan mein ho Tum’ a song from Raghu Dixit’s work for a movie that is based on Facebook. Raghu cleverly started off with a hilarious jig of Sting’s stalker anthem ‘Every Breath you take’ before beginning the song. I thought it was impossible to accommodate more people near the now-crowded stage front, but I was proved wrong when more people joined in to dance to ‘Mysore se aayi Woh’ where Gaurav Vaz taught the crowd the never-before-heard dance steps of ‘put your hands together’ and ‘jump’. The band then did their trademark group bow before the crowd yelled out for more. And TRDP duly obliged with a last Kannada number before departing the stage. Overall, TRDP demonstrated great skill, sync along with trashing my baseless assumption that folk rock bands are a one-time watch. It would be fair to say that TRDP’s music is the music of the people and it brings out the child in you.

As an event, Vibha Dhwani did not disappoint, not one bit! In fact, those at the show were treated to a great display of music and entertainment! More importantly, the bands that performed, accentuated the message Vibha intended to spread. The event was a good thing to happen to society for more reasons than ten!

Ganesh Viswanathan

Ganesh Viswanathan is a musician, a designer and sometimes both at the same time. Caffeine is known to derive its energising properties from him. Nobody knows the exact moment when he dismantles an idle mobile phone or steals food from another plate.

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The Big Junction Jam Festival- Day 1

Something that I have learnt over the years about Indian musical events, especially those that have live music, is that they never seem to start off at the scheduled hour. I walked in at 10:30 sharp, on that lazy Saturday morning, into the Big Junction Jam Festival arena in Palace Grounds and was greeted by Swarathma, at work on their sound check. A quick round of introduction with Karan Karthik (from The Live Gig) revealed that their sound check started an hour back. Well, it continued for the next hour or so, while I lazily roamed around the place.

After what seemed like an eternity (but was really a couple of hours), Bangalore based Old School Rebels got on the stage & kicked off the festival. Playing an extremely short set (which almost every band, that followed them, did over the course of the fest) of four tracks, they played two of their originals, covering Audioslaves ‘Revelations’ & Velvet Revolvers ‘Slither’. Maybe it was the lack of a sizeable audience, the set never made quite an impression by the time it ended.

Local Bangalore based jazz-fusion jam act Bourbon Street were up next, with Fidel from Old School Rebels on the bass again. Bourbon Street is fronted by Jerome Mascarenhas, who was missing from the action this time around. In his place was a thin lad named Ganesh, whom I hadnt seen play with them before. I was told this wasnt his first gig with them, which was evident from the way he was on the stage. Playing originals as well as covering old songs like Bobby Hebbs ‘Sunny’, & Phishs ‘Free’, their set was cut short as well, and was plagued by sound glitches, the booming bass & the inaudible-at-times lead guitars. One noticeable cover was that of ‘Nature Boy’, a poem, originally performed by Nat King Cole.

The all-Infy band Joos followed Bourbon Street for their set. Playing an original ‘Float’ with three covers that included Elviss ‘Heartbreak Hotel’; this was a decent set, although the vocals were a bit of a disappointment!

Black Sun, a 3 piece blues-rock act from Bangalore came in next. Not having heard of the band earlier, I had absolute zero expectations from them, and was pleasantly surprised to see three young lads climb the stage. Playing a real tight but short set, that included a self-composition oddly titled ‘Old Monk’, they were probably the only act of the day that asked for a couple of minutes for an extra song, and the organizers obliged. Closing off with a neat cover of Hendrixs ‘Voodoo Child’, they were well received by the limited audience that had gathered by now.

By the time I had got my share of chicken wings (Plan B had a counter in there!) and a couple of beers to wash them down, Mad Orange Fireworks had set up and were halfway into their first song. With Michael Dias fronting the band, it was difficult to miss the TAAQ/Bengaluru Rock flavor this bands music has. Also, the fact that the first gig these guys played together was just couple of months back wasnt really evident, with original compositions taking preference over covers for the majority. Their tremendous energy throughout their set wasnt lost on the audience either.

Towards the end of the afternoon, a decent number had turned up and The Indian Blues and Khalihan got to perform before the event was interrupted by rain. The Indian Blues seemed to make an impression with the presence of a sarod and a santoor on stage; however Khalihan failed to create much of an impact.

When I had read the schedule for the festival, one thing that caught my eye was Live Banned, the only act mentioned sans the genre of music they played. Imagine the shock when they got on stage. Forget the black metal bands with corpse paint or GWAR with whatever they wear; these guys had the most insanely funny outfits I have seen a desi band sport. Still no hints on what theyd play though. I did not see what was coming my way. A Tamil movie song is what the guy next to me says. Okay. Wait! Baazigars ‘Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen’? Crossed with Maidens ‘Fear Of The Dark’? Was I drunk or was that the Swat Cats theme? The Terminator? The most entertaining act of the day till then, Live Banned had everyone up on their feet and close to the stage in no time. Hope this act lasts, entertaining audiences in the days to come, and I hope their gags on stage do not repeat either.

Mumbai based raga rock act Paradigm Shift were a surprise entry among the headliners, and their beautiful set left no doubts that they deserved the spot. Their seamless blend of Indian classical music & rock n roll was vibrant enough to draw us closer to the stage and pay attention to them. With a violinist in the fold, the sound was very different from what we had expected of them. Vocalist Kaushik who, we later learnt had no formal training in classical music, has very soothing sufi-esque vocals. The track ‘Dhuan’ was the highlight of their set, probably the most polished song of them all. They paid a tribute to A.R Rahman covering the title track of the movie Roja.

The only progressive yet melodic hard-rock act of the day, Evergreen from Kochi took stage as the Sun went down. The traces of metal in Evergreens music, if not abundant, are evident. Fresh from the release of their latest video (City Blocks), their set was probably the longest of the day. Playing regulars like ‘From Here To Clarity’ and ‘Vengeance’, their DT/Rush influenced song writing, if not as prolific as either, was a breath of fresh, though heavier air from the rest of acts. Though the audience reception wasnt very warm, they were the perfect openers for the rest of the headlining acts that followed.

Carnatic rock aficionados Agam came on at the far end of the first day of the Big Junction Jam, right into slots reserved for headlining acts. After a short and uneventful sound check (as opposed to the longer ones audiences had to endure prior to the bona fide professionals grabbing the stage), Agams Harish Sivaramakrishnan introduced their first song Brahma’s dance; he sure had to make time for a hat tipping to the organizers and the crowd which was a nice little touch. Despite its down-tempo beginning, Brahmas Dance had the band off to a strong start. It took the first few bars of the song for Harish to settle into his vocals, a minor flub we heartily ignored. A strong point toward the middle of the song is an amber-toned shot glass of Harishs special brand of rock Carnatic vocal thats come to be the quintessential Agam flavour. A rising crescendo with an abrupt end had the crowd sighing with relief at the arrival of one of the few refined bands of the day! Raag Dhanashree was up next and began strong on the tabla and electric guitar; the violin nosed its way in after Harishs mike, toning it down just enough to meld with the song rather than overshadow it. And lo and behold, there was a sudden crowd in the front stark contrast to the motley crew that had populated the area so far mostly photographers, who ambled around looking like stragglers at an after party.

A flurry of well-rounded musical scales in the interim and the band was already halfway through the four-song set! Lakshya Padhyai or Path of Aspirations, the next song, had a notable jazzy bass guitar face off – so short, you could miss it that is a highlight of the song for this jazz lover. Beautifully light violin notes lead into the bridge and on into the end of the song. Raaga was up next with the first Hindi lyrics of the set and a heavier sound justifying their rock tag. With its short staccato stabs of guitar playing, the song was the first to get the crowd going in what seems like forever! It even brought Harish down to his knees making photographers scramble to capture it! Malhar jam, usually the best kind of crowd-pleaser, was up next, but the band was cut off by the organisers. Harish made a valiant attempt at a last song but he was shot down.

Parvaaz, Bangalore-based psychedelic/blues outfit was up next. Having seen them win the Unmaad gig in IIM-B earlier this year, and then play at Fireflies as well, and the level of commitment they have shown at each and every gig, the only grudge I have against them, if I were to nitpick, is the lyrical content, which just doesnt seem to match up with the music they play. Either that, or I dont get it at all. Probably the latter. The show was running late as it is and musical sharks Swarathma and the percussion masters Beat Gurus waited patiently in the wings, waiting to do justice to the stage.

Enter Beat Gurus & the crowd that had pretty much settled down for a short break was back, up against the stage barricades in a minute. This decade old percussion-only group is a familiar name amongst namma Bengaluru music aficionados. The octet got on stage, a quick sound check was followed by a quick exit and a quick return in colorful kurtas. Well, the quick part about their stage act showed up in the length of their set as well. Two songs were all they got time to play. The seasoned performers they are, the audience was clapping along in no time cheering them on. Almost everyone, including the band, wanted this to last a bit longer, but time was running out and the biggest act of the day was gearing up to close the night.

Swarathma, arguably the biggest folk rock act India has seen in recent times, finally took the stage at quarter past ten. After a second and thankfully shorter sound-check, they started off the proceedings with ‘E Bhoomi’. Crowd favorites like ‘Yeshu, Allah aur Krishna’ shortly followed up. Swarathma are a treat to watch live, despite the relentless touring they seem to be on nowadays. Be it Vasu Dixits humor on the stage, his word-play with Jishnu, or Varun Muralis flawless guitar playing, they have something for everyone in the audience, be it the musician or the ones who are in for the fun. Vasu was off the stage in the middle of the song and before you knew it he was dancing on the thela right in the middle of the crowd, urging everyone who had waited patiently for them to be a part of the act. It was nearing eleven already and even Swarathma ended up with just a four song set at the end of the day. I rue the fact that their sound-check in the morning lasted long enough to eat up into the length of their own set, not counting the bands that didnt get a chance to play at all.

Despite the good music, the food and the beer, the number of people who attended was lower than expected. We finally left the venue, a little disappointed, but secretly hoping that the scene would improve on the second day of the festival.

Sharanya Nair

Sharanya is a 'writer' and an 'editor'. You know the type. She loves her music too much to share.

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