Tag Archives: Velvet Revolver

Junkyard Groove at Hard Rock Cafe, Bangalore

When 16, I attended the western music event at a schools cultural fest. Most of the 12 school bands in competition played covers. With neither coordination nor orders, at least 9 of them played the diamond in the crown jewels of the intangible cultural heritage of the average Chennai CBSE/ICSE English-medium school student of the 90s: Summer of 69.

In 2007-ish, I was at Bangalore Institute of Technology for their fest, and happened upon the western acoustic competition. A band was covering Feel Like A Knife by Junkyard Groove one of the very few Indian bands Id seen being covered by an amateur act, and definitely the only band from Chennai being covered in Bangalore during the Kaveri water crisis.

Though often prone to being dismissed, circa 2007 Junkyard Groove were one of the pillars of the Indian music scene. They seemed poised to explode with their boozy alt-rock; they had a strong batch of songs, genuine stage presence (the entire band, but particularly bacchanal vocalist Ameeth Thomas and stoically wry guitarist Sid), were playing international gigs, had signed a record deal with Creative Kingdom, and so on. But, straight out of the Rock n Roll Playbook, it all fell to pieces, and they did a GnR and splintered Junkyard Groove lurched onwards with Axl Thomas and the Replacements while the rest of the original band, as Captains of Hook, failed to clear the lowly bar of being Chennais Velvet Revolver.

Castles kept burning, the people kept turning, and Junkyard Groove were consigned to being also-rans. They put out new material now and then, but past the circle of die-hards, the wider world walked on by.

When they played at Hard Rock Café on the 17th of January, my decision to go was based on nostalgic fealty (tempered by severely diminished expectations) rather than genuine excitement much like the lot who went to watch Guns n Roses in Bangalore. Seemingly the organizers had low expectations too, not having bothered to clear the area in front of the stage as they do when expecting good numbers. Still, the turnout had filled most of the incidental spaces, clogging the routes and generally making life miserable for the food-bearing staff. In other words, a good crowd.

As they took the stage, the first revelation was that hell had frozen over (probably the subject of that Chennai snow twitter hashtag) when I hadnt been looking after a supposedly highly acrimonious secession, Siddharth Srinivisan was back! As it transpires, hed re-joined a few months ago and played a few gigs with them too, but that didnt make it any less surprising.

The band began with Imagine, and proceeded to run through most (well get to that) of the crowd favourites, including Folk You and Its Ok, perhaps their two most enduring contributions to the scene, but sadly left out personal favourite Hold. Ameeth and Sid seemed amiable towards each other; the bassist looked like hed been plucked out of a Karan Johar school fantasy, his excitement matching that image. The drummer was the hero of the piece, holding the band down with manic liveliness, though he also looked like he was well-versed in asking three questions to allow passage across a bridge.

Its vague to say that Junkyard Groove were in a playful mood. Its difficult to determine whether their on-stage mirth was an inherent quality or fueled by inebriation, but they did their bit, constantly detouring into Sweet Child O Mine while playing Rock and Roll after having bantered about audience expectations, and also led the crowd in a sing-along of the old Hutch jingle (You and I in this beautiful world). The crowd, in turn, lapped it up.

As often lamented at HRC, the sound was a bit tinny, and on the day was also hobbled with wonky mixing the drums were a little high throughout, and at one point the vocals were almost entirely muted. A quibble that most hope HRC will rectify its a little hard to live up to the R in their name if the bands playing there sound like theyre playing from the bottom of a ventilation duct. Or maybe thats the point of the H.

The other criticism, an entirely avoidable one, was the length of the show. It was simply too short. The band went up at nine-ish, and stopped at ten, taking a break in the middle and having played for barely thirty minutes. They played only eight songs and were primed for more, but were talked down. It reeked of bad administration if they knew that they had to pull the plug at ten, shouldnt they have either started earlier, or at least not taken a break? The band were more than willing to play on, starting up Say Goodbye (ha.) before the manager put his foot down and cut them off.

Though truncated, it struck me after the show that their song list, apart from one song, hadnt changed all that much in the last five years, right down to the segue from Thank You into Pearl Jams Animal. But the mob loved it, and the mass singing along to Its Ok, constant cries of Folk you, and the ardent enthusiasm on display seemed like both a celebratory sigh of relief, and a reaffirmation of their craft.

Onwards and upwards.

Varun Rajiv

Varun Rajiv has tinnitus. The first band he adored with all his heart was Boyzone.

Comment

Galeej Gurus at Hard Rock Cafe, Hyderabad

Named as one of Indias hottest bands according to Rolling Stones in 2010, the opening act for bands like Mr. Big, Deep Purple, Bryan Adams; and having played in Dubai Dessert Rock Festival alongside bands like Velvet Revolver, Korn, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Galeej Gurus is a force to reckon with. Their growing fan club in Hyderabad couldnt wait to listen to them yet again and could barelty contain their excitement. Formed in the year 2000, the Galeej Gurus have been in the music scene for over a decade with over 500 gigs in their kitty. Their line-up includes Nathan Harris on vocals, Naveen Thomas on the guitars, Ananth Menon on guitars and vocals, Matthew Harris on the bass and Kishan Balaji on the drums.

As a band, their influences are Led Zeppelin, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Eric Clapton, Steve Vai and Deep Purple. However individually, Nathans influences include Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Guns n Roses, Robbie Williams, Prince etc., while Ananth tips towards blues and rock and roll. Matthew draws his inspiration from modern guitar funk and rock, for Naveen Thomas, who is considered the most technically proficient musician in the band, it is more of progressive influences like Dream Theater, Pain of Salvation, Tool, Killswitch Engage etc. , and Kishan is inspired by freestyle improvisation and jazz. A blend of their individuality is the essence of their band. Galeej Gurus music, according to them, is a bit of Alternative, Funk, Blues-Rock, Progressive and Grunge put together; whereas critics classify them as Indie Rock.

Their set list for the day was a mix of their compositions and covers. The band opened with their own composition Believe in Tomorrow, to warm up the crowd. Picking up pace, their OCs Shes Mine, Play On, Jets Cold Hard B*tch got the crowd pumped up. Ananths bluesy voice was perfect for the cover of Eric Claptons Before You Accuse Me. Blind, Make some Noise, Dark Hungry Eyes were the rest of their OCs for the first half of the evening. By the second half of the gig, the crowd grew bigger and the energy grew higher. This second set included 3 Doors Downs Loser along with Maroon 5s Move like Jagger and another composition Flyaway. The crowd sang along during Foo Fighters Rope and Kings of Leons Use Somebody, while the band continued on with their other compositions Breathe and Physiological Breakdown. The finale was a medley of three rock legends Led Zeppelins Whole lotta love, Jimi Hendrixs Purple Haze and Lenny Kravitzs Are you gonna go my way leading to Full meals by The Wayside. They threw in a few amazing guitar and bass solos and pulled in Baba Native Tongues frontman and a good friend of the band for one of the numbers, which added to the overall flavour.

Every composition of theirs has a bit of Alternative and Progressive while most of them were groovy. Nathans versatile vocals, Naveen Thomas and Ananths skills on the guitar, crazy bass riffs by Matthew and Kishans tight drumming put together, makes a perfectly wrapped package of good music.

The sound was decent with very few glitches and there were quite a good number of people for a weekday evening. As the front man, Nathan knew how to keep the crowd engaged throughout the gig. The energy of the entire band was so contagious, they crowd couldnt contain themselves. Everyone was high on music (also on booze, but mostly music) till the end.

Galeej Gurus claim that they are a bunch of crazy ass rockers who dont understand the meaning of keep it quiet! and they sure kept their word! After a week of rain and traffic jams, an evening with Galeej Gurus at Hard Rock Café was the perfect way to unwind.

Vini Lilian

Vini works with an ad agency. She's a metalhead who can't play metal so she writes about it. She loves tattoos!

Comment

The Beatroute – Live at Pizza By The Bay

They say the routes of music lie in the beats of sound, and thats what the emerging Bombay based band,The Beatroute adheres to. The Beatroute, that comprises of ex Vayu drummer Gopal Dutta, Vignesh on guitar, Biswajeet on bass, Eeshan on keyboards, and Greg on lead vocals, recently played a gig at Pizza by the Bay, previously known as Not Just Jazz by the Bay. This new and upcoming band performed a wide array of songs ranging from their originals, to covers of U2, Coldplay and the sensational Michael Jackson.

Despite the fact that they are new to the world of live performances, their music seemed to stir our attention. With a professional like Gopal in the band who has had years of experience and other band members full of enthusiasm and zeal, they kickstarted the show with Wolf Mothers ‘Joker and the Thief’, which was very well done. In their second song which was a cover of U2s ‘Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me’, we saw a very focused Eeshan almost magically produce a techno sound through the motion-sensing interface on his keyboard, as if he was talking to it with his fingers!

Then came one of their originals called ‘Nine to five’, about the working class people in the city. The song was a tad shaky here and there and a little monotonous, but a good attempt at an original nonetheless. Next up was another U2 song, ‘Where the streets have no name’ followed by another original called ‘Glow’, which again seemed to lack the punch and vigor of ‘Nine to five’.

Next up, The Beatroute went into a wonderfully done medley of Chris Isaaks ‘Wicked Game’ and Maroon 5s ‘She Will Be Loved’. Subsequently, they played another cover of ‘Smooth Criminal’ by Michael Jackson, which was completely off beat and too fast a version of that song to be sung. It sounded like a cacophony of sound, with a mix of different instruments and bad timing. Next up, they broke out into another one of their originals called, ‘This Is Bound To Happen’, which had an electronica feel to it, making it a good listen.

Then came Eeshans solo performance on the keyboard, with an assortment of ‘Chariots Of Fire’, ‘The Godfather Theme’ and ‘Sweet Child Of Mine’. Immediately after which, out of the blue, I heard Greg screaming out happy birthday to someone, with Eeshan hastily filling in a 2 minute happy birthday tune on his keyboard.

Later on, Gopal Dutta played a 15 minute drum solo, which was astounding, highlighting his prowess as one of the most technically skilled musicians in the band. The best cover the band played was ‘Sunday Morning’ by Maroon 5; it proved that they have an umpteen amount of potential in them, considering that theyve only been playing live for a few months. ‘Clocks’ was one song where they couldnt get their timing right however, and towards the end of this Coldplay number, everyone in the band seemed to be a little perplexed.

Amidst this ambience of good music and dim lights, a man came up to the microphone and proposed to a woman, on stage, while Greg retreated into the background. Apparently, this wasnt a prank, but the real deal. In so many years of having attended gigs, this certainly was a first!

After this unusual saga, the band played a rather flat version of Porcupine Trees ‘Lazarus’ and a soothing version of Billy Joels ‘Piano Man’ which made everyone in the house sing along and come together for that moment. They proceeded to play an impressive rendition of ‘Drive’ by Incubus, followed by ‘Slither’ by Velvet Revolver that had a good solo by Vignesh. All in all, a band heavily inspired by Coldplay and U2, The Beatroute will probably go a long way.

Sharon Flynn

Comment

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.

Comment