Snapshots from concerts I attended this year:
- Agam - Attended a concert at the BITSAA Global Meet, early in the year. The concert was at Epicenter in Gurgaon, and the band mostly performed popular, old Hindi numbers as the crowd consisted of ex-BITSians, well in their 40s and 50s.
- Indian Ocean - My 5th live gig by these guys was at Vapour, in Gurgaon. One of the best birthday treats I have ever had, I noticed this time that most of the people attending Indian Ocean’s concerts have heard them before, and absolutely love hearing them again and again. It also felt nice to watch the Delhi Metro pass by every few minutes.
- Pt. Milind Tulankar - My first ever concert at the India Habitat Center, this concert was a short and sweet discovery of what one can do with an instrument as simple as the Jaltarang.
- Pt. Rajan-Sajan Mishra - After having heard their cassettes and recordings ever since my childhood, it was really good to hear them sing live. The two brothers are among the best pairs I have ever seen perform. The concert was at the Kamini Auditorium, Delhi.
- Mrigya - This is one of the most energetic and vibrant bands I have come across in the recent past. It was good to hear these guys play again. I doubt I will forget the jugalbandi they had with a saxophone player any time soon. Also, this gig happened at the IHC’s amphitheater.
- Coke Studio India Minicert - The very first weekend that I moved to Bangalore, this concert was happening at HRC. Hearing the singers live is no match to watching the videos of the episodes from this show. This was the day I first heard Papon and his famous Bihu, and loved Sanjeev T and Mathangi’s rendition of Indian Jadoo. But, the star attraction of the concert, for me, was to hear Tochi Raina live, and he did not disappoint.
- The Great Indian Octoberfest - A 3 day long fest held every year at Bangalore, it is pretty popular among the rock enthusiasts here. Luckily, the fest was being held at the KTPO this year, which is pretty close to where I stay. I attended gigs on Sunday, and had a good time hearing Papon’s East Indian Company, Kryptos and Poets of the Fall.
- KK and Parikrama - KK’s insane gig at Pilani is one of the best memories of Oasis, the cultural festival. Also, the Dewarists track by Parkirama, Agnee and Shilpa Rao had been released a few weeks ago. So, this was a concert that I had to attend. It was good to hear KK’s songs from his college days. This concert also led to the discovery of CounterCulture, one of the coolest places in Bangalore.
- Swarathma - This concert happened by a fluke. I was planning to go for a karaoke night with a few friends and I heard about this concert on Twitter. And, I will never regret the choice I made that day. Swarathma is the one band that can rival Mrigya in terms of on stage energy, and their costumes are infact better than Mrigya’s! Sweet, folksy compositions and fusion music are my weak points, and they know their stuff really well. Another concert that I attended at CounterCulture.
- Indian Ocean & Raghu Dixit - It had been more than 6 months since I had heard Indian Ocean live. The restless me found out about this concert, and pounced on the oppurtunity. That I could hear Raghu Dixit perform was a bonus for me. However, that day proved me wrong. Raghu Dixit’s performance set a benchmark that Indian Ocean found tough to match, even though they eventually did. Also, the picturesque UB City served as a nice backdrop on this chilly night.
- Shubha Mudgal - Another live performance that I attended for the first time, I had a lot of expectations from this concert. Shubhaji’s heavenly voice perfectly complemented the khyaals and thumris that she performed. With this concert, I finally visited Chowdiah Memorial Hall in Bangalore.
With 11 concerts, I did not reach my concert a month goal, but I did get to hear some excellent live music. This year also saw the rejuvenation of good music shows. Dewarists Coke Studio India, MTV Unplugged India, MTV Roots helped me discover a lot of new artists. But, the best TV show of all has been the Dewarists. The show deserves a blog post of it’s own, and hopefully, I will post the thoughts that have been running around in my head for the past few months. Hope next year is filled with more such concerts :smile:.