Jam session in progress
Prominent acts in the city are getting together and performing at shows
By : soumashree sarkar
Update: 2015-07-25 00:32 GMT
Two acts are better than one, and it seems that Bengaluru too has caught on to the fever. While musical performances by big names used to earlier be headlined by a smaller band, these days evening entertainment venues have been opening themselves up for two equally powerful and well-known acts. What is more? With sludge metal bands like Shepherd, pairing up with legendary blues acts like Chronic Blues Circus, with evergreen bands like Thermal and a Quarter coming together for a show with newer eclectic rock group Mad Orange Fireworks, or crossover bands like ARKA teaming up with DJs like Praveen Achary – all very recently — lovers of music are provided with a distinctive experience, quite unlike anything they’ve seen before.
From the times when the Rolling Stones included Carlos Santana and the Jefferson Airplanes in their concerts – it’s taken two (or more!) to create a truly great show. Sanaya Ardeshir, whose music project is called Sandunes, performed with the band Nicholson in the city last night. She says, “There should not be any hierarchy of power or genre in music. Genre is a thing of the past and music is truly opening up. As someone who enjoys listening to all kinds of music, well-curated shows with no distinction in opening and headlining acts are a great step forward.”
Indeed, the musicians are loving it. Heeral D’cunha, a guitarist and bassist who recently performed with vocalist and songwriter Kevin Rodrigues at Glasshouse, says, “Pairing up creates a rapport, not just among big and small acts but also in the music that the two bands or individuals might be producing. To take my own example, I used to play hard rock at concerts of my own, but the audience at my shows with Kevin are likely to see a more contemporary touch in my music, along with some blues and jazz.”
With a more accepting audience, musicians are getting ready to try out new combinations in their collaborative acts. Vats Iyengar of the city band Rainburn is all praise for the bands which he played along with at a recent progressive music festival in the city. “It’s great that the barriers of genre and status are breaking down. Even among progressive rock bands, there is so much variety, that no two acts are the same. It’s great that venues are opening up to two or more great acts,” says Vats.
Having two musicians on one stage is, of course, a fan’s paradise. Film director and blues singer, Ananya Chatterjee loves to unwind over the weekend with the standard pub fare that has seen great variety recently. The 23-year-old says, “It’s nothing but a delight to fans to come across a double fare in an evening. I must say that this seems to be one of the leaps that Bengaluru has spearheaded in India.”