MUMBAI: While the biggest opening day for Bacardi NH7 Weekender ended with a promise and expectation, the weekend acts made the most of the ‘Weekender’ build-up by performing for a bigger audience.
The line-up, as expected, had a diverse range of artists playing across the stages and on fans filled Laxmi Lawns to its capacity gradually. Contemporary fusion outfit Arka attracted fans towards The Dewar’s stage through what turned out to be one of the best acts in the festival’s six years of existence. With Gino Banks on the drums and Selva Ganesh on the percussions, the ensemble wasted no time in expressing their musical brilliances through their respective instruments and an arrangement that not only left the revellers in sheer awe, but asking for more.
The Jack and Jones Stage hosted ‘Lagori’, who kicked off their set with a cover of ‘Dama dam mast kalandar’ setting off the festival’s mood while the sun set in the background. How to marry humour with music is a tough task, but leave it to the most popular comedy band in the country- Alien Chutney. Vir Das came with a familiar purpose- to piss people off- and Das started with welcoming Maggi back in the market. Alien Chutney’s set-list extended to offending Delhi and Bombay women with hilarious song writing and composition, that the band deserves every credit for. The comedian-singer ended his act asking the fans to head to Baba Sehgal’s performance and so they did.
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Sehgal’s first performance at NH7 disappointed none present at Jack and Jones stage. People danced to Sehgal’s songs- mixed with his old popular tracks and the new compositions that brought him back to spotlight.
Mark Ronson headlined the Beezer’s Beat Camp, however the American producer shared the slot with Raghu Dixit who took the Bacardi Arena, with newer faces with Neeti Mohan to assist him for the project’s Pune performance. The same scenario repeated when two of the most awaited acts headlined at the same time on different stages- Nucleya and the Tribute to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
The last day of the Weekender saw Nicholson take the ‘Spotlight’ on the Moto stage with yet another flawless live set. Fans watched artists as they waited for AR Rahman and his team to mesmerise during what was going to be the composer’s first ever NH7 performance.
Bangalore-based band Swarathma warmed up the crowd an hour prior to the one that Rahman took the stage. The band’s lyrics revolve around issues like politics and society, and although most attendees could not understand the language (Kannada), the hurdle did not stop them from dancing to the band’s compositions. Although, the sounds from neighbouring stages did not overlap and affect the experience for the fans on day 3, but it enforced the fans to choose between AR Rahman and Flying Lotus.
Rahman, during his over an hour set, played few of his classics that were received with an overwhelming response, and the composer could not stop but blush with every new song that was cheered and danced to. Rahman’s performance was easily the highlight of 2015 NH7 Pune and his performance only proves that he is arguably the greatest composer of our era.
