MUMBAI: By now many must be shaking their heads in regret for not making to this event.
The Hand Shake concert that took place on Sunday on the occasion of world music day was an inspiring mix of northeast folk, opera, progressive metal, fusion and some good ol blues. The purpose of this concert was to bring together all the aforementioned varied genres on one platform and introduce listeners to music of different cultures and kind. Organized by Rattle and Hum Society and the Rolling Stone India Magazine, the concert was a perfect mix to symbolize world music. The Rattle and Hum society had earlier hosted their first such concert in Kolkata last year. In their second year now, they moved to Mumbai to give listeners a taste of their traditional music and performances by well known artistes from the rock scene of North East. Dressed in traditional northeast wear, former Channel V VJ Luke Kenny hosted this musical gathering and kept the tempo up with his pep-talk and info about the event and upcoming music related events.
The performers for the night were world class – to say the least. Northeast folk trio Cultural Vibrants opened the show with their traditional folk tunes that would transport any listener to the place where these songs originated. Even Tetseo sisters, another folk duo, who have received tremendous acclaim back home, performed accapella with traditional one stringed folk instrument for accompaniment. The audiences for the night were a mix of old and young and seemed glued to these unheard folk sounds. What followed next was a storm – a vocal storm. Singer Asin, a Trinity Music School graduate gave listeners a taste of opera music – it’ not everyday you hear an Indian sing opera! Dressed in silky black gown, the stunning singer made the listeners gape at her vocal highs and lows, and her remarkable stage presence. Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt’s performance was a definite highlight of the evening- the Grammy award winner performed a composition from same album for which he won the Grammy. A intresting incident followed. Just before the concert, one of the strings from his Mohan Veena came off, but that was unlikely to stop him – string or no string, the virtuoso musician had every one gawk followed by an standing ovation. There was something for the metal freaks too – the popular northeast progressive metal band Eximious took charge and introduce some head banging to the seated audience. The Kailasa duo Naresh- Paresh’s band Hipnotribe were next – the group performed a mix of reggae, instrumentals, rock ballad and everything in between – they were on the stage for a rather long time!
Soulmate ended, or put an intermission to the concert (as Luke Kenny would like to say) with some good ol blues…and slop bucket guitar licks that will linger for a while. Lead vocalist Tipriti K. Bangar AKA Tips as she’s better known was at her best. Appearing extremely comfortable on the stage, she’s definetly one of the best female blues singer we have – you might as well call her B. B â€?Queen’! A free concert, with a great line-up, that too on a Sunday evening – unbelieveable. Just one thing, despite this, we still need to get over our Indian Standard Time fixation.