MUMBAI: The Rock phenomenon which kicked off in Kolkata on 31 July 2008 concluded on Saturday with Pune’s Silver declared as the undisputed winners. The multi-city festival was in full action at the Chitrakoot grounds in Andheri in suburban Mumbai.
The five bands which slugged it out for the coveted I-Rock title were The scavenger project from Kolkata, Another Vertigo Rush (AVR) from Delhi, Silver from Pune, Rainbow Bridge from Bangalore and Black from Mumbai. The I-Rock finals were judged by Assistant Editor, The Rolling Stones (India) Bobin James, Bobby Talwar, Bassist of Zero and the common judge, E-18 CEO Farhad Wadia. All the chosen bands representing the different cities gave the Mumbai audience a good time with some real rock n’ roll. For those who couldn’t catch the action, here’s a lowdown of the event.
Another Vertigo Rush (AVR) from Delhi was the first to take the stage, the band played an all original set, and their instrumental with hypnotic guitar intro was notable. However, for the most part, the band played with their back facing the crowd – not a good start.
Related Post
The next band to walk on stage were Silver from Pune – This was when the real rock show began. This eight month old band has already gone places, if you didn’t know, it was the only Indian band which represented India in Taiwan at the Asian Beat 2008. Silver’s vocalist Max got the crowd moving from the moment he stepped in. This long haired bohemian did what a rock band vocalist should ideally do – he got the crowd involved in their originals like Feel the heat and Desire and at the same time sportingly took the gunfire of MC’s and BC’s coming from the crowd. Silver had a good stage presence and moreover the ability to â€?rock’ and get â€?rocked’. Mahesh aka Max with his vocals and Savio with his jaw-dropping solo’s kicked ass – truly.
Mumbai based Alternative band Black came in next, but they had to wait for a rather long time (till the sponsors were done playing their advertisements) much to the discomfort of the audience. Black started their set with their foot thumping originals, however, the guitar string of their rhythm/lead guitarist broke during their first song – the huge man was slamming it so hard. The band played their new original Carpenters don’t f*** which was quite a hit even when they played it in the semis. Twitchy vocalist Shawn was not happy just being on stage and after a while jumped into the crowd – further encouraging the ongoing mayhem and mosh. The band wrapped up their performance with S-O-L-D.
Kolkata based The Scavenger Project got on next with two vocalists, a bassist slapping a six stringed bass. The band was impressive – but not enough. The Kolkata band played funk fused with electronic loops and had a la Linkin Park sound.
Bangalore’s favorite Rainbow Bridge were the last to play, again an all original band which brilliantly mixed the raga’s and pure rock with ?©lan. The grungy bluesy guitar sound stood out from the rest. Rainbow Bridge had two vocalists, Sanjeev on guitars and Benny doing carnatic vocal improvisations – both of them are seasoned musicians and have played with the likes of A.R Rehman. Rainbow Bridge had the most unique and raw sound among all the bands. However, it was during their performance that the crowd got unruly and started throwing mud filled bottles, cigarettes, and even stones targeting the musicians.
India’s only heavy metal band Demonic Resurrection left the metal freaks of Mumbai in high spirits as Sahil â€?DR’ Makhija played the crowd favorite Frozen Portrait, and before leaving Sahil told the crowd what was news to all – it was Farhad Wadia’s birthday – what a way to celebrate!
Now it was closing time, and Mumbai based Zero was given that job. This was supposedly Zero’s last show, lead vocalist Rajeev Talwar was at his entertaining best (with white border shades and a blazer to compliment!) and Guitarist Niranjan Dhar did a great job in Warren’s absence. Zero played favorites like Christmas in july and Your not my kind of girl but the band could not play the audiences all time favorite PSP due to time constraints (like always!). Nevertheless, in spite of the cops plugging out the sound wires, the audience sang with the Rajeev & Co with all their heart.
No matter who won, but one thing is sure – this is a new beginning for rock music lovers in India. What I observed was that the bands are now getting over the cover hang over and playing music which defines them. However, the unruly crowd needs to be more considerate and at least not go to the extent of throwing stones on musicians!
I-Rock Images
http://www.radioandmusic.com/content/editorial/news/independence-day-low-down
Pics by Mitesh Bhuvad
