The slideshow: Many thanks to Bobin
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Uncomfortably Numb
Spent nearly 2 hours sitting on the runway in our Airbus, waiting for the Bangalore sorry, Bengalooru fogu to liftu. Breakfastu was served in situ. Stepped off in Delhi at about half-eleven, and it was cold but not unpleasantly so. The old jean jacket was adequate.
Sound check was a bit late as well, Sachin (same guy from the At Home and IIT gigs) was on the ball and we were pretty comfortable on stage. Went back to our hotel, ‘Palm Greens’ in Saket, to find the bell (bus?) boy chilling out in our room watching telly. What fun. Ejected the man, who, of course, was just ‘cleaning’ and ‘adjusting the AC, sir’.
Got back to the venue just as Radius was wrapping up, heard Level 9 and Them Clones. Both good bands, nice sounds. All originals! Rocking I say.
Cold. Cold. Cold. Was a good gig for us, but, uh, let’s just say there was some ‘feel’ missing. It was bloody 8 or 9 degrees C even under the lights, and it took us (me, at least) about 7 tracks before my fingers were warm enough, and of course we played only about 9 songs. Lots of folk singing along, bundled up in the cold. Thanks! Humpty Dumpty was quite a hit – haven’t played that one in, what, three or four years now. The angst still comes through!
So, apart from the chill, Dilli was a good trip. Shall be more prepared this week. Mittens, monkey caps and all.
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Delhi on a wintry evening
TAAQ in The Garden of the Five Senses
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Bag the damn cat
What a joke. Bijoy’s hilarious catty puns set the tone nicely, I think, for this JAM CAT thing. As far as concerts go, it was more like what the cat dragged in.
Among the hairballs was V&P sound. When are these guys gonna get their cat together? On stage sound was boomy, undefined and messy, despite tons of spanking new equipment. What the crowd (there was a decent-sized one) heard is anybody’s guess. They cheered us on pretty loudly, especially after Look At Me, Sanity, and Paper Puli, so I guess it wasn’t completely terrible.
There were a few wayward souls throwing paper balls and those little skinny paper rockets on stage for laughs. Annoying. One particular sharp-eyed shmuck almost got said paper ball into the bell of Nate’s Sax! Nate, in his own words: “I was really mad – until I figured that the guy almost made the shot!”
Played a short set – we were asked to finish early. Galeej was supposed to get on next, but The Unknowns somehow got that slot. Messy altercation and some fisticuffs backstage, and the next thing we know, Galeej aren’t playing at all. Bummer.
That about sums it up. If you weren’t there, you didn’t miss much.
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CAT's out of the bag – Sunday, Nov. 19 at Palace Grounds
All you poor catatonic souls calibrating the catalepsy of your crania by cramming for the big CAT, here’s succour from imminent catastrophe…
Pardon the catachresis. What we meant to say is: Come, catch the IMS JAM CAT concert.
Ok, if that’s too many abbreviations, let’s catabolise that for you.
By Sunday, Nov. 19, a lot of poor souls like you would have belled the CAT. And we know the whole trip is no kittens with mittens. Whether the portals of the IIMs eventually open to you or not, those of you who survive the CAT ordeal must redeem yourselves.
Ergo, the IMS JAM CAT Concert, organized by JAM magazine in 4 cities. In Bangalore, the concert will be headlined by TAAQ, Galeej Gurus and The Unknown at Palace Grounds. Entry is free if you are not carrying alcohol (except for pranic healing), drugs, lighters or lasers. (Lightsabers, flame throwers and death ray guns are not named among contraband, so use your imagination.)
Download and print your entry pass for two at JAM’s website.
Cramming doesn’t end with CAT, there’s always Jupiter Cafe and Plan B lyrics.
See you there.
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TAAQ is the Split Magazine cover story
Respect is something Split Magazine is drawing from us, and not simply because we’re their cover story this time round.
The interview is one hell of a mood swing. Highlights:
Angst: Delhi has 15-20 gigs happening a month, but Bangalore really sucks with its foggy laws that can’t differentiate between live bands and cabaret bands.
Pontification: If your idea of success is the world tour, the limousine, hot shot rock star image, remember that it doesn’t work like that anywhere. If you want to make a living out of being a musician in India, you’ve got to be smart about what you’re doing and how you want to pursue it. It’s individual and possible, but don’t have high expectations.
Senility: The biggest problem with the youth today is that they’re getting old too fast. A good friend of mine was just telling me she had a conversation with an 11-year-old about condoms!
Enjoy the full story…
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Muse Rocked
Still groggy. But here I am.
Well, we’re ten years old and we played at Autumn Muse last night. The same stage we first played on in 1996. We were young whippersnappers then, competing in the ‘semi-professional’ category. I remember we played a Mr. Big tune called ‘What’s it Gonna Be’, Sevenish, and maybe I’ll Get You and Catharsis, I’m not sure. Rajeev must have a little piece of paper somewhere with that set list written down.
Sound was decent, but we couldn’t have done without the PODs – both Tony and I went direct, the guitar amps that Reynolds forked up being some ridiculous tiny leftover Marshalls with as much character as boiled cabbage. Nate had a wireless! And had a total rockstar moment on the ramp with his solo on Shine. Shine on!
Oh, it rained. Like shit it did. And nobody left! And there were all these wonderfull, sodden people in front singing along with all our songs… thanks for making this gig special.
Long party after gig, complete with ten-year birthday cake and all. Lots of drunken revelry. Fun.
So many people. So many people have made this possible. I can’t name ‘em all, and I can’t even begin to thank them properly. I’m just so glad that I’ve been able to be with this bunch of fantastic folk for this long. Here’s looking forward to a lot more.
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The Razz gig reviewed in Split Magazine
Split Magazine has a snazzy new look, and some fine writing too. Here’s a review of the ‘This Way’ gig at Razz, Mumbai.
Also read their January 2006 review of Plan B.
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Muse Rock, Nov. 4, 2006
And we return to Bangalore after a long spell of touring.
The occasion: Muse Rock, the rock show that marks the finale of Autumn Muse. The venue – St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore. Saturday, Nov. 4, 2006. Here’s where it all started back in Oct. 1996. Ten years. Full circle. Be there in person.
Tickets (Rs. 99) are available at select Cafe Coffee Day outlets and at the venue.
For more information, visit the Autumn Muse website.
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