It’s Sunday night, and it’s Halloween,
Zombies and monsters are DYING to be seen
But wait, Thermal and a Quarter’s here!
And no, they’re not green.

They jammed, they sang
They had fun, and we did too
Thermal and a Quarter,
We love you!

The post Gig review: Arian Hellsing on the Kolkata gig appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

Once upon a time, in a concert far far away, a desperate voice cut its way through the crowd… craving, needing and demanding Metallica or some music like that with the gain turned way up. And then the 3-piece band on stage, looking cool behind their shades, beards and hats and shiny guitars connected to seriously sweet amps played such mind-numbingly awesome music that people just shut up and listened. Who knows, maybe they even went back, voted and started to work to rid their country of corruption. But then again, that place was Pondicherry and it’s likely that everyone just got very happily drunk and passed out at the beach.
Now, ever since I heard the extended intro in Jupiter Cafe, I’ve always been rather fond of their unique sound and song-writing. I happened to watch them live during the Jaago Re tour (March 2009) and I knew I just had to see them play many many more times after. So then I began the exercise of waiting for dates and venues to match schedules and convenience and if you’re from Chennai, you’ll agree that the best places in Chennai is actually, Pondicherry. No kidding. And if you’re a Chennai fanatic, one visit to Seagull could change that. It was a really nice venue for the concert – an open air restaurant right next to the beach where you could just sit back on the grass and experience a very high degree of peace.

I reached Pondicherry a bit late, missing the first ten minutes, and apparently I missed a lot of rock and roll moments… drunk people in shiny shirts trying to take over the stage and what not! But that enthusiasm-dampener notwithstanding, TAAQ slowly built their energy levels and tightness over the next couple of songs, particularly around Between the Lines. The skill and proficiency of this band clearly stands out with their songs sounding practically indistinguishable from the studio versions! It’s quite something to see Bruce hum his solos AND play them note to note! Not an easy feat, but it sounds terrific. However, VERY demoralising for anyone who has plans of playing a guitar. Unfair Bruce. Plain unfair. The ‘baby’(!) of the group, Prakash, has brought in a bit of a new sound to TAAQ, and it was great to see the band at ease with their new bassist – his extended solos flowing right back into the songs on every occasion. Just one doubt though… Can he see anything from behind his hat?

The sound though wasn’t top notch, there was some static and some jarring. I really wish that wasn’t the case as it lessened from their typically perfect patches and tones.

The crowd though didn’t take much notice of that and really got into the groove around the song Drunk, probably as it reflected their state at that moment. With the audience and TAAQ’s energy levels rising, Paper Puli was timed to perfection. In fact, Rajeev was throwing away his drum sticks in a fit of drum-rage too! You can’t deny it, that song is rather sticky. At the risk of making a very bad pun based on a common tea ad… Wah TAAQ Wah… The wah of that guitar!

Now I’m not sure about one thing, but there was this shockingly original rendition of Hey Jude! I swear you haven’t heard anything like that before and The Beatles would have been proud to see a 3-piece band from Bangalore pull that off! I hunted on their website but couldn’t find a studio version of that, but I hope that changes soon and a few more ‘original covers’ follow. And no, its not an oxymoron with TAAQ.

It’s a pity that to see the end of their shows, but the evening did come to an end amidst many shouts for an encore performance! Nonetheless, great music at a great place. Hoping to catch another show again soon. Though I often wonder… with all the other worldly skill that they possess, how would they sound in a completely acoustic setting, a fusion-ified and Carnatic-ified version or one with an all out backing orchestra and what not? Damn. Need more TAAQ!

The post Sayash Kumar reviews the Seagull, Pondy gig appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

Blues from the road, for your viewing pleasure. This one, for those who’ve missed a show (or a beat) is called Grab Me.

The post New video – Grab Me (blues from the road) appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

Photo: Santhosh Lobo

It was an evening that can never be forgotten. I was passing by the auditorium at St. Aloysius after my recording at Radio Sarang when I incidentally heard some music emanating from the auditorium. Intrigued, I went to have a closer look, and I was surprised to see three people practicing and performing sound checks. On further inquiry, I came to know that TAAQ was performing at the auditorium that night. Ooh… This was something I couldn’t afford to miss!

The concert started off with a small crowd, most probably due to the lack of proper publicity, but the music was astounding nonetheless. This was the first time TAAQ was performing in Mangalore, and quite a few people were curious as to know how a trio can handle an entire concert. But this trio more than just handled the concert; they rocked it!

Surprisingly, the crowd consisted of not just youngsters, but many elderly people were seen enjoying the music as well. The crowd was all in cheers for the concert! Personally, I was mesmerized by the music and was in a sort of trance, and I’m not overhyping things. This was the ground reality, which I’m sure that the entire audience would agree with me. Also the TAAQ team maintained a good rapport with the audience, thereby involving them further in the music.

Listing out the Pros and Cons:

PROS:
• TAAQ Team succeeded in getting the crowd involved.
• Mangalore got to hear awesome compositions by TAAQ.
• Excellent Sound and Lighting systems.

CONS:
• Being a weekday was maybe one of the causes for low turnout at the concert.
• Lack of publicity of the programme in Mangalore, because many of my friends said they were interested, but had no idea that the concert was going on.
• Maybe I’m being a bit greedy on this one, but I felt that the concert should have gone on for a longer duration

Like I said, 6th July 2010 was an evening I’ll never forget. And I’m eagerly waiting for the day TAAQ comes back to Mangalore with another mesmerizing show! Cheers!

The post Sudeep Shenoy reviews the Mangalore gig appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

The music they breathed out at Alliance Francaise (with the new bassist) was entirely unpredictable. It might be a naïve comment, but it’s been ages since I last attended a TAAQ concert. I am talking about ‘those times’ when they used to belt numbers from Plan B. I must say their enthusiasm for their live craft to play is grand with likeable degree of energy. Their music did the talking.

There was a festival atmosphere in the Alliance as they rendered all new tracks keeping aside their most peppy hits. Fans gazed into each other’s eyes with the expression “OHoo… Wowwiiee” as the new bass guitarist Prakash on his debut performance plucked, stroked and strummed with great ease and grooved so well with Rajeev (drums) and vocals.

The gig was short as they played just less than half a dozen songs. ‘Ordinary Affair’ and ‘Surrender’ were my personal favorites. I was also pleased with their intention to write the song the ‘Where the state has no name’, which sang about the “geographical divide” situation in Andhra Pradesh. I just hoped they would play ‘One Small Love’ with the video flashing in the background.

Perhaps more pleasing to the impartial listener might have been the Beatles number ‘Hey Jude’. On request from an unknown shout from a fan who probably would have come to sing along with Paper Puli, Bruce humbly replied, “No. All new songs today.” And his request to the sound guy: “Give him (Prakash) whatever he wants” added fun to the gig.

Backup vocals/seconds (God knows how Bruce did that) was timely and limited just like the number of t-shirts they had for sale!

On a lighter note, I was wondering if TAAQ would tell their newbie to trim off his metal look! The TAAQ concert at Alliance Francaise was a fine breeze. It was pleasant and engaging. TAAQ serious followers were all there! It came as no surprise as half of the crowd left the Alliance with them. It’s great to to see TAAQ find equilibrium at 3 yet again!

The post Aswin Nandakumar reviews the Alliance gig appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

Photo: Suchin Moses

Samson Madella from Hyderabad writes this ringside first-person account of the night where the state had no name:

Me and Rishi, an ex-TAAQ roadie, were with Bruce in his hotel room, catching up, talking songs, gear and biting his ears with questions while he was ‘leesurely’ penning down the set list.

“Wonder how it’s gonna be… we haven’t played Hyderabad for a long time and are playing our new material mostly,” Bruce expressed with a tiny whim of uncertainty. Moments later, Rajeev and Rzhude walked in, looked at the set list, nodded… that’s all.

The aptly titled show Where the State has no Name was a stunner and a bummer of sorts to the crowd at the Hard Rock Café Hyderabad. As an ardent TAAQ devotee, I noticed 10 things… 10 things you need to know about the night and the crowd (in no particular order):

1. Pockets of musicians in the front row counting odd time signatures.
2. Guitar players gleefully fretting… ‘How-does-he-do-that-man’ over every blue note.
3. “These-guys-have changed-since-I-saw-them-last”
4. “Dude, this band is boring, why did you bring me here… gimme back my entry fee”
5. A cute girl from Dilli Oye singing almost all the songs.
6. Audience decibel levels rising from 100 db – 145db (Origami to Roxanne)
7. “The bass guitar is actually driving the band, man”
8. “Let the band guys know that there are people who appreciate their brand of music in Hyderabad too” – A brilliant local musician, Anand Paul, who left halfway through the gig
9. “Chanineese Items”…”Without Wings”…”Jupiter Café”…”Motorbyckle”… all old songs denied!
10. “Whaaat? they wrote a song for this show … what talent, bah bah bah, kya baat hain”

The post Crowdsourced gig review #2 – HRC Hyderabad appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

Great Scotts!

It’s an 18-year-old drummer!

It’s a Piano Player!

It’s an upright Bassist!

It’s the Branford Marsalis Quartet!

The stars coordinated my good fortune to attend this gig at the legendary Ronnie Scotts. Thanks to a certain saxophonist who once graced our sound: the good Nate Linkon who’d caught his idol with the same quartet in Frankfurt and had blocked two tickets at the legendary Ronnie Scotts in Soho, London.

One for me…

I found my way through the well-planned maze of the London Over-and-Underground to reach this beautifully envisioned idea just in time to catch the first set of the Ronnie Scott all stars, a fantastic bunch of musicians to warm the stage up for the main set. A beer and a happy reunion with Nate our ‘ol mate later found us giving up our side-row seats for the center view (standing room only) at the bar. A setting perfect for Live Jazz.

The club opened on October 30, 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London’s Soho district. It was managed by musicians Ronnie Scott and Pete King. In 1965 it moved to the current place at 47 Frith Street. The original venue continued in operation as the “Old Place” until the lease ran out in 1967, and was used for performances by the up-and-coming generation of musicians.

Zoot Sims was the club’s first transatlantic visitor in 1962, and was succeeded by many others (often saxophonists whom Scott and King, tenor saxophonists themselves, admired, such as Johnny Griffin, Lee Konitz, Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt) in the years that followed. Many UK jazz musicians were also regularly featured, including Tubby Hayes and Dick Morrissey who would both drop in for jam sessions with the visiting stars. In the mid-sixties, Ernest Ranglin was the house guitarist. The club’s house pianist until 1967 was Stan Tracey. For nearly 30 years it was home of a Christmas residency to George Melly and John Chilton’s Feetwarmers.

Now this is the kind of heritage that London’s vibrant music culture is built on. And judging by the attendance at the gig, this culture is as strong as ever and thriving. Why is it that we have to struggle so hard against the culture vultures, the keepers of our so called moral and cultural heritage, to just go out and express ourselves the way that we, as musicians know best?  As a voting citizen, why is it that my opinion as an artist doesn’t count? We need more effort, to change this mind set of the power that be. Grow up. Indian culture today is not what it was a hundred years ago. And it will be something entirely different a 100 years from now. Regardless of the people who think they have the power to control such a thing so much bigger than us all – music.

Here’s to some more Ronnie Scotts on the rocks.

Thanks to that meeting with fate, watch out for a gig alert featuring one of TAAQ’s all time greats. We have a date with Nate!

I couldn’t have written anything better about Branford and the quartet than what I read when I went online to check out my spellings. Click on the link and turn on your speakers for some the most refreshing collection of jazz I’ve heard in recent years. Anyone who gets to the end will go out and get some of this great music. Even better try to catch the man in person!

The post London Diary – Great Scotts! appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

Bruce at Kyra

Kyra is the kind of place Bangalore needs. A venue planned around performance, acoustically designed, with a good-sized stage, appropriate sound installation, lights… They call it a ‘dinner theatre’, and it’s a bit odd on stage at first; dinner tables are set right up against it, and the audience is seated in vertical rows so they can turn a few degrees to watch. But it sounds good in there. The ‘atmosphere’, we’re sure, will follow soon enough. And by the number of acts performing there already, that shouldn’t take too long.

Sound check was early this time around – we were supposed to do the Live Gig at the Music Strip in Cubbon Park in the afternoon, in memory of Sunbeam Motha. Straight away, we know this is going to be a good gig – there’s a nice drum kit, everything works, and it sounds good even without the warm bodies of your audience to soak up those frequencies. You know how it is sometimes in these indoor gigs – soundcheck is one big boomy waffly affair with random howls and suspicious wolves (notes, that is). But here, everything is nice and tight. You feel like digging in and playing.

Had some trouble with the acoustic guitar – really need to a) invest in one with a kickass pickup system or b) somehow get said kickass pickup system and install in current axe. Anyway, manage to get it sounding ok by bypassing all the floor gizmos and plugging right into the board.

Trek to Cubbon after soundcheck to find everyone rather sodden with rain-grief. One brave band manages to belt out one song standing in the freshening drizzle. Interestingly, there was a blue tarp being held over the dry drummer, who, not being plugged into anything with electrons buzzing through it, wasn’t in much danger of said electrons fizzing up his nostrils or anything. The guitar player and bassist dripped – but walked off unscathed. Kudos! Needless to say, that Gig was called off before things got any Live-lier. Hope to play there again another day.

Back to Kyra – we start just after 8 (nice minty chocolates, those), with our brand new version of How Can I Get Your Groove. Nice crowd in there – can see some regulars, new faces… and they’re singing along. Do our still-cooking version of It’s Probably Me and jump into all the brand new stuff – Jazz Yuppies, The Song, Mighty Strange – and all of it is going down well, I say!

Rzhude and Rajeev

Pony up for the acoustic set and actually manage to pull off Andy McKee’s Drifting without completely mangling it. Rzhude also steps up and does some old favourites before getting in an acoustic version of Brigade St. Second set has all the usual suspects – Jupiter Café (The Work Song cropped up again in the jam) Chameleon, Simply Be (which went down really well) with grand set-closer Motorbyckle. Gave away our free This Is It CDs for all those designated drivers, signed a few. Good gig! And the food is pretty good too…

Photos courtesy Akhil Gupta

The post TAAQ Live @ Kyra, May 17th 2009 appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).