Nxg

Unseen Underground’s Pub Fests X and XI gave the music lovers a taste of the city’s growing music scene.

City Pubs are becoming the next entertainment venue for live music. On a usual Wednesday rock night, DJs would play classic rock numbers as people sat in their seats, enjoying their drinks but things were a little different at Havana (Rain Tree Hotels) recently. It was Unseen Underground Pub Fest – X at Havana’s Wednesday Rock Nights which saw two prominent acts from the city taking the stage.

Liquid Measure

First up was “Liquid Measure”. The band has David on vocals, Joe and Vijay on Guitars, Manoj on bass and Ricardo on Drums. Theperformances included Blind by Korn, Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit, Two bullets Two late an Own composition, Beautiful People by Marilyn Manson, Can you Handel this? an own comp dedicated to their late friend Handel, Let the Bodies Hit the floor by Drowning pool, Machine Head by Bush and Man in the Box by Alice in Chains with Christo from Public issue and Jack Johnnie and the Old Monk on guest vocals. The set came to an end with Paloma, a track from Jack Johnnie and The Old monk’s debut album due for release later this month. Liquid Measure was credibly energetic with catchy lyrics and a stage act that got the crowd on their feet and singing along through their set.

The Family Cheese

This band from Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music with Apurv Isaac on Guitars, Homi Rustumji on Bass and Yohan Marshall on Drums started their set for the night with an on-stage jam session followed by Hoochie Koochie Man, Lala named after Apurv, U N I R, Cheese and Blue and Pissed off — all own compositions, each distinctively unique showing excellent musicianship. The band would often jam in the middle of their set with Apurv lifting his guitars and playing it over his head and Homi tapping some bluesy bass lines and Yohan rapidly switching tempo and grooves, the crowd was in awe as most pub-goers have never seen such an exhibition of talent live. Last song for the night was a cover by Alvin Lee titled The Bluest Blues.With Live shows in city pubs having a steady growth, music lovers have a lot to look forward too from Unseen Underground happening in various other pubs in the city.

Photos and text: SIVA B.

**************************************

Last Sunday, Unseen Underground’s Pub Fest XI saw four up-and-coming bands — Totem, TWKC, Trojan Horse and Djinns Lament — make their mark at Geoffrey’s. The show opened with seven-month-old band, Totem, an experimental rock outfit with Yohan D as lead vocalist. The 19-year-old, with his high ranging vocals, showed great promise. The band emphasised its “feel based” approach. They said that their songs have “no rigid structure” and that they “improvise greatly”. Thus, no two Totem gigs ever sound the same. The band also covered COTE by Karnivool along with their own composition, Searching for the Second Sun.TWKC was next. The hard rock band has been playing for the last three years and its lyrics are peppered with Tamil words and allusions. Their song The Rise and Fall of Muthupandi was easily identified by the crowd and got them moving.

Celebratory

What followed next turned the night around completely. It was Trojan Horse’s first anniversary and ironically they were playing at the same venue as they did same date last year. The vocalist and lyricist Siva’s growls were heard loud and clear by the audience who responded with enthusiasm. Siddhartha Ramanathan and Hasnain, the guitarist and the bassist respectively, implored the crowd and Vishnu belted the drum kit as chaos reigned. Their set included songs like Parasitic Lullaby, Life in Monochromatic Animation and a Lamb of God cover, Black Label for which they had a guest vocalist, Abijith of Escher’s Knot.Last on stage was the five-piece Djinns Lament, a quintessential metal band. They played to an already animated crowd waiting for more. Their covers of Opeth and Born of Osiris won over the pub-goers, who then head-banged their way right till the end of the show.Harish, vocalist of TWKC, said, “It was fun for us on stage tonight and really, that’s all that matters.”

DAMINI RALLEIGH, Student of ACJ

Popularity: 1% [?]