Retrieved via the Wayback Machine. Originally posted by addytorials
Who can say what happened? The schedule distinctly said, 8:30 - 10:00 Indian Ocean. So when I finally found my way to Azad Maidan at 7:30 and heard “Bandeh” from afar, I made a run for it. Oops. Wrong Entrance. Go all the way around. Dodge the Biryani stalls. Jump a cat. Inhale dust. Ah, there it is.
Indian Ocean Live was everything I expected and much more. But just to get it out of the way at the onset, what struck me the most was that this is the sweetest band I’ve ever seen perform - there really is no other way to put it! They are friendly, they are polite and they keep up a banter that makes you feel like you’re among chums at college.
And the - an electrifying flawless concert. It is virtually impossible to imagine how a four-man-band can create such eclectic . One needs to see it to believe it.
Amit on drums (and then recorder and gabgubi)
Ram on bass and vocals.
Susmit (left) on guitar.
Asheem on tabla and vocals.
The band.
And there I stopped. Camera in hand, I had been tapping my foot and skipping nimbly away from distressed people shouting at a few people giving in to cancer and the like (”Eh, watch out, you’ll burn the place down!”). I had swayed with the crowd, chanting words to a surprise performance of an unreleased untitled work in progress. But when Ram gave voice to Kandisa, I could take it no more. The camera went back in the bag and I joined in the frenzy, singing myself hoarse (yes, I do know the lyrics).
But the biggest surprise of the evening had to be Rabbi jamming with Indian Ocean on Ma Rewa. A black goggled dapper suited Rabbi played bluesy riffs to the song till it was decided in the middle of one such riff to mix Bullah Ki Jaana into the song. Mixed reactions swamped the crowd and produced much confused laughter and applause. But it was touching, in a way, to see masters of their different styles of the art combining forces and quite simply having a good time on stage.
The show over, Rabbi prepares his set and Amit deftly ignores the “Once more, once more” to inform the audience about the next Indian Ocean show at D.Y. Patil College (Nerul) on the 4th of March. As I walk away, Rabbi fans file in. I notice a group of boys rolling a joint.
God! Who smokes up with Rabbi’s ?
(refer to prior post by zigzackly for links to Indian Ocean and the band members)
