Live: Them Clones @ Hard Rock

9:30 Hard Rock. How difficult was that? Given Indian rock lateness, even 10:15 could’ve been excused. But 10:45. I mean WTF.

The crowd wasn’t as big as one would expect for a Them Clones gig in Mumbai, especially given the coverage they got prior. After much waiting, for a table as well, Them Clones got on stage. The applause made it evident that a majority of the people at Hard Rock were there for the music rather than just the overpriced (but gawddammit sexy) burgers.

Head downstairs for the entire review, Indiecision and a selection of delectable pics courtesy Shirley and her D50.

Them Clones’ last Mumbai gig was the killer unplugged set at the MySpace launch. It was great to see them ‘plugged’ again. The set started with poor sound. The guitars weren’t loud enough and the vocals were too soft. The sound at Hard Rock is usually respectable, and given the amount of wait before the eventual gig start, one would expect better sound. Prithwish was energetic, enthusiastically attempting to get the crowd into the act. The music helped.

The set was predominantly original material dominated with a few choice covers thrown in, including the expected RATM love (‘Killing In The Name Of’). ‘Bomb Song’ sounded great, with the guitars finally shouting through the speakers.  Regular favourites ‘Zephyretta’, ‘Sindrome’ and the now overdone closer ‘My Life’ also made above average appearances.

The cover of Blur’s ‘Song 2′ was mediocre. A lot of bands screw this up, which is strange because this is a pretty easy song to play. Silverchair’s ‘Israel’s Son’ and U2′s ‘Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me’ got far better treatment.

It was disappointing that they didn’t encore, but Them Clones left their mark on Mumbai. Hopefully, we’ll see them here again soon.

Indiecision: B+