Zero: First Viewing

Part of ‘The End of an Era‘ series.

If there’s one corporation I need to thank for introducing me to Zero, its HSBC. A friend got free passes to a Kala Ghoda festival gig courtesy his HSBC credit card and graciously took me along. So off us Colaba boys went, 15 minutes down the road. Apart from Rhythm House, there wasn’t much at Kala Ghoda those days. And Rhythm House too was pretty different. They were, along with the erstwhile Groove, the first music store in Mumbai to have listening stations. My first listen of Skinney Alley came courtesy that.

The stage was on the road that takes you to Bombay Blue and Noodle Bar. It was elevated enough to be distant and close enough that you didn’t have to strain your neck to watch the band. That’s most of what I remember of that entire evening. There was an act called Pythagoras and the Right Angles that played and I think Parikrama played too. I’d heard of Parikrama earlier, but not of Zero.

I don’t recall much of the set, and there couldn’t have been more than a hundred people at the venue, but at the end they played this song whose lyrics I could make out to be

“Bastard in, Bastard in, Bastard in, Bastard in” x4

The song was awesome and I wondered what the lead singer was actually singing. When I came to know they were playing I-Rock (at Rang Bhavan) it guaranteed my presence there.

Also, they looked different and I think Rajeev was thinner.