Live: Zero @ I-Rock, Day 1

I always wondered why people made big deals about reunions. It seemed absurd that a band past its prime would come back to anything but a lukewarm reception and the murmurs of a guy at the back saying “Wasn’t that guy in Wham?” But all that changed on the evening of August 30.

Zero played (possibly) their final set at the Chitrakoot Grounds on Day 1 of I-Rock 2008. Preceded by what was a particularly mediocre set of performances by the competition acts, Zero reminded us exactly why they will be sorely missed.

Head downstairs for the review, pics and a largely insignificant Indiecision.

It was already past 9:30pm when Zero kicked off their final set which meant that either the set would be only a few songs long or it would have to be hastily cut short. As at D’Ultimate a few days ago, Gaurav Gupta joined Pozy Dhar on guitars.

The lights went out. Rajeev wasn’t on stage. ‘Mariachi’. Enter Rajeev, dressed like the dude from The Killers. *roar*

For a fan who knows that this may be the last time he/she sees one of his/her favourite bands play live, the importance of enjoying the set is doubly so. So I jumped like a maniac and pushed a guy.

It was obvious that this was an emotional evening. And even though the attempt to start a “Behenchod, Madarchod” beat failed (well practiced at the D’Ultimate set) one knew that there was bound to be something special.

They played the songs everyone loved; ‘Lucy’, ‘Old Man Sitting on the Back Porch’ and ‘Hate in Em’ (the last two coming back to back which was particularly endearing). And then, time showed its ugly face and rules made its presence known. Curses were thrown and during the penultimate song, ‘Ayaya’, more than one member of the audience got senti.

But that’s the way it is and though its cliche, one only realises how much something is worth once its gone. The live rock music scene in Mumbai is left with a large hole that, though there are many contenders to fill, no one really has the spirit to do. So when ‘PSP’ was cut short, and hundreds of kids in their black t-shirts and long hair sang it themselves, a defining moment in Indian rock came to be.

And everyone who was there, will remember it.

Indiecision: A