Live: Phobia, Rabbit Is Rich, Vishnu @ Turquoise Cottage, New Delhi

RSJ Live Nites is presenting a healthy series of gigs featuring local bands all February, mostly hosted at the new Turquoise Cottage in the Priya market area. It’s a shame the venue gets such a bad rap from the TC purists who recall the halcyon days of the old TC that was located in Adchini. The 150 rupees cover charge is decent, the crowd is enthusiastic, the dance floor is sizeable and bodies there mosh and headbang at the slightest provocation. Meanwhile seating further back near the bar as well as the second floor balcony affords a fair view of the on-stage action. The venue’s acoustics are actually great and the sound engineers succeeded in getting a rich, crisp sound out of the room so you could actually hear all the instruments and vocals quite well in the mix. Putting aside the minor irritations (specifically “club rules” regarding attire and Indo-Chinese menu when the décor suggests burgers and fries), it is commendable that the venue has remained dedicated to providing a stage for local bands to strut their stuff.

Hit ‘More’ for the full review, pics and the Indiecision.

Phobia, the first band, took the stage before a large congregation of fans and friends, announcing their allegiance with a boisterous chant of “FOB-YA! FOB-YA!” A young five piece, Phobia’s set was as bipolar as each of the band members own anguished teenage years must have been, or perhaps, are. Short, sharp bursts of shouting rage alternated with moments of melancholic crooning in a perpetual cycle of hate and love. Right at the end of their set, Phobia dived into a peppy Brit punk version of that corny cancan tune that Western military marching bands play, as if laughing off their mood swings as a joke.

And that’s when it hit me – a whole night of cover bands! I don’t necessarily hate cover bands; I just believe that they have their time and place, like playing Beatles songs on John Lennon’s death anniversary. Plus, I do think it’s cool when bands reinterpret songs in a new way, not to mention that having a few recognizable covers within a set of mostly original material really helps audiences connect with bands. However, pursuing a truly faithful reproduction of rock classics should insist upon appropriate attire, attitude, poses, banter and so on. That kind of tribute is an art; what we had at TC this night was the dreadful display of virtuosic talent, the naïve and futile efforts of artistes ignored by the muses.

Why an Iron Maiden cover band would name itself after the title of a Pulitzer prize-winning book by John Updike, Rabbit Is Rich, is beyond my comprehension. The band and crowd together communed to worship at the altar of their rock idols; the lead singer struck a few classic Bruce Dickinson poses and the instrumentalists performed the compositions note for note down to the blazing solos. To me, it all seemed quite self-masturbatory and I for one was left unfulfilled. Sorry, but rather than fake it to a weak approximation of the real thing, if I can’t make it to the gig in Bangalore, I’d much rather just watch the Live After Death DVD at home.

Ironically, Vishnu, the last band, actually impressed me with their nü-metal renditions. For a large part, Vishnu’s awesome assault was spearheaded by their lead singer’s furious yelping and gigantic lung capacity that allowed him to sustain screams for well into 32 bars. All four instrumentalists in the band matched the vocal intensity by attacking their gear in a maelstrom of reckless abandon that belied the mastery required to produce it. Vishnu’s selections involved significantly more dexterity and nimbleness than the previous bands’ performances. The crowd repeatedly requested Lamb of God’s ‘Laid to Rest’ and was eventually appeased but my personal highlight was the rollicking romp through Tool’s multi-metered, mathematically mind-bending ‘Schism’. Vishnu’s rhythm section executed with exacting precision the song’s algorithmic procession of unorthodox rhythms and the two guitarists did a splendid job of mimicking the recording’s soundscape and effects. The band closed their set with one original composition, a promising effort, leaving me with some hope that as the Indian indie scene develops, there’ll be less cover bands with one original song, and more original bands who throw in a couple of covers for good measure.

Indiecision: C

Posted (and pictures) by Suhrid Manchanda