The Indies ’09: Best Gig International

The Indiecision ‘09 is a recap of the year gone by in Indian indie and a recognition of the work of its artists and those involved with the creation and promotion of the music.
The Best Gig International was the best concert in India by an international artist attended by the Indiecision staff. The nominees for the Best Gig International are

To be honest we had absolutely no expectations from Norwegian metal act Benea Reach. The thirteenth edition of Great Indian Rock came to Oasis, Pune with a lineup that included Indian metal pros Scribe and Bhayanak Maut. So, even without the Scandinavian band, one was guaranteed a reasonable quality gig. While the Indian bands efficiently went about creating mayhem at the scenic outdoor venue, the seven-piece from Oslo delivered their hardcore with a battering ram-like efficiency and an act that screamed “pro”. Pune was left sufficiently shocked in the best way possible.

We knew we were going to like The Giraffes after watching some of their eccentric music videos. We knew even more that we were going to like them when the Israeli band still went ahead with their gig in Mumbai, which was held barely a month after the terrorist attacks in November. What we didn’t know just how compelling an act the five-piece from Tel Aviv was. No matter that they were singing in Hebrew, The Giraffes were a garage rock band, in both sound and spirit and once lead singer Gilad Kahana got into the zone no one could stop him, not even the bouncers at the Frog who tried in vain to prevent him from walking on (and eventually breaking) the glass between the pods.

We were impressed by electro-jazz keyboardist Leo Tardin aka Grand Pianoramax the first time we saw him at the Frog in 2008. When he returned this year, he brought along trusty percussionist Karsh Kale and slam poet Celena Glenn aka Black Cracker and together they gave us plenty of both groove and grit. Though Tardin was as skilful as we remembered him to be, he almost saw himself being overshadowed by his guests. The highlight of the gig came when he briefly left the stage, leaving Kale and Clen to treat the crowd to a spontaneous freestyle jugalbandi.

An hour before the Porcupine Tree gig, staged as part of IIT Bombay’s annual cultural festival Mood Indigo, it seemed like the college  students were clearly overwhelmed by the logistics of an event of such  scale. Once the British prog-rockers took the stage however everything, from the inefficient booking process to the absurdly stringent security restrictions, was forgotten and forgiven. This was a band a significant portion of the city – and the country – had been waiting years to see and ultimately, we got everything we were hoping  for. We got the lights, we got the sound but most importantly, we got the songs. A set of greatest hits, on a tour specifically designed to promote a new album, left everyone in the audience smiling, swaying and satisfied.

Bauchklang have made India, and particularly Mumbai, their second home. Every time the Austrian beatboxers make their way to the city they are greeted by manic audiences that go mental to the sound of their vocal techno. It helps that they know exactly how to work the crowd with their set of ‘vocal groove’ that’s instantly engaging and loads of fun. While this set wasn’t as enthralling as the set that won them Best Gig International ’08, it was another killerific performance by the quintet.

And the Best Gig International ‘09 was

The Giraffes at the Blue Frog.

Head to the Indiecision ‘09 homepage for all the action.

(note: we have excluded from consideration any gigs that Indiecision was associated with in 2009)