Shillong blues act Soulmate played Hard Rock Cafe, Mumbai on Tuesday, Oct 28. We were there.
Last September, Mumbai electro rockers Shaa’ir + Func played an acoustic set at San Qi, the Four Season Hotel’s restaurant. Monica Dogra and Randolph Correia, positioned at the top of a staircase, with multiple layers of glass and glasses surrounding them, battled a poor soundsystem and an indifferent audience while playing material from their first two studio albums. The venue ruined what would otherwise have been a pretty efficient performance, and by the end of the set, even Dogra couldn’t help but sit defeated on the landing.
The over-the-bar stage at Hard Rock Cafe, Mumbai, like San Qi’s makeshift area, is a difficult performance space to say the least. While it’s laborious for bands to reach out to the audience perched awkwardly in the middle of a wall, it’s a literal pain in the neck for, well, onlookers. Some bands manage to own the stage; their frenetic body language subjugates the inconvenience. Soulmate is the kind of band that owns the audience. Frontlady Tipriti ‘Tips’ Kharbangar’s effervescent persona comes from the depth of her voice (and those butterflies she attaches to her mic stand). Soulmate singalongs and crowd interactions come more from the material they perform, rather than a conscious effort on the band’s part to involve the listener. You’re riveted to Kharbangar’s unfailing falsetto and Rudy Wallang’s clean licks; the passion of the performance is front-and-center.
Thus, perched on the #fail stage at the Lower Parel venue, and playing the hollow PA, the body of Soulmate’s usually excellent set was lost almost entirely. The band performed material (setlist here) from both their studio albums – 2004′s Shillong and last year’s Moving On - and performed a new song called ‘Sunshine’; a modern-rock-meets-blues track in the vein of material from bands like The Black Keys. Kharbangar’s voice lost much of its verve on the Hard Rock PA, sounding almost tinny at times. If you’ve seen Soulmate perform before, you couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
The band was joined for their encore by Blackstratblues man Warren Mendonsa; one of the few highlights of an all-round disheartening set.
Indiecision: B-
Fighting the good fight; Tipriti Kharbangar of Soulmate @ Hard Rock Cafe, Mumbai
Warren Mendonsa of Blackstratblues joins Soulmate @ Hard Rock Cafe, Mumbai
Pics: Kunal Kakodkar
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