The Mumbai leg of the Hard Rock Battle of the Bands competition saw performances by Alex Rintu, Summerpint Junkie, Ankur & The Ghalat Family, Bombay Bassment and Tough On Tobacco on Thursday, Feb 24 at Hard Rock Cafe, Mumbai. We were there.
The Hard Rock Battle of the Bands is an international competition held at Hard Rock Cafes around the world. The HRCs are divided into four regions, and one winning band from each region gets to be on the bill at this years Hard Rock Calling festival in Hyde Park, London.
The Mumbai leg of the BOTB saw performances by singer-songwriter Alex Rintu, prog rock act Summerpint Junkie, Hindi pop rockers Ankur & The Ghalat Family, electro rock act Bombay Bassment and alt rockers Tough On Tobacco. Each band performed two songs, fortunately on the main stage (the one facing the over-the-bar #fail stage). The sound was better than at most HRC gigs, this despite the fact that five bands took turns on stage. While there was some delay at the start (stage lights, who needs ‘em, amirite? *ducks to avoid flash flung by photo editor*), once the first band kicked off, it was pretty much smooth sailing for the 90-minute affair.
Bombay Bassment won the competition.
Alex Rintu & Friends
Singer-songwriter Alex Rintu has been on our radar for a few months now. Rintu performed his set with a trio of musicians forming the “& Friends” section of his band. Molded in the Lionel Mascarenhas cast, Rintu’s music is an efficient brand of Voxtrot-esque pop rock. His no-nonsense demeanor in delivering his 4-minute-long, upbeat tunes was charming, though the material itself wasn’t particularly inventive. Still, there is an un-Nikhil D’Souza-ness to him that’s refreshing and with a little polish, will make an interesting addition to the growing pool of melancholic singer-songwriters in Mumbai.
Indiecision: C+
Setlist
‘Song For A Song’
‘Midnight Friend’
Summerpint Junkie
Given the occasion, it was surprising that prog rockers Summerpint Junkie played the most angular, asymmetric tracks from their repertoire. Opener ‘Forbidden Fruit Flower’ featured multiple forked sections, each with its own unique profile, loosely held together by the vocalist; the incredible zigzaggedness of the track being more confusing than consuming. Though, as I mentioned in the review of their set at the Converse Original Band Hunt on Sunday, the band has bigger issues than just misshapen songs.
Indiecision: C
Setlist
‘Forbidden Fruit Flower’
‘Hallucination’
Ankur & The Ghalat Family
It’s easy to take to Ankur & The Ghalat Family‘s brand of pop rock in the same way as iPod commercials. The songs have melodies reminiscent of popular tracks by mainstream artists (‘Chand Chahiye’ is a dead ringer for ‘Free Fallin”, and ‘Mohabbat Zindabad’ takes liberally from Latch Key Kid’s ‘Good Times’), but when delivered by the increasingly engaging Ankur Tewari have a distinct catchiness to them that’s exclusive of their inspirations.
Indiecision: B-
Setlist
‘Chand Chahiye’
‘Mohabbat Zindabad’
Bombay Bassment
Bombay Bassment is on a bonafide roll. Having deservedly taken victory at the Converse Original Band Hunt on Sunday, the band played another high-energy set at Hard Rock Cafe that saw them win this competition as well. However, unlike Sunday’s set, the quartet was a little rough this Thursday night; the set featuring a few noticeable errors and frontman MC Bob looked a little more fidgety than usual. While recently video-d ‘Never Be The Same’ was an appropriate opener, the reasonably generic hip hop-ness of ‘Show Me What You Got’ could’ve been substituted by the more upbeat ‘Represent’ or ‘Nothin’ But Love For This City’ as the close. Still, another solid outing for a band that’s unlikely to let go of this career high.
Indiecision: B-
Setlist
‘Never Be The Same’
‘Show Me What You Got’
Tough On Tobacco
TOT should’ve won this competition. Despite the fact that friends Warren Mendonsa and Miss Malini formed two-thirds of the judging panel, the Sidd Coutto-fronted quintet left no stone unturned in their bid to impress. The band’s set was spot on given the occasion, and Coutto was on top form; the drum session with Ankur & The Ghalat Family would definitely have contributed to him being well into the groove. The band performed new song and current regular set opener ‘Come On Down’ and crowd-friendly ‘Smoke Some Ganja’; both songs dispatched with the pro chops of a well-rehearsed-well-toured band ready for Level 2.
Indiecision: B+
Setlist
‘Come On Down’
‘Some Some Ganja’
Photos by Kunal Kakodkar. Check out a full gallery on our Facebook page.
Alex Rintu @ Hard Rock Cafe, Mumbai
Summerpint Junkie @ Hard Rock Cafe, Mumbai
MC Bob of Bombay Bassment @ Hard Rock Cafe, Mumbai
Sidd Coutto of Tough On Tobacco @ Hard Rock Cafe, Mumbai
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