On Tuesday, March 29, Canadian power-pop band Two Hours Traffic played the overhead stage at Hard Rock Cafe, Mumbai. The 11-year old band were performing for the first time in India, and had just played in New Delhi a few days prior to this gig. After a few days off, some sightseeing and exploring the Taj Mahal, the band arrived at the Lower Parel venue seemingly at ease, anticipating a promising evening ahead.
The quartet played a two hour set, beginning promptly at 9.30 pm, admittedly surpised at the concept of “playing over the bar, we’ve never done that before.” The Polaris Prize-nominated band, whose accessible, sunlit-life-soundtracking, pop rock has been featured in a number of films and television teen dramas, ended up playing to a disappointing audience of five enthusiasts and a roomful of indifferent diners. The massive set was mostly comprised of material off their 2009 album Territory, with some of their popular material thrown in, and a couple of efficient covers.
Vocalist Liam Corcoran, also a dead ringer for Ewan McGregor, introduced the band to the sparse audience before they began. A few months ago, Canadian power-pop duo Tegan and Sara played Hard Rock Cafe, packing the venue with a considerable number of screaming girls who’d sing along. At this gig, there was but one representative; an enthusiastic woman, who requested the song ‘Jezebel’. As it happened, this gig unintentionally turned into a subtle, real-life soundtracking of teen drama situations. About an hour in, girls in their late teens dressed for a crazy night out, occupied the bar to take MySpace-esque photos of their first encounters with alcohol. The corners filled up with couples and their quiet conversations, and close friends and their dinner parties. Like a mellow Canadian Feeder, Two Hours Traffic’s gapless set of upbeat sunlight music filled in the perfect background score for them.
The barely-populated gig was a waste of some great potential singalongs, made for late nights outdoors at a bonfire-lit music festival. Post mid-set Smiths cover, the audience’s attention was slowly drawn away from their meals, escalating into the singalong, clap-along, set-closer – a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing In The Dark’.
Indiecision: B+
Check out the setlist below.
Setlist:
‘Nighthawks’
‘New Love’
‘Stolen’
‘Purple Eyes’
‘Rayon Queen’
‘Weightless’
‘Migration’
‘Territory’
‘Ready To Look’
‘Whenever’
‘Drop Alcohol’
‘Ask’ (The Smiths cover)
‘Lost Boys’
‘Noisemaker’
‘Better Sorry’
‘Backseat’
‘Heroes of the Sidewalk’
‘Squall’
‘Happiness Burns’
‘Friday’
‘Wicked Side’
‘Sure Can’
‘Heatseeker’
‘Girl Upstairs’
‘Faster For You’
‘Halo’
‘I Did What I Could’
‘Jezebel’
‘Stuck for the Summer’
‘Dancing In The Dark’ (Bruce Springsteen cover)
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