Pics: Control ALT Delete – Chapter II @ B69, Mumbai

The second edition of Sidestand’s Control ALT Delete series of gigs saw performances by local acts Artificial Red, Forcefield, The Riot Peddlers, The Lightyears Explode, Split and Sridhar/Thayil. It also featured a surprise performance by Zero.

B69, you beauty. By far Mumbai’s grimiest venue, the suburban music hall played host to the second edition of Sidestand’s Control ALT Delete series of gigs which lets fans pay what they want (you have to pay something) to watch the buffet of bands on offer. About 200 scenesters showed up to sample newbies Artificial Red, Forcefield, The Lightyears Explode and The Riot Peddlers, as well as check out now-seasoned acts Split and Sridhar/Thayil. The gig also featured a surprise set by alt rock act Zero.

Artificial Red kicked off proceeding at a little past 7pm. Their five song-set comprised a couple of covers of Queens of the Stone Age (‘Feel Good Hit Of The Summer’) and The Stooges (‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’), as well as a few originals. Frontman Shawn Pereira showed signs of nervousness but powered through a set that was a marked improvement over the band’s last live performance.

The band was followed by punk act Forcefield. The project of Split guitarist Melroy D’Mello, the trio (with Artificial Red drummer Varoon Aiyer replacing former drummer Niraj Trivedi) appeared on stage wearing old Parsi lady-gowns, with a banner reading “Power to Aunties” taped to the ceiling. Forcefield played a covers-dominated set (much like their last performance at the venue), the highlight being a cover of Rancid’s ‘Out Of Control’ featuring The Riot Peddlers frontman Arun S Ravi.

Ravi and Co took stage next, playing the tightest set we’ve seen from the Mumbai troublemakers yet. The band played an all-original set, their two minute-punk bursts inspired the first moshpit of the night on set closer ‘Sau Rupiya’. They were followed by Mumbai’s other rising punksters, The Lightyears Explode. The trio blasted through a set of garage punk ditties, including tracks from their recently released self-titled EP (download here). The highlight of their set was the angular, non-EP track ‘Garam Dharam’ (watch a fan video of the song here); a song they played twice after vociferous demands for an encore.

We’d announced, the day before the gig, a surprise performance at the event by a top local act. That act, as we revealed a few hours before the gig, was Zero. All four, original members of the Dadar quartet were in the city and agreed to play a surprise set at the gig. The greatest hits set saw the most moshing of the night at the suddenly super-sweaty suburban venue. Their set included tracks like ‘Lucy’ and ‘Not My Kind Of Girl’ from Hook (download the album here), the album rated by us as the #1 album of the noughties. Zero closed with their cover of ‘Banana Boat Song’.

Alternative rock act Split were up next. The band played material from their EP P Is For Pig, with set staple ‘Holy Ghost Machine Gun’ being one of the highlights of a performance that saw frontman Garreth D’Mello take of his sweat-drenched shirt to fight what had now become a scenester sauna.

The final set of the night came courtesy lyrical pop act Sridhar/Thayil. The duo, performing in the city for the first time since November, played with a new drummer (Pravvy Prav of Shaa’ir + Func) and bassist (Kenneth Rebello of The Vinyls). The band’s set featured a bunch of new tunes, including a new rap called ‘Bug In The Attic’ which featured leading lady Suman Sridhar singing verses in Tamil. They also performed set staples ‘I’m The One’ and ‘This Be The Beat’. Their encore was a new song titled ‘Red Wine’.

The tight performances on offer combined with the awesomeness of the venue made for one of the best gigs we’ve checked out in 2011.

Check out the NH7 Facebook page for a full gallery of photos.

Report with inputs from Amit Gurbaxani. Photos by Kunal Kakodkar.

Artificial Red @ B69, Mumbai

Forcefield @ B69, Mumbai

Arun S Ravi of The Riot Peddlers @ B69, Mumbai

The Lightyears Explode @ B69, Mumbai

Sidd Coutto of Zero @ B69, Mumbai

Garreth D'Mello of Split @ B69, Mumbai