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)

The capital’s biggest English rock band has been earning its keep playing the college festival circuit and regular co-ops with Bollywood stars looking for some totally rocking cred, man. This trend continues in the coming couple of months, with the addition of a tour of Indonesia. The band has a bunch of college gigs (including the Mood Indigo Porcupine Tree affair) lined up and one with Farhan Akhtar in Mumbai (at Chitrakoot Grounds, where I-Rock was held) as well for the launch of the Maruti A-Star. According to Mid Day

Akhtar will sing a song or two from Rock On!!

“And later, we’ll cover some eternal classics like Where The Streets Have No Name by U2, Hard To Handle by Black Crowes and Daytripper by the Beatles.”

So yeah, that gig should be totally rocking man.

Dates

Nov 06 – NITIE, Powai, Mumbai
Nov 07 – Chitrakoot Grounds, Andheri, Mumbai (With Farhan Akhtar)
Nov 08 – BITS, Goa
Nov 22 – Strawberry Fields, NLS, Bangalore
Dec 04 – Bandung Island, Indonesia
Dec 05 – Batam, Indonesia
Dec 06 – Jakarta, Indonesia
Dec 07 – Jogja, Indonesia
Dec 08 – Surabaya, Indonesia
Dec 10 – Bali, Indonesia
Dec 21 – Mood Indigo, IIT Mumbai (With Porcupine Tree)

Parikrama on MySpace

Porcupine Tree are happy to announce their first ever performance in India. It will take place on 21st December at the Mood Indigo festival, ITT Bombay, in Mumbai. More info soon.

Sure, it’s IIT Bombay and not ITT, but we’ll let that pass for the second big international act tour announcement for India this year (Placebo, anyone?).

Porcupine Tree is pretty much ‘progressive’ hostel rock staple in India, though given Powai’s penchant for tedious gig organisation, it will be fun to see how the band’s performance is received. We’ll (try to) be there. More news as we hear it.

The band will release its tenth studio album this month. The Incident (Roadrunner Records) hits stores Sep 15. Here’s the first single from the new album, ‘Time Flies’.