After all the flak that preceded Rock In India 2010, the event finally took place at the Palace Grounds in Bangalore on Sunday, February 21. No metalheads picketed the nearly empty afternoon ticket counters. There were far less black t-shirts than one would expect at a *cough* rock *cough* show. The average age of the audience was 14. A large segment of the audience was from south-east Asia. One dude wore an ‘N Sync Tour 2000 t-shirt, and we’re not sure if he was being ironic.

And then there was the gig itself.

On the bill were Kolkata rock act Five Little Indians, homeboys Swarathma, drum-bashing-mask-wearing-metal-something Jayce (pronounce Jay-s, not Jay-cee) Lewis, South African alternative act Prime Circle, that Richard Marx and those Backstreet Boys. When opening act Five Little Indians took stage, there were only about 400 people in the audience. The audience, while appreciative of FLI’s Indian-emo-alt, was clearly there for one band only. Even Swarathma w/ghodi couldn’t really get the as enthused as they usually do with the animal as part of their set. Jayce Lewis was instantly forgettable, and Prime Circle, while efficient, played a very dated sound.

Richard Marx was welcomed by rapturous applause. He does have a catalog that extends further than ‘Right Here Waiting’. That catalog however sounds entirely like mid-’90s Bryan Adams.

Once Marx was done with his set, a 40-member cleaning crew appeared. Within minutes drums, guitars, amps, grand pianos and any semblance of “rock” was removed from the stage.

As the lights dimmed and the Backstreet Boys AVs began playing on the PA, that familiar girlie-twee-screech of early Beatles live videos engulfed the now 2,500 strong crowd (a far, far cry from previous instalments of the event).

The Backstreet Boys headlined Rock In India 2010. By no means was the gig as its title claimed.

Indiecision: F

Vijay Nair filled in as lensman for us with Pavan from Swarathma’s camera. Hat tip to both.

To put all doubts to rest, the Rock In India 2010 headliners are in fact the Backstreet Boys and Richard Marx, as announced on the event’s official website. Here’s the entire list of acts performing

New Delhi – Saturday, Feb 20
Backstreet Boys
Richard Marx
Prime Circle
Jayce Lewis
Swarathma
Indigo Children

Bangalore – Monday, Feb 22
Backstreet Boys
Richard Marx
Prime Circle
Jayce Lewis
Swarathma

UPDATE: Kolkata alternative act Five Little Indians have been added to the Bangalore lineup and the date for the Bangalore gig has been changed to Sunday, Feb 21.

That’s right, as we sneaked into our last post about the event, homeboys Indigo Children and Swarathma will open for these pop giants. Ticket details for the gigs have also emerged.

So there folks. We’re going to try our darndest to be at one of these gigs. Eternal kvlt beckons. What say you?

Rock In India will take place in two cities this year – New Delhi (on Saturday, Feb 20) and Bangalore (on Monday, Feb 22). While ticket details for the gig in the capital (which is at NSIC) haven’t been revealed yet, tickets for the Bangalore event at Palace Grounds will cost Rs 1,000 a pop.

Event promoters DNA Entertainment have not yet made an official statement about Rock In India, and judging by the flak they’re getting, we’re not expecting one soon.

What do you think about Backstreet Boys headlining Rock In India 2010? Leave a comment!

Kick off your gig week with Bhayanak Maut at Hard Rock Cafe on Tuesday night. The Mumbai metal act will launch their latest album, a first release on the new label Grey & Saurian, along with an opening set by Workshop. Expect a whole bunch of crazy, and some great Appletinis.

On Thursday, Aug 6, head to the Blue Frog as electro-rock duo Shaa’ir + Func play their first proper set in the city after nearly six months. Expect a bunch of new material from a their yet untitled third studio album. For a chance to win free entry to this event, and to check out a live version of the new song ‘Love Love Love’, head here.

Already watched S+F a gazillion times before? Head to Hard Rock Cafe for the Mumbai leg of South African alt act Prime Circle’s four city India tour. The band, who sound pretty much like fellow countrymen Seether, played the IPL season two finale earlier this year.

New Delhi

The Delhi leg of South African alt act Prime Circle’s India tour is at Hard Rock Cafe on Tuesday, Aug 4. So if you’re in the mood of Seether-tinged radio-friendly alt, hit up HRC tonight.

Pub Rock Fest continues to bring great music to the capital this week as well.

Head to Turquoise Cottage on Wednesday, Aug 5, as Indigo Children, The Circus and new act Simple Harmonic Motion take stage for what should be a fun garage punk Wednesday evening. Indigo Children are playing a few other dates across the country this month as well.

On Thursday, Aug 6, Teddy Boy Kill and Higher Conscience hit Mocha Bar. We recently reviewed TBK’s new album The Exit Plan.

If electronica is not your thing, head to Hard Rock Cafe for the launch of alt act Half Step Down‘s new album Overtures In Outerspace. We got a sneak peak of the album art of the band’s debut.

Bangalore

Blues-rock act Soulmate hit B Flat on Wednesday, Aug 5. The band has been playing a bunch of gigs supporting their latest record Moving On, and were also recently added to the lineup of The Ladakh Confluence. We checked them out when they hit Mumbai earlier this year.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Murali MK plays Kyra on Friday, Aug 7. No really.

South African alternative act Prime Circle play the Bangalore leg of their India tour at Hard Rock Cafe on Friday. This is their third date in the country, after which they are headed to Pune on Sunday, Aug 9.

Alt rock act Shor Bazaar hit Kyra on Saturday, Aug 8. They recently released their first single ‘Savita Bhabhi’. According to the band

Why Savita Bhabhi? Why not? We think it’s fun to write a song about such a cool website. It’s a shame such web-niceties are banned. We have our right to freedom of expression, don’t we?

These are our gig picks for the week folks. Have one.

Dates

Aug 04 – Hard Rock Cafe, New Delhi
Aug 06 – Hard Rock Cafe, Mumbai
Aug 07 – Hard Rock Cafe, Bangalore
Aug 09 – Hard Rock Cafe, Pune

Tickets and other deets when we hear them. Follow our Twitter for updates.

Check out the alt band’s single ‘Out Of This Place’ from their 2008 album All Or Nothing.