The year was probably 2007 or 2008; I used to be a DJ then. So one day I was just chatting with my mentor and good friend DJ Sam about why is it that Kolkata gets no international acts (the only recent act then was Joe Satriani performing there, and it was a pretty bad turnout). He promptly said – “It’s because Bangalore has escape routes, just in case of an emergency”. I had never visited Bangalore till then, so I was forced to accept what he said. Then in 2010, I came to Bangalore for the first time. While coming to the city from the airport, I caught a glimpse of the majestic Palace Grounds. That very ground where the Gods of Metal – Iron Maiden performed. At that time, that quote from my friend struck me again. So while referring to “escape routes” was he talking about the placement of Palace Grounds on the very road which leads to the Airport? Well I never asked him about it, so basically I still don’t know what he was trying to say. But yes the question still remains, why Bangalore over any other city in the country? What has this city got to offer which no other city does?
Well, my first gig experience was in 2011. The inaugural Trendslaughter Fest it was. The first time I’ve ever been to a proper Metal show and of course, the first time I got to know the difference between mainstream and underground bands. It was great to see so many people having similar tastes as mine gathered in one place. Then it was time for 23rd of April, 2011. The band I idolise – Cradle of Filth, was here to perform for the first time. As stoked as I was to attend it, I was equally curious to be in Palace Grounds for the very first time in my life. That day was memorable in all its rights and has a special place in my heart, for obvious reasons. But amid all this excitement, one thing struck me a few days later – the crowd mostly consisted of people from the North-Eastern states of India, and I’m talking about 60% of the crowd. And the consequent gigs that followed after this – Metallica, Opeth, Lamb of God, etc. all had the same story. Some people actually travelled for around 50 hours by train, then bus, just to attend the show
So, if majority of the crowd here are travelling more than 2500 kilometers just to attend a show that goes on for 10 hours, wouldn’t it be better if the venue was shifted somewhere close to them?
Whatever be the reason, there is one thing that can be seen is regardless of where the crowd comes from, there is a communal harmony between each and every single one attending the concert. For example – During the Opeth concert, I was in the first row. It was Theorized who were performing most probably, and the barricades gave away. Well we all know what happened in Delhi when such a situation happened during the Metallica concert. But to our surprise, not a single person misbehaved, in fact, we were all picking up the barricades and holding it while the organisers were scrambling to arrange for alternatives.
Though these days Mumbai and Noida are catching up with Bangalore in terms of hosting International gigs, but Bangalore still gets majority of the share. So I decided to do a little Sherlock Holmes thingy to find out the reason and asked the pros about this. Here is what they have to say –
I asked Mr. Sahil Makhija a.k.a. Demonstealer what makes Bangalore so special among the event organiser. He says –
“I think Bangalore works mainly because the entertainment tax is lower than most other metros. Honestly it was always between Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. Mumbai has high entertainment tax and lack of open air venues, Delhi had a few but from what I hear permissions and general ‘VIP’ entrance is always an issue and Bangalore seems to be the most favourable to organizing events due to the low entertainment tax. Also I feel Bangalore is known for its rock and live music culture as opposed to Mumbai/Delhi which are seen more as ‘party’ oriented.”
Riju Dasgupta a.k.a. Dr. Hex, when asked the same question, said –
“We, as Albatross, love playing in Bangalore because it’s the only part of the country that we’ve been to which has a dedicated old school audience. Rock n’ roll is part of the culture to a great extent, in the way people dress, they talk and they behave. This is apart from the economic reasons of course. The taxes, etc. that is.”
Well so the escape route theory doesn’t stand true then, it’s about taxes and a problem with the preference of the people living in the cities then. The crowd here prefers more of Rock n Roll is clear to me from my personal experience with the city. And the party oriented crowd in Delhi and Mumbai is understandable from the great night-life there, which is not so alive here in Bangalore due to certain political restrictions.
To help me demystify the fact a little more, I asked Mr. Vikram Bhat, the legendary vocalist of Dying Embrace, about it. He says –
“Honestly I have no clue why it is a haven!”
Well more or less the fact is clear that entertainment tax has something to do with the selection of the venue (two out of three people said so, and this is a democratic country, hence I go with the majority). But I wasn’t done yet.
Well while I was on this case, I caught up with Mr. Jack Doolan; member of UK based Metal band – Cypher 16, who concluded a multi-city tour of India recently, and asked him about what he felt about playing in Bangalore and other cities of India. Here is what he says –
“For us Bangalore is where things really started to move in India. We played in TGIOF back in 2010 with Lacuna Coil and got an amazing reception, despite the fact that we were added to the bill only around 10 days before the show. Fans might remember the ridiculous Wall of Death that ripped the tent apart and we were pretty astonished that it was so ferocious even up on stage. Since then we’ve played the city several times and we’ve just always loved the atmosphere, as well as meeting the old fans, many of whom are now good friends too.
I think that in terms of logistics Bangalore is probably a little better when it comes to organising big shows than some of the other cities in India and that can play a big part when International bands are looking to come and play in a country. The Metallica show was a good example I think of this.”
So the escape route theory stands defeated. No questions asked. The main reason for organisers choosing Bangalore it seems, is due to the low entertainment taxes, while the International bands performing here prefer the good logistics system. Regardless of the reasons, true fans will never fail to show up in a concert. No matter which part of the country they belong to. There will be fights among genres, and arguments among sub-genres, but the spirit of music is what stands out from everything else at the end of the day.
Well writing this article has been a good experience on my part, trying to answer a very common but usually ignored question. Learnt a few things about the scene in the process. Hope you had as much fun reading it as I had trying to write it up. Keep the spirit of music flying high. Cheers
