It was a quiet Friday evening. I was a tad bit late to Garage Jam, but thankfully I didn’t miss anything. The show was featuring 3 bands, one acoustic – Chord Impact; one Grunge – Livide; and one Metal – Deaf. A nice mix of bands and talented musicians for the night in my opinion.
The show kicked off with Chord Impact. A nice 4 piece acoustic band, playing covers of various artists, of various genres. They played the longest set of the night, which officially lasted for close to an hour. Playing for the first time with their two new members, there were times when I felt that they were a little clumsy. But, with time, they’ll surely get over that part. Kusdos to Vaibhav for his crowd interaction, his emcee skills helped a lot there I guess.
Their setlist for the night –
- Something in the Way – Nirvana Cover
- Zombie – The Cranberries Cover
- Thank You – Dido Cover
- This is the Life – Amy McDonald Cover
- The Scientist – Coldplay Cover
- Here Without You – Three Doors Down Cover
- Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley Cover
- Sweet Child ‘O Mine – Guns ‘N Roses Cover
- Nothing Else Matters – Metallica Cover
- Pumped Up Kicks – Foster The People Cover
- Glycerin – Bush Cover
- Walk – Foo Fighters Cover
- Somebody I Used to Know – Gotye Cover
Livide were up next. I had heard about them before, but never really could see them live, but needless to say, they made a powerful first impression! Grunge happens to be one of my favourite genres, a genre I usually play on loop when I’m down or I need to take a time out. These guys play the genre in its true colours and nailed every song. The highlight of this 3 piece bands’ show would be their cover of Rape Me by Nirvana – flawless would be the closest appropriate word I can find at this moment to describe it. The best band of the night, in my opinion.
Their setlist for the night –
- Spin You Around – Puddle of Mud
- Truth – Seether Cover
- Everybody Knows
- Rape Me – Nirvana Cover
Deaf were the last band for the night. It was getting late already, and most of the crowd had disappeared by the time they were ready to play. Missing their vocalist, they started off by covering Metallica and Judas Priest. Supreet, vocalist/guitarist of Thrash came out to support them and sung Seek and Destroy and Breakign the Law, before declaring he was too drunk 😛 In what seemed to be a nice gesture, Vaibhav, from Chord Impact(also Deaf’s ex-vocalist), joined them to sing their originals – Deceive and Catfight(Chaos). They ended the night with a tribute to Jeff Hanneman, playing the intro of Raining Blood.
Their setlist for the night –
- For Whom the Bell Tolls – Metallica Cover
- Seek and Destroy – Metallica cover
- Breaking the Law – Judas Priest cover
- Deceive
- Catfight (Chaos)
- Raining Blood (Intro) – Slayer Cover
Garage Jam, just like always, was a success. One of the best initiatives taken for music in Bangalore, and they are dedicated to their commitment of providing young bands a platform to perform and showcase their talent. News is they are expanding and we would love to see them expand their wings and reach out to more musicians. Kudos again to the whole Garage Jam team!
Pictures Courtesy – Abhishek BA
For the first time since its inception, Garage Jam came out of their comfort zone and hosted a very interesting event – First Blast. A line-up consisting of 2 DJ’s, DJ Rakesh and DJ Ron; along with two bands, Livide and Thrash; this was one interesting event and I was looking forward to it eagerly(mostly because of my strange likeness of Metal and House/Trance).
The night started on a sad note, Livide had pulled out and it was raining too. The show started a bit late, in a gloomy mood, but the spirits were soon lifted up by DJ Rakesh. Playing a set of some exquisite music and mixing it up the right way, he did a great job behind the console. Highlight of his set, in my opinion, would be when he spinned up “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye; one of my favourite tracks and he did justice to it with his mixing skills.
He was soon followed up by a beatboxer – Sanjay. Showing his prowess with his skills, he covered almost all genres of EDM with ease. Performing medley’s between different styles, singing while beat boxing and the best of all – a great show of Dubstep music and beat; all without using any instruments except his vocal chords. A 21 gun salute to this talented man!
After 5 minutes of awesomeness from Sanjay, DJ Ron took the console duties. Spinning up hits after hits, he managed to get the crowd grooving to his beats. Gathering up momentum, he managed to get people dancing too! An energetic set from the man and he got his incentive from the crowd. Arwen secretly told me that he is training Ron to be a Rock/Metal DJ. Now that would be very interesting.
His setlist for the night:
David Guetta – Without You, Titanium, Stay With Me
Akcent – King Of Disco, Right Now
Rihanna – Wild One
Swedish House Mafia – Don’t You Worry Child, Levels
Avicii – I Could Be The One
Inna – Sun Is Up
Thrash – a band that has made a name for themselves. I saw them live first during The Pit 2, held earlier this year. The band has come a long way in terms of their sound as well as performance. Sudarshan’s bass skills teamed with Ashwin’s top class drumming ensured Supreet had full support to belt out their original compositions as well as some classic covers. A regular at Garage Jam, Thrash blazed through their setlist of 7 songs and brought the night to a fitting end, leaving the audience wanting more.
Their setlist for the night:
Warhead
Blow Torch (Demolition Hammer Cover)
Shotgun
Disection
Whiplash (Metallica Cover)
Random Act Of Aggression
Thrash Attack
It is sad to see that even though it is a free show, hardly 30 odd people actually stop by and listen to the bands, and the feedback from them is minimal. Not that the venue can hold more than that many people at a time, but I feel somewhere the bands performing would be more satisfied if they see a good response from the crowd.
All that said and done, the initiative by Garage Jam was pretty innovative. One doesn’t get to see such a mix of genre too often; I was satisfied by the show, to be frank. The enthusiasm and dedication of Arwen to support the young bands and artists is commendable, he makes sure there is no stone left unturned when it comes to organising the events; and this was just another example of it. Kudos to the Garage Jam team!
