Now, before we get to part two of “THE GREAT INDIAN OCTOBERFEST” this time in Bangalore, you will have to forgive my ignorance of the fact that I really really did not know Hoobastank was playing here until a day back. And, yes I know and have heard a lot people who were apathetic towards the band playing here; but let’s admit it, every year India has started to bring in good bands from abroad-one after the other and every year it just keeps getting better and better.
It’s been a good 8 years in the running and The Octoberfest has always boasted some good music and a sort of temporary hive for all the Bangalore beer zombies(I do not deny my place amongst them either). The outdoor flea market, the beer, the music, the beer, pizzaaaaa and of course the beer. Every good evening comes with a price, and riding all the way from Bellandur through the ever famous Bangalore traffic and the occasional 6 foot deep pot hole was quite the back breaking price to pay. At the end of the day, Octoberfest buffered that insufferable ride. And just to get a little corny with this post, here are my 8 reasons to have Octoberfest-ed this year .
1. Harley Barrage: I’m sure that we have a friend or two with their hackneyed , resounding machine gun engine-d Enfield’s and I say this without any distaste for the biker community or to the bike either, but all said you see these bikes every 10 minutes these days. If you have that image of about 50 of these bikes “rollin” into any social gathering, I want you to just replace those Enfields with a couple of dozen Harleys. 50 odd bikes stretching from the entry to restrooms( this detail is just to disgust some of you out there) with their drunk motor junkie owners was bound to get double takes from everyone around. It really did for a brief period “steal the thunder” of the Octoberfest and how could it not. As always, Instagram is never too far behind such pageantry and these road hogs had a blast watching some (sorry for putting it so belligerently) scrawny guys try to wrap their legs around(He he) this hunk of steel(He he). And yes we had a good laugh as well.
2.Keg caboose: It’s Octoberfest! It’s not like anyone expected water to have a bigger sale margin, but the transposed tradition was kept intact. We had just got our media entries(yaaaaaaaaay) and decided to soak up as much as we could and figure out what all we needed to get for this article before drowning in the screams of guys going ape-s*@# on stage.
We were at one of the beer stalls getting out free beer(Yes I said it free beer), when in come rolling what seemed to be an orchestrated train of Kingfisher minions rolling kegs one after the other. Now I know we’ve all seen kegs of beer, in pubs and clubs and trucks as what not and though the thought does come to mind whether it would be ok to just pick one up and go, reality has a grip on how much shit we can handle. But would anyone notice one missing keg in a beer fest? It was an option. It lingered only till I realised I wasn’t the only one eye banging those kegs.
3. Flashy: With more people embracing the old school music of the 70’s the whole propaganda of psychedelia and barrage of head turning colours doesn’t get left too far behind. Through the gardens and lawns of colonial architecture it was a pleasant visual break, at least for me as a student of architecture. The painter rubber tire seating, the totem with the quasi-interpretation of musicians and the simplicity of the decor around was different to the Jayamahal Palace I came to as a kid (I haven’t been to TGIOF these past two years )
4. It’s a playground out there: People have always been very entertaining to me and I’m sure I’ve already mentioned earlier that I’m not a very vicarious person and so I like it when people get hurt. If you guys read this before the last day and you aren’t quite into one of the performances I suggest paying a visit to the Tire Jungle Gym or the small Skating bowl where you might happen to chance upon a drunk guy trying his hand at a skateboard or people climbing up the tire jungle gym thingy only to find the wrong footing and land in the most unhealthy positions ever. And do pay attention to the game stalls around you. The guys compeering are a hoot. My two favourite ones(Can’t remember the rest so these are my favourites) had to be telling a family man indirectly that he’s got a big beer gut and I kid you not announcing on a microphone “I don’t know what, but I can feel a very very strong thing in you?”.
Apart from the trivial reasons to Octoberfest the music did not fall short of expectations.
5. The music magnet: Before the music got underway the gathering were more or less soaking in the ambience around. People enjoying a mini picnic, people trying to correct backbones of their drunk friends and a run through the flea market. It wasn’t long before we got there that Slapdash Tavern went on the colours stage and Hoobastank came up for a sound check and it wasn’t long before people recognised Doug Robb and flocked in and in moments word spread and the then current congregation had instantly doubled. The following opening acts did not fail to impress either. Scrats crazy antics on stage kept the crowd going even at threat of rain, one nite stand with their retro pop and a couple of crowd pleasers- Michel Jackson’s Beat It and the ever famous We Will Rock You helped get the crowds crowd’s attention more and more.
6. Slapdash Tavern(This Time Is Personal): Now before I get to why Slapdash Tavern was eventful to me I guess I’ll have to introduce them to those who don’t know. Slapdash is a blues, funk and rock ‘n’ roll band from Delhi with Abhishek Dabas ( Guitars, Harmonica, Vocals ) Naman Datta ( Drums, Percussion ) Archit Aggarwal ( Bass ). If you want to know more, do check them out on facebook.
Now the reason I picked Slapdash is because Naman Dutta is good friend from Manipal and it’s great to know that a lot of us have a stage and a platform to base ourselves as musicians and it is good to see the good people from Kingfisher and Bacardi host events like Octoberfest and the NH7 Weekender helping the music in India grow.
7. Hoobastank backstage: Probably the highlight of the evening was meeting Doug Robb (Vox) and Dan Estrin (Lead Guitar) of Hoobastank backstage. The band members seemed pretty beat backstage as they humored us for a bit. It is a big deal to meet the vocalist of the band you first covered in school. But it wasn’t just Hoobastank but the guys from Point of View and Scrat as well who were nice enough to spend a few moments talking to us a little about their experience and a few laughs.
8. Hoobastank on stage: The details of Hoobastank getting on stage is conveniently omitted, mainly because of the late realisation that the band was already on stage playing by 8. By the time the realisation had been dealt with they were into the first verse of Pieces though Doug’s vocals were a shade overshadowed by the volumes of the guitar and bass. Chris’ drums were balanced perfectly, the subtle and sustained noise of the crash was something worth hearing in the crowd. And as Ankit suggested during the show, the headlining drum kit was debatably the best kit so far among all the international acts in Bangalore.
Then came a entree of songs from the Hoobastank, The Reason and Every Man for Himself albums, numbers that most people had heard and it set a roar surging through the crowd the moment they went into Same Direction, followed immediately by Running away which set the crowd into a frenzy with everyone chanting “Hoobastank! Hoobastank!”. On the rare occasion (which was at least once after every song) a select few entities would scream “shut up and play reason” or “reason bajaao m!@#$%^&*”. Annoying especially when the numb nut is screaming right into your ear. But yet again it drowned in the crowds incessant cheer.
The band kept the crowd on its feet constantly filling their ears or even interacting with them between numbers. After momentary silence they broke into First of Me and at this point the vocal channels were a lot clearer and you could pick up a lot of Doug’s falsetto. The patches on the guitar were exceptional and nothing less was expected from a band now playing for almost 20 years. They then played another number from the same album-Inside of You followed by two from their newest album (Slow Down and can’t quite remember the other). The band kept it’s set very tight as they played the ever famous Crawling the Dark which caught the crowd’s attention again. And then the moment most people were waiting for, as Doug told the crowd of a sickness he had overcome and needed the crowds help. It was inevitable that this song would be played. You guessed it-The Reason. Of all the songs on the set list and as very obviously almost everyone in the crowd sang in chorus as Doug had to do little on vocals for this song. Sadly the crowd began to dissipate after the Billboard 2004 #2 hit. But the band didn’t stop there. They ended their night with Out Of Control with the band going crazy moving on stage and drawing the crowd back in a little for the last time.
