Gig Review – Hysteria

It was a quiet Saturday afternoon for many (would have been for me too, if I wasn’t attending the gig :P). Bangalore based Ancient Mosquito’s first ever Rock gig – Hysteria, was scheduled for its grand opening on the 20^th of April, 2013. With the awesome line-up consisting of some very promising bands, I feel sad for all of those who chose to watch the IPL match instead of attending the gig. The line-up in order of their performance is as follows –

The original line-up had Grey Matter, who had to pull out because of unforeseen circumstances. Bangalore based 3-piece band Broken Membrane were pitched to perform as a replacement, but that wasn’t possible as one of the band members had some personal problems.

Just like every gig I cover, I was greeted by the bands going through their sound check (blame it all on my punctuality). Later on I was informed that the extended sound check was because of one of the bands pulling out. The show started with Broken Cassette; a Bangalore based 4 piece Rock band. They had a nice set of covers and OC’s, with a remarkable cover of Red Hot Chilli Peppers to start off with. A satisfactory performance, but would prefer a tighter set from them in the future. Second up was Dejavu. Playing their first gig, they must have had some butterflies in their stomach. They took a little extra time for the sound check before they went on the stage, which resulted in them playing a set of just 3 songs. The compositions were nice, but a little polishing needs to be done. Hope to see more of them soon.

We were about an hour into the gig and still there weren’t many attendees. Frankly speaking, it is a really sad story for the scene. It was time for Getting Laid Project to take the stage. The 4-piece band from Bangalore not only has a quirky name, their songs match up to their band name and themes are certainly bizarre. Having a nice bluesy sound, the band surely did lighten up the mood of everyone present there. I felt the last song was a little too long though (it was based on some alien planet where you get women without breasts, who are attacking us and stuff. Must be Paris Hilton’s home planet). Continuing with the mood, next up was Rainburn. Playing a nice cocktail of covers and OC’s, their frontman Vats showed off his comedy skills at times. All for a good laugh and chuckles and giggles and any other way some people may have decided to react. Their cover of Iron Maiden’s classic – 2 Minutes to Midnight was spot on. Surprisingly it was their bassist who sang the song, according to their vocalist; the reason behind the decision was – “Because he felt vocalists get all the girls”. A nice funny mood throughout the set and pretty tight performances along with all the jokes flying around.

After a nice round of fun it was time for some soulful music, delivered to perfection by Split End Tongue. It was getting dark and the ambience was perfect for their set. The Progressive Rock outfit from Bangalore hit the right chords and notes throughout their set. Their cover of Coming Back To Life by Pink Floyd was outstanding. It was sad to see such a talented band perform without having the right kind of audience. Their vocalist struggled to get the crowd come to the front of the stage. But nonetheless their performance was top class.

The last three bands left and it was getting late. It was 3/4^th Gravity’s turn to do their stuff. A band covering multiple genres with their music is a rare sight, but rocking everybody with their set is a rarer thing to see. Their set was packed with full on energy and it was reflected on the crowd too. The crowd response was great, their set was tight. What else do you want as a fan? Undoubtedly one of the best bands in the evening.

Jekyll and Hyde were up next, they were co-headlining the gig and the next half an hour showed everybody why exactly they have been chosen to do so. My first rendezvous with the band was during Strawberry Fields 2011. They were one of the finalists and they kicked some real ass. The only thing that has changed is they aren’t a college band anymore and their sound has matured a lot since then. Recently out with their debut EP, the band is on a roll. With a set of 8 songs, including two covers, the crowd grooved with the band as they went along with their set. They brought copies of their EP with them and were giving it away at any price you would like to give them for the EP. Not the best of business strategies if you are looking to earn fast cash, but certainly a very good gesture in terms of keeping the music true and alive. Wishing the band a very bright future; hope to see them performing with some International artists in the near future.

Jagged Surge – the last band for the night and what a band they are. It was getting a little towards 10 pm and majority of the crowd being youngsters, it was obvious why most of them left even before Jagged Surge started their set. Saw them for the first time during The Great Indian October Fest 2012, and I was awestruck by their performance. Blending in the perfect combination of Heavy Metal and Hard Rock, the band delivered their trademark 80’s style music without wondering much about the decrease in the crowd. Certainly having the best solo guitarists of the night, it was a treat to see some classic good old shredding from the band. Their songs were tailor made to satisfy fans of Heavy Metal like me. Specially Futureal; a song inspired by the Gods themselves – Iron Maiden. They ended their set of 9 songs with a kickass cover of Metallica’s classic – The Four Horsemen. The show came to a close with their guitarists showing off their soloing skills and their vocalist thanking all who stayed back so late. Their set list for the night –

Killing the dragon
Witchin’ Sensation
War vs Liberation
Firebrand
Futureal
Saving Our Soldiers
Afterburner
Go! Go! Go!
The Four Horsemen (Metallica Cover)

It is always a treat to attend such gigs where one gets to see raw talent. But the sad part is the crowd turn out in recent events. Hysteria saw maybe a footfall of around 100-150 people at max, which doesn’t do justice to the hard work that went into organising the gig. Hope to see more such shows being organised in the city. And certainly hope to see more such promising young bands performing. Kudos to Ancient Mosquito for organising a successful gig.

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