Été De La Musique
(changed to "Singing in the Rain" in the published article)
With humidity levels on an all-record high, summer in
The lineup this time around included The Strange Brew (who also played in last year’s festival) as the opening act followed by Taal Karisma, Leon Menendez, Tee-M, Aunty Disco Project and Mauj. When one arrived at the venue Mauj were engaged in a somewhat lengthy sound check that seemed to last, well, forever. Not many seemed to mind, there were vendors right outside the performance area selling munchies and people could be seen lounging around, either waiting for the performances to start or for their friends to arrive. Tariq Mirza (Tee-M) could be seen conversing near the entrance of the performance area while members of the Aunty Disco Project hung around, sipping drinks, waiting their turn on the sound.
A somewhat three hours later, a cheerful RJ Munizeh announced the opening act and The Strange Brew took their places on the stage. The Strange Brew is a popular underground act that has been performing popular seventies and eighties for several years now. With only five minutes of sound check, the band launched into Talking in your sleep by The Romantics, delivering only half of what their best performance is normally like.
Although they got off on a bumpy start, their performance of Mustang Sally (dedicated to RJ Munizeh) definitely hit the right notes with this scribe – the band was in sync, the song was upbeat and the chorus was catchy enough for people to sing along to it. The band pumped up the energy with a lesser known, Doogie brother’s song which ended with a prominent play on the keyboards. They delivered another great performance with the massive 1980s hit, Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf but ended their performance on a not-so-great note with classic jazz number – it seemed a little too mellow especially after they had the crowd worked up with the upbeat rendition of Mustang Sally and Born to be Wild. One has to mention here that despite being a very good live act, this wasn’t The Strange Brew’s best performance. They lacked their usual energy on stage and perhaps a lot of it can be attributed to the half-hearted response they received from the crowd.
After a short break, during which the clouds turned into hues of blue-grey which threatened to spill rain any minute, Taal Karisma took the stage and amidst the muffled thunder in the background, launched into their first (and only) composition of the evening, Soul. Fusing the sound of the keyboards, lead guitar, bass, tabla and darbuka, Taal Karisma’s Soul embodied an intimacy that seemed to reach out to its listeners, accentuated by the sharp, easily audible tabla beats. With the wind blowing on the stage, the thunder in the background and the air smelling of rain, one can safely say that put altogether; it rendered a romantic air to their performance. Unfortunately their performance was cut short only after one song and by the time Leon Menendez took the stage, it had begun to rain hard.
With the performances being held in an open-air venue, there were some attendees who chose to leave the moment they suspected rain, but on the other hand there were others who stuck around wherever they could find cover. Just when one thought that the evening had ended, ADP took to the stage (which was set in a rain-sheltered area) and began performing. Performing without vocals (the microphone wasn’t working because of the rain), ADP exuded enough magic to have the crowd going to the Indian classic, Papa Kehtay hain and the more recent Indian hit, Beedi. After which they launched into their fast-growing popular original, Sultanat. They continued to entertain the crowd for a further five or six songs after which they made way for Mauj.
With two of their singles, Kush Fehmi and Paheliyaan already massive hits on the tube, Mauj are fast-growing popular in both
According to the ever-dependant rumour mill, they left because they were unsatisfied with the ‘sound’. That is surprising since they spent a little more than an hour working on it, delaying the overall Music Day celebrations. On the other hand, some claim that the organisers had pulled the plug on their performance, which seems highly unlikely: why would anyone hire a band for a full performance and let them perform only two songs? Mauj was the closing act and anyone with an inkling of interest in live performances knows that the closing act is considered the most important to any event since it sets the tone at which the event ends. It’s essentially what the audience takes home with them.
With nature gate-crashing on this summer fest, this wasn’t the best Fête De La Musique, hosted by the Alliance Francias; it was however, the most interesting. The highlights of the evening definitely include Taal Charisma’s soulful performance and ADP’s love and commitment towards their audience. One was taken aback by Mauj’s diva-oriented behavior, especially since they normally do not behave as such. At this point, one cannot stress the importance of a band’s commitment at living up to their (promised) performance, no matter what – anything less is completely unacceptable. With City FM89’s knack of hosting events that entertain with an added ‘oomph’, one is hoping that there would be a Fête De La Musique II, which would make up for the shortfalls in this one.
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July 1, 2007
