Indian Ocean in Concert

Went to IIM Bangalore's annual cul-fest 'UNMAAD'..Getting tickets was not a big problem.. contrary to what I had in mind. By the time we reached, we were starving & I had a strange urge to sit & eat at the same table with future business magnates & CEO's.. call me shallow!

After eating some bad bread-omelette & maggi with capsicum (yuckk!), we landed up at the open ground where the concert had already started.

The opening act was Indian Ocean. It was my first tryst with the band.. I had only heard 'Kandisa' & that too I had heard it..not listened. Rahul Ram, the bassist & one of the vocalists kept chatting up the crowd inbetween the songs & was funny at times ("..the lyrics were written by so-&-so.. dilli ka purana haraami hai!")

Wikipedia's entry about the band goes like this - "Indo-rock fusion with jazz-spiced rhythms that integrates shlokas, sufism, environmentalism, mythology and revolution."

It might seem that its just attaching too many labels but I gotta tell ya, these guys really play all the stuff mentioned above.. & more!

Susmit Sen, the bands guitarist whom I had met in Delhi at a party aeons ago has his own distinct style & is a self taught guy. The band as a whole seem to be inspired by too many genres & structure their sound in a way that it becomes difficult for the audience to label them into either Jazz/Rock/Sufi rock or any of the conventional genres..I would say Indian Ocean is a prime example of a quintessential 'fusion' band with each member of the band with different styles coming together harmoniously producing some some free music with fused minds.

Second act was Ali Azmat of Junoon.. the less said the better. We left after a couple of songs. Even 'Sayonee' was a pathetic effort. A lot like an average joe college band doing a Junoon cover. It seemed as if Mr Ali ran into his band members on the way to the IIM-B campus & begged them to play with him.

All in all, not a bad night... except for some whackos trying to jump the barricade that divided the Rs 299/- people from the Rs 99/- people..Its a class divide I tell you.