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Coming to the latest gig, I came across a Facebook Post on the BlueFrog page, announcing the Scullers Music Festival, on the 25th November 2017. The bands announced to play were Peepal Tree and Parvaaz. I haven’t heard Peepal Tree live before, and I was yet to experience a full set of Parvaaz live. What sealed the deal for me was the entry mode for the concert.
Scullers were giving away free complimentary passes(limited) if you sign up for their mailing list. Once you receive the code, you’d have to go to one of their stores, to collect the physical passes. As a digital marketing strategy, I’d say it’s a great way to bring in more people into the stores. Some could get converted to customers as well.
Anyway, so I went ahead and collected the passes, for me and my friends. Even though I had watched Parvaaz for the first time in The Special Sofar gig, it was a short acoustic set, and to enjoy them live, one would have to go to their extended sets.
I reached the venue a little before time. This was my first time to BlueFrog(I know, very late), and loved the setting of the stage and the place in general. BlueFrog was on my bucket list for a long time, considering their contribution to bringing independent artists to a wider audience in India. As imagined, the place was perfectly set for the night, with the crowd ready for the music, and the sounds ready to blow us away.
After meeting up with the band members of Parvaaz, we went out to the stage, to watch the first band live, i.e Peepal Tree
PEEPAL TREE:
Peepal Tree is a Bengaluru based rock act, who gained a fan following, after their offerings of Kannada poems in the form of rock songs. I was curious to hear them before, but I never got the chance. That’s the best part about going to festivals like this, you get to check out newer bands.
They started off their set, with a Kannada song, and went with the word go. I have never heard Kannada songs in a rock format, and it’s never easy to blend two different styles, but the band seemed to establish their expertise in it, right from their first song. After playing some of their originals, they performed a cover of the Dewarists song, “Where the Mind is Without Fear”, where the vocalist was supported by the bassist, Praveen Biligiri and the guitarist, Tony Das, on the backing vocals.
The vocalist, Sujay Harthi, displayed his versatility on stage, with his range of vocals, and doing justice to both Indian and Western vocals with finesse. They went into the song, that got them representing India on an international level, thanks to the All India Radio, which is “Nayi Khushi”. For someone like me, who has never heard it before, I could feel the elements of innocence, simplicity, tight musicianship, all wrapped in one song, beautifully. They moved onto the next number, which started off things for the band. This one was called “Chetana”, based on a poem by the famous poet from Karnataka, Kuvempu, or also known as Rashtrakavi Kuvempu.
Adding to the flavor of the South, they also performed their Tamil original, “Magizhchi”, which serves as their humble tribute to Superstar Rajnikanth. The track, filled with groovy riffs, and samples of his dialogues, enthralled the audience.
The best thing about watching them was, to see how they have presented the Kannada lyrics, with the right arrangements, which serve as a balance between retaining the essence, as well as keeping it groovy. It’s also good to see Kannada rock being played in a venue like BlueFrog, catering to the diverse crowd, enjoying the music.
To end things for them, they decided to surprise the crowd, by doing a small tribute, in the memory of the legendary rhythm guitarist, Malcolm Young of AC/DC, who passed away on 18th November. They kicked off into, “Highway to Hell”, ending things on a perfect energetic note, with the audience singing along as well.
PARVAAZ:
It was now time for the main act to take the stage. Parvaaz has been touring extensively all over, and they keep performing in all the major cities and going to new ones too. (Pondicherry for example, for the Weekender Express). The die-hard fans were already in the front, clicking photos, while the guys were setting up their equipment on the stage.
(Since I went right to the front side, so all my pictures of Parvaaz in this post will come from that angle, unlike the previous ones)
They were losing patience, with all the soundcheck, but somehow they got on, and Khalid, the vocalist, kicks off things vocally, with the band supporting him in the intro. They started off their set, with “Gul Gulshan”, and since I was standing right at the front, the crowd around me was already singing with Khalid. I couldn’t help but join them as well. He always had the audience singing with him, for all the songs, except the new ones.
The band played two new songs for the crowd, which might feature in their upcoming album. These are old Kashmiri songs, which is layered with the Parvaaz touch.
As for the performances, it is an experience to just listen to Khalid. From soft vocals to changing ranges, to improvisations and screeches, it’s a complete package. The guitar work of Mir Kashif Iqbal is simplistic, yet impactful, and he replicates the same in his live playing too. Their sounds are complimented well by the bassist, Fidel, and the drummer Sachin Banundur, as well.
Another thing to watch out for in their live sets, is their onstage improvisations and jams, which are equally good, and give the fresh element for their fans to listen to, with every gig. We got to see Fidel improvise with a laughter, run through an effect, in the middle of the jam track, reminiscent of the sounds of Pink Floyd, and other psychedelic bands.
Fidel doing a fake laugh on the mic for the effect.
My favorite moment was listening to the entire Roz Roz+Baran live, and the Baran jam section is truly a gem. They still had about a couple of songs left, but owing to time constraints, they ended the set on a somber note, with “Ab Ki Yeh Subah”. We couldn’t get enough of their set, but we were blown away by their performance as well.
I haven’t written a lot about the songs they played, because:
I am putting up the setlist of Parvaaz for the evening. I was happy when I saw Khufiya Dastaan on it, but too bad, they didn’t play it :(. They didn’t play Dil Khush as well. Anyway, next time hopefully. Instead, they played Itne Arsey Ke Baad, on request.
Cheers to more upcoming gigs. Do follow this blog on Facebook as well. And you can write to me your suggestions and feedback. I would love to hear from you all.
Setlist courtesy: Mir Kashif Iqbal (Parvaaz)
All pictures were taken by me.
Cover Photo: Scullers Music Festival event page
The Gig Life 
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