The OPENING ACT…

Indian bands opening for international bands, quite a phenomenon now… Take a look!

 

Parikrama and Iron Maiden, Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ) and Megadeth, Anoushka Shankar and Jethro Tull, Metaclix and Sepultura, DJ Suketu and Boney M – if you are wondering why are we mentioning the cult western bands and Indian musicians in the same breath, then maybe we also need to mention that all these Indian artistes have performed on the same stage as these international artistes. For a music culture where there have been endless cases of musicians being ‘inspired’ by western influences, it is an honour indeed that original content made by Indians finds a platform alongside the international acts. Rudy David, the bassist for TAAQ, says, “The fact that we were even considered to play before Machine Head and Megadeth took to the stage, is recognition in itself.”

When Parikrama played for Iron Maiden for the first time, Bruce Dickinson and the party were so impressed by their performance that they came out of their green-rooms to the mosh-pit to listen to Parikrama playing and invited them to open the shows for them in other concerts as well. This also gave Parikrama the opportunity to play in the Download Festival in UK alongside the likes of Dream Theatre, Motley Crue, Velvet Revolvers, Linkin Park and Evanescence. According to the band, it’s been pure exhilaration since Iron Maiden ‘happened to them’. Subir Malik, the keyboardist, Parikrama, says, “Being applauded by Iron Maiden and then the invite to open for them and then touring UK, where we also got the chance to open for Saxon and Evanescence – it has been awesome!” During Boney M’s performance in the capital recently, DJ Suketu opened for Marcia Barrett’s group and couldn’t stop gushing about it. “I have been forever inspired by them. Who hasn’t been?” Suketu said. When asked if he would remix Boney M’s numbers, he said, “I don’t think they will like to listen to their own songs remixed. The idea is to play original content here and so I will be playing those songs which I have remixed originally.”
 

On why Indian bands are becoming a popular option to open for big, international bands, Rudy David says, “While audience relates to international bands because they are big names, they also relate to bands like ours because we’ve been playing for the past 12 years or more and have our own fan-following. We play music which Indian audience reacts to better.” Indian bands also jump at opportunities to open for foreign bands because it gives them a chance to reach out to a huge audience. Subir Malik says, “Organisers have understood that getting local involvement is important because that involves the audience better. Now Indian bands are getting due credit.” Another reason for organisers to sign up Indian bands, as Rudy explains it, is the ‘cost factor’. “Bringing international cult acts to India is a very costly affair. Roping in an Indian band brings down the costs, because a foreign band of our stature is more expensive.”

So, if one were to set apart the fame, how cool is it to play with international bands of cultish stature? Vishal Dadlani of Pentagram, who played for the Megadeth concert in India, remarks, “It was cool, just like playing festivals anywhere in the world is cool. We’ve played alongside some major names before too, so it’s all good. But, yeah, we had a chat with Dave Mustaine, and were pleasantly surprised to learn that he’s into many different types of music, and isn’t just a stereotypical metalhead. Quite a cool guy, really. That was fun.”

 

(Source- The Times of India)