If you know anything about Shillong, it is that they love two things – music and football. Footie is taken care of with tournaments and their own professional league teams, and music got a fillip with the Bacardi NH7 Weekender. Originally slated for February this year, logistical issues played spoilsport.
It was a promise delayed, but honoured nonetheless, when one of India’s biggest music festivals set up shop in Shillong – well, technically 20 to 30 kilometres from Shillong at the RBDSA Sports Complex in Bhoirymbong, on October 23 and 24.
The line-up treated fans to some of the best in Indian rock, metal and electronic music, while also including just a hint of North East India’s talent and of course, international headliners such as reggae band Wailers and thrash metal veterans Megadeth.
There were shimmering, near-perfect sets that definitely impressed Shillong by the likes of electronic music artists Nanok, Sandunes, Nicholson, The Dualist Inquiry Band and rabble-rouser Nucleya, while acts such as Parekh & Singh, Street Stories, Skrat and Polar Lights added to the diverse palette of rock and pop on stage.
Although a chilly rain was a killjoy for a bit, most artists were happy that they could play a sundowner set at 5 p.m. in the evening. The cold weather meant more bodies moved, and a few more moved to the nearest bar area for a drink. One didn’t necessarily need any beverages to give a buzz – the Wailers, reggae pioneer Bob Marley’s original band, delivered the happiest set we’d seen. Their set included everything from ‘Buffalo Soldier’ to ‘Jammin’ and the classic closer ‘Redemption Song’. For all the times other festivals have relied on reggae bands simply to project a certain happy mood, Bacardi NH7 Weekender finally booked one of the biggest reggae legends out there to do the same for them, and while that happy festival vibe was evident when over a thousand people were waving their hands in unison, there’s so much more to appreciate in the musicality of the Wailers than just singing along to Marley’s hits.
Frontman Dwayne Anglin said, “If you are poor, be proud” to rouse the crowd into realising that reggae does have a home in India. If you weren’t the rock fan catching veterans such as Indus Creed and Parikrama belt it out on day one, chances are, you might have also caught the guerrilla marketing of Bollywood film Rock On!! 2 in action, as actors Farhan Akhtar and Arjun Rampal were on the Dewarists stage with Papon.
If day one belonged to happy highs, day two was more about aggression and losing oneself.
With headliners Megadeth being the main draw, no one was surprised to see look out into a sea of black T-shirts. Metal ruled the roost on day two, whether it was the modern hardcore wackiness of Scribe from Mumbai, or mind-baffling technical metal edge of Delhi band Undying Inc. and Pangea from Mumbai.
Even Guwahati alt-metal band Lucid Recess received a huge homecoming-of-sorts welcome, but Bhayanak Maut set the crowd off with their take-no-prisoners metal that was less talk and more rock. The Breezer Beat Camp, which had sometimes worn an empty look on day one, was now packed with electronica fans and bassheads jumping along to the likes of dubstep DJ Nucleya and Sound Avtar from Mumbai. While folk heroes such as Swarathma, Raghu Dixit, Papon and the East India Company and Kailasa led the traditional-meets-modern rock march, Shillong’s best known blues band Soulmate mixed it up as they traded an electric sound for a colourful dance and song routine that showcased both, the Shillong side of the band and the blues side. Megadeth were there to keep over 10,000 metalheads happy, of course. From the opening strains of ‘Hangar 18’ to hits such as ‘Tornado of Souls’ and ‘Holy Wars’ and their brand new single ‘Fatal Illusion’, frontman Dave Mustaine was a straight-tobusiness performer, sparing little time for chit-chat. Drummer Chris Adler, a temporary live member who is originally from Lamb of God, gained massive cheers for making the band sound better than it has in years. Flags, banners and over 10,000 people shouting “Mega-deth!” is a good enough a sign to say that Shillong has proved its worth as one of the ardent music lovers.
