Just before the arrival of the monsoons, it looks like Bengaluru’s venues, artistes and promoters alike are scheduling top-notch, must-watch shows this weekend. On Sunday, Bengaluru gets to choose from regulars like Thermal and a Quarter, who never disappoint, or upcoming Mumbai alternative/progressive rock band Daira, who are launching their new music video. If you want to take yourself on a different trip, there’s Kolkata experimental jazz rock act The Bodhisattwa Trio launching their new album Heart of Darkness and for those who prefer something heavier, sludge trio Shepherd will perform alongside trip-hop duo Shreyas Dipali and Nikhil Narendra.
Thermal and a Quarter
The Irish House, VR Bengaluru, Whitefield, 8 p.m.
The Bengaluru rockers will perform with guitarist Tony Das, who has been a fixture in the band ever since they released their last album, No Wall Too High, commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall. They’ll be playing a few famous covers, material spanning their 20-year career and their recent albums. Says drummer Rajeev Rajagopal, “We have over a 100 songs in our repertoire. It’s tough to pick.”
The gig also marks the opening of the Irish House pub in Bengaluru, although TAAQ have had their share of Irish brews when they toured the Republic of Ireland in 2014. “We even went to the Guinness factory,” says Rajagopal. Expect no shortage of stage banter.
The Bodhisattwa Trio
Blue Frog, Church Street, 9 p.m.
The Kolkata jazz rock band, led by guitarist Bodhisattwa Ghosh, have just released their second album Heart of Darkness and judging by the album, it’s not just regular old jazz for old cats on show. The noisy sonic experiments come to life on stage. Ghosh says, “I don’t know if it’s a jazz album or a rock album or what. We wanted to get that LP sound. We just wanted to be experimental.”
Interestingly, the band will be joined by TAAQ frontman Bruce Lee Mani for a jam. Despite a show confirmed at Whitefield, he won’t hold out on his promise. Mani says, “We’ll finish our set by 10 pm and these guys (Bodhisattwa Trio) go on until 11:30 pm so I’ll scuttle to Blue Frog after my gig.”
Shepherd, Shreyas Dipali and Nikhil Narendra
BFlat Bar, Indiranagar, 8 p.m.
The Bengaluru sludge trio team up with the city’s latest must-see electronica duo for a diverse night. More eyes are on Shepherd, considering they’re one of the heavier bands to play at a venue like BFlat, which regularly hosts jazz shows. It’s also one of the last shows for bassist Abhishek Michael, who is taking a break from the band to work overseas.
Abheet Anand (from Bengaluru rock band The Imaginary News) will replace Michael. As for his send-off, they’ll dive into everything from their debut album Stereolithic Riffalocalypse to unnamed new songs and psychedelic covers of songs like ‘Set Controls for the Heart of the Sun’ by Pink Floyd. Michael says, “Since we have material that we haven't tried live, we thought we'd give it a shot and see how it works. There are plans for a release, but we're not sure when, we're just writing now, so we'll see how it goes.”
Daira
Indigo Live Music Bar, Koramangala, 8 p.m.
The band, who has played in Bengaluru a good number of times since launching their debut album last year, now have a music video for the song ‘Meri Soch’ out on music channels and online. Their first show in Bengaluru with new guitarist Shivam Pant, the band says their set will veer towards the experimental side of things. “Apart from songs from the first and the upcoming album we will be playing a couple of covers, trying to push our own boundaries. We are also doing an instrumental (song). This is something which we have never done before. It’s going be a lot of fun,” says guitarist Vikalp Sharma.
Their tour rolls on southwards, with shows in Kozhikode and Kochi. What is the appeal of a Hindi-language rock band in the South? Bassist Govind Gawli says, “To perform in any part of South India was slightly challenging for us because of the language we sing in but it is the music that connects us with the crowd. This is also going to be our debut gig in Calicut and we are excited about it.”
