MLTR doesn’t believe in new trends. The band members—Jascha Richter, Mikkel Lentz, and Kåre Wanscher —prefer sticking to what they do best: playing their brand of slow rock and pop rock. Thirty-four years down the line, the now three-member band still has a respectable fan following around the world, and their ongoing Back On The Road 2022 tour across India is a testament to that.
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At Byg Brewski Brewing Company in Bengaluru, where MLTR performed last night, a 3,000-plus audience gathered despite the rain. “The rain beautifully played its part. It was mellow, and romantic, and added to the setting,” says Ajay Gowda, owner of Brewsky Hospitality.
It was an evening filled with nostalgia, as the band, joined by Troels Skjerbaek as bass player, took the audience on rewind mode with their popular hits such as ‘Sleeping Child’, ‘I’m gonna be around’, ‘Paint My Love’, ‘The Actor’, ‘25 minutes…’
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Interestingly, the audience primarily belonged to the 30-50 age group. Each reminiscing the 90s, their first kiss, break-up, school and college days or even exams. No wonder, “I remember when…” was perhaps the most common phrase one heard at the concert.
“I remember when, ‘Complicated Heart’ came out. I used to sing it to my then girlfriend,” said one young man as he strained to get a video of the performers on stage. Another person said, he remembered listening to these songs on his Walkman while walking his first pet Toto. Someone else remembers listening to MLTR in the car while going for an exam. “I used to have an audio cassette with all my favourite boy bands’ songs in it and MLTR was one of them,” says Trina P., who drove for almost two hours to get to the venue. “I think what I like about them is the simplicity of the lyrics and how easy it is to listen to. It fits any mood, any time,” she says. A number of people also came in from other cities including Chennai.
“A mother brought her 18-year-old son to the concert. It was nice to see her telling him about the band and about how she used to listen to this music on a bad day and feel better,” says Ajay.
The early bids tickets sold out in a day. Ajay also says that with this specific concert, the kind of pressure he faced was immense. “The followers are all at some point in their life where they have a status or influence. So, whoever missed out on tickets, wanted us to accommodate them, whatever be the cost. There was a lot of effort to get a place inside.”
The concert went on for an hour and 40 minutes, with ‘Sleeping Child’ being played twice. It was also the most popular song of the night. “Last time we played in India in 2005. It’s been too long a time. A catastrophe,” said the band, adding that they are happy to be touring out of Denmark after two years of the pandemic.