Music can not only heal, but also instils in us a hope for an ideal world in future. At least, Lail Arad, J F Robitaille and M T Aditya Srinivasan on day two of The Hindu November Fest 2017 made us believe so. The winter weekend in Hyderabad was evidently peppered with nostalgia and naivete, music that was a tool of protest and one that raised a toast to simpler times of the coffee-house scene in the 1960s at US.
The focus was on music that’s more personal, hummable and could create ripples minus the modern-day instrumentation. Deeper messages camouflaged in a musical exterior, uncomplicated guitar riffs, a note from the mouth organ, a twist from the kanjira and the piano’s evergreen charm was a balm to the senses.
“ Dhanyavaad Hyderabad” they said with their first number, the Simon and Garfunkel’s celebrated ‘The Sound of Silence’ from the 1960s that infused a quirky folk touch to a rock number. The lilting melody made for a pleasant start to a concert where the performers stayed true to the essence of the classics, the stories surrounding how they identified with the numbers adding to the experience. We Got it coming , a duet by the two, talked of their deeper affiliation with winter, how love literally springs then. Some timeliness that! Rosy , a song they penned together, lived up to its title.
The travails of finding true love came through Missing You and Modern Love , the depth in Robitaille’s voice and his timely improvisation being the cherry on the cake. The focus was on music that’s more personal, hummable and could create ripples minus the modern-day instrumentation. The first Bob Dylan number for the evening, Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance was worth the wait, with the duo’s amiable balance between its near-breathless lyricals and the trippy yet foot-tapping musical texture lending the evening some familiarity. The two personalised many a classic number with their style and steered away from obvious comparisons- the magic of You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere , Famous Blue Raincoat , Tower of Song was relived and got you to believe the words The Times They Are A-Changin again.
The Magnetic Fields’ Come Back from San Francisco reminded Robitaille of his regular travels to San Francisco from his home-town Montreal. The singer had missed his brother’s marriage to perform in India, but didn’t miss dedicating a song to his niece (his sister’s daughter) with a provocatively titled number Bastards which despite its message-heavy tone, made for a good listen.
Even as Lail claimed she didn’t know French, the raw, rhythmic Milo and The EU song in reference to Brexit helped crowds glimpse the haunting quality in her voice. A moving tribute to the late Leonard Cohen on his 80th birthday with 1934 notwithstanding, the finale with his Birds on the wire with a rare kanjira add-on had crowds connecting with the lines Hey, why not ask for more . Yet, the evening had to end! Alternating between classics and originals, the performers’ warm camaraderie was a sight to behold.
