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Livewire 2006: A Review
Photographs by Jason John
Date: December 27, 28, 2006 | Venue: Poolside Parking Lot, IIT Bombay
For more than 20-odd years, Livewire has been one of India’s premier rock festivals, and 2006 saw no less than 24 bands from all over the country competing against each other for not only the title of best band, but also Rs 20,000 in cash (not to mention the substantial cash vouchers from Furtados and free studio time). Livewire ‘06 involved two stages over three days, and there was a wide variety of genres on display, ranging from alternative rock and electronica to death metal and hardcore.
Of the 33 bands that were shortlisted (and announced) initially for the competition, a few backed out at the last minute. Of the 28 remaining bands, four more (Groove Lab, Resonance, Red Cube, and Kastadyne) backed out over the course of the next two days, with the most popular reason being that band members with day jobs were unable to secure a leave from work.
Ten bands from Bombay performed on Day One, and only a handful managed to create any sort of real impact. Metal Messiah, a band known for playing old school metal, has apparently decided to take their music in a nu direction — to good effect, I might add. Their set included “I’m With Stupid” and “Push It” (Static X) in addition to a handful of their own songs, the most notable one being “The Beginning of the End”.
Another band that impressed was one of Mumbai’s newer metal outfits, Devoid. With striking originals like “Black Fortress” and “Devoid of Emotion”, this is one band to watch out for.
Aftertaste started their set with a surprise cover of Tool’s “The Pot”, leading into a few originals (”Think King” struck me as particularly good). Keegan (vocals) and Michael (guitars) were at their best as “Around the World” (Red Hot Chili Peppers) brought their entertaining set to a close. At this point, they seemed to strong contenders for one of the three final spots.
A special mention goes out to the band from IIT Bombay, Children Playing, who flowed through their set with the ease and expertise of a band with one or two years experience under their belt — I don’t think it entered anyone’s mind that it might be their first time ever playing together live. The band describes its music as “freeform”, and lists Jaco Pastorius, Steely Dan and Thermal and a Quarter as their influences. Here’s hoping that their performance at Livewire is followed by a few more.
Day Two was much more competitive, and featured outstation bands in addition to bands from Bombay. After a poor show by the first three bands, Delhi’s Hypnosis took the stage and raised the bar considerably. Guitarist Raj’s guitar tones were simply splendid and with a tight rhythm section to boot, the band amazed everyone with their renditions of “Purple Haze” and “Voodoo Child” (Jimi Hendrix). Their own songs were quite remarkable too — “The Cop’s Gonna Get You” features an infectious chorus, and “Walk Away” is one of those songs that’ll find a firm place in your play list for days on end.
Pushing Tin (Bangalore) put on a decent show. Guitarist Mark’s extended solos won him quite a few cheers.
Khadki Junction Blues (Pune) were outstanding right from the moment they came on stage. Guitarist/vocalist Bhrigu Sahni has a background in the theater scene in Pune, and he put it to good use as his introduction of the band in true gaavthi Marathi had the crowd in splits (“Aamhi Khadki Junkshan Bluzz”). The band’s performance was quite impeccable as they wove through “Fire” (Jimi Hendrix) and a few originals. “Saucy Fingerchip (Jain)” was particularly good, and their cover of Scott Henderson’s “Smelly Old Dog” was highly amusing, with Bhrigu breaking into Marathi lyrics in the second part of the song. A cover of Jet’s hit single “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” sung by second vocalist Rucha Karkarey ended their set. The band was quite talented, and their great stage presence made them favourites with the crowd. This was the band’s first performance in Bombay, and the things they’d heard about the city’s rabid metal fans had them on edge before their set. They performed quite admirably, though; hope they play here again soon.
Chennai’s Panatella was easily one of the best bands on display as far as sheer musical talent was concerned. The rhythm section was arguably the best in the competition, and bassist Sundar’s (who later won the Best Bassist award) dexterity and technique reminded one of the likes of Marcus Miller. Their original “Bend Over” was quite impressive, and so was their speeded up “Come Together / Purple Haze” medley.
Nu metal outfit Skincold had a good show as well, although I was told that they’d had better performances prior to this one. Their set comprised of three originals (”Serial Killer” and “Wake Up” were the better ones) and a cover of Chimaira’s “Dead Inside”. Guitarist Akshay easily had the best guitar tone out of all the metal guitarists at Livewire (barring Brute Force).
Medusa were tight as usual, and played their usual set of songs — they started with “Daddy Loves Us All” and played a decent cover of “The National Anthem” (Radiohead). I was waiting for their “Seven Nation Army” cover, but it never came. Ah, well.
Tripwire had a good performance — definitely the best I’ve seen from them yet. Their played some new songs like “Frozen Portrait” (not a Demonic Resurrection cover) and even one about “the pathetic state of housewives in our country”.
On both days of the elims, the audience was scattered all over the place, with most of them choosing to watch the bands sitting down on the ground. But as soon as Brute Force hit the stage, all that changed as quickly as one of Wayne Hu’s guitar solos. Everyone just stood up in one uniform motion and hurried right up to the front — you just knew that there was a mosh pit coming. Playing their first gig in the city since their spectacular performance at Independence Rock 2006, Brute Force kicked off their set with one of their own songs “Brute Force”, followed by other brilliant songs like “Rise” and “Opportunity Denied”. They ended with “Tornado of Souls” (Megadeth) and as their set came to a close, everyone in the crowd seemed to disagree strongly with the 25-minute time limit. The crowd chanted for more, as vocalist Anand smiled ruefully and said, “Sorry, guys. Hopefully, we’ll see you tomorrow.”
Reptilian Death brought the elimination round to a close with bad guitar tones, loud, fast drumming and some good humour. After their set which featured their now popular song “Grasp of the Anaconda”, drummer Sahil announced that people could buy their album at the CD counter, and promised them that “it definitely sounds better than we just did”.
The three finalists were announced shortly — Brute Force, Hypnosis and Skincold. Individual awards went out to Bhrigu Sahni (Best Vocalist, Khadki Junction Blues), Akshay Altekar (Best Drummer, Brute Force), Wayne Hu (Best Guitarist, Brute Force), and Sundar (Best Bassist, Panatella).
Both days of the Livewire ‘06 elims saw some really good bands and a few that were equally bad. What was encouraging, though, was that the overall quality of bands playing in competitions like Livewire has improved considerably. Bands (and individual musicians) have started exploring different styles of music, and there are a lot of bands willing to play more of their own songs. This can only be a good thing for bands and the scene in general, and I hope that this trend continues.
Read on for a review of the final day.
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Medusa’s set also included two more originals in addition to the ones mentioned: “Beep Off” and a newer, more ‘electric’ version of “Pseudo[s] Weep”.
The review is a very nice read. Thanks for the positivity.
Over the past few years, Livewire has gained a bad reputation due to some shoddy event management, but this year was different.
^^^^
SORRY 2 SAY BUT THIS YEAR WS NO DIFFERENT…..SAME BAD EVENT MANAGEMENT…
ANYWAYZZZ NICE COVERAGE ….ALLTHO I WS THERE FOR ALL 3 DAYZ