Hit numbers on demand

Perfect platform

The Bengaluru Habba is offering the music-lovers a lot to choose from.

Extremely talented bands have been performing all over the City to enthrall the crowd and one of the most happening spots has been the UB City Amphitheatre, which is providing a platform to several talented musicians. The first day of the festival was an acoustic jazz special where in Sanjay Divecha from Mumbai, who is considered as one of the foremost jazz musicians in the country, took the stage.

He along with Aman Mahajan entertained people to their songs like ‘Full Circle’, ‘Invocation’ and ‘Back at the Chicken Shack’.

The duo was followed by Bangalore-based jazz band ‘Moon Arra’. Starting with the power-packed Vande Mataram, the band went on to perform ‘Blue Fuse’. Later, they played Nadia, a classic by renowned musician Jeff Beck about a girl who is unable to cross the river to meet her beloved.

They then played the ‘Dance of Kalyani’, ‘Rain Song’ and ended the show with ‘Himalayan Springtime’ in Charukeshi raga. The end had an interesting ‘jugalbandi’ between the guitar and the drums which was totally enjoyed by the audience.

Said Prakash Sontakke, the guitarist of ‘Moon Arra’, “There are very few festivals that celebrate the spirit of Bangalore. The habba is one such festival and I felt so proud and patriotic to be performing here. There are a variety of programmes that provide a platform not just to well-known artistes, but to new talent as well.” He added, “The habba had a great beginning thanks to Sanjay and Aman who set the mood for the evening and the festival.”

On the second day of the show, three highly talented bands performed for the audience — Bhoomi, ‘Caesar’s Palace’ and ‘Thermal and a Quarter’. While Bhoomi played a number of covers of well-known rock songs (with a few of their own compositions) and did complete justice to them, the other two bands preferred to play original compositions.

Bhoomi started with the brilliant ‘Highway To Hell’ by ‘AC/DC’ and followed it up with Bon Jovi’s ‘Living On A Prayer’. They played ‘Alive’ by ‘Mr Big’ and dedicated it to the late Amit Saigal, the editor of Rock Street Journal, who died in Goa early this year. This was followed by Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick In The Wall’ and original compositions — ‘Inside Story’ and ‘Uncultured’. “We have recorded an album and it’s in the post production stages,” said the lead singer of the band.

Bhoomi was followed by ‘Caesar’s Palace’ who entertained the audience with many of their own compositions. ‘Thermal and a Quarter’ was the last band to take the stage. They played their popular compositions like ‘Meter mele one and a half’, ‘Fly’ and ‘Birthday’. They also played a cover of ‘In bloom’ by Nirvana.