Folk tunes take centre stage

The ‘Indus Pride Strange Brew’ event recently held at CounterCulture introduced the City to a first-of-its-kind concept — a curation involving contemporary fusion music coupled with food and speciality beer brewed with Indian spices like cinnamon and coriander.

Keeping with this experience-driven approach, folk rock band ‘The Raghu Dixit Project’ not only gave an energetic performance — they picked the menu too.

The band’s first song Hey Bhagwan immediately got the crowd on the floor. They followed this up effectively with popular songs like Mysore Se Aai, Masti Ki
Basti, ‘No Man Will Ever Love You, Like I Do’, the soulful Yaadon Ki Kyaari as well as Kannada numbers like Jagchanda and Parasiva, one of their new compositions.

What made the evening more special was the comeback of Wilfred D’moz as the band’s drummer. Darbuka Siva, who is a member of bands like La Pongal and
Yodhakaa, also joined them on percussions.

Raghu’s usual stage antics and banter were entertaining. When the audience called for an encore, Gaurav Vaz, the bass player, sang ‘Happy Birthday’ for his wife and dedicated Hey Bhagwan to her.

The fact that their drummer and flautist were ‘auctioned’ to the women in the crowd also added a humourous element to the evening.

“It was superb and we had a fantastic time. The audience knew all the songs. Even in Parasiva, a song that we debuted at the gig, they sang the chorus after hearing it just once. Then again, this is how loving Bangalore has always been for us. It shows us that what we’re doing with the new album is working,” says Raghu after the show.

“It was mindblowing! What I found amazing was how the entire crowd jumped when Raghu told them to. The kind of energy given out by the band as well as the audience was great,” notes Arjun, an audience member.

His thoughts resonate with Shrishti, who adds, “I’ve always been a fan of the band and it was nice to hear their new songs. Such shows are always a good option for a Saturday night with friends. I’m looking forward to their new album.”