Black T-shirts shunned for vibrant attire

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It took them sometime to take this huge step but live concerts are not necessarily a black T-shirt affair anymore. While metalheads continue to stick to the convention, many of the City’s bands are experimenting with thematic, often loud costumes that complement their music.

In the case of folk rock band ‘The Raghu Dixit Project’, the band arrived at the bright panche and kurta look after a lot of trial and error. “As a band, we started with long kurtas and pyjamas but ended up looking like Hindustani classical musicians trying to play rock music. Then we tried out short kurtas and jeans but ‘Euphoria’ was already wearing that. In one of those moments where we questioned who we are and where we come from, the pride of being South Indians hit us. So while I grew up wearing the white panche, we added colour to it since we’re making happy and vibrant folk music.

The jewellery and bells we wear are also part of the traditional look,” shares Raghu Dixit, adding, “the costume should add to the aura of the band and its uniqueness.”

For ‘Live Banned’, the funky costumes complement the comical side of the band. Frontman Amrit Rao informs that their current look includes bright shades, crowns and bling armour. “We’ve all been through the black T-shirt phase. When we decided our act, we wanted the on-stage look to complement our quirkiness and madness in the music. The costumes catch the audience’s eye first at gigs and we connect with the crowd faster because of that. It’s important for bands to do acts as well because it’s not just about the music these days. We’ve started experimenting with our look. Going forward, we’d like to work with some designers and stylists as well,” he says.

Folk rock band Swarathma also has colourful costumes that are representative of the music and personalities of the individual musicians.

“Each of us has a different character that is reflective of our personality. For instance, Jishnu wears the dhoti and kurta to give a typical North Indian look; Sanjeev wears silk coats and Jodhpuri pants to reflect his family background; Pavan wears bell bottoms and high-collar floral shirts; and I like it earthy and have hand-printed clothes. We’re all comfortable in what we wear,” elaborates frontman Vasu
Dixit.

Vasu adds that in the Indian cultural context, it made sense to add colour to the outfits. “We have topis for our song Topiwalleh – a mockery of the Indian political scenario. We started with white topis but decided to make it colourful because that’s how we want to see our political scene evolve,” he adds.

Then there are those like ‘Beat Gurus’, a percussion act, who wear tribal costumes in their performances. “We’re into tribal art and music and as a band, use West African, Middle East and Australian percussion instruments. Most of them are non-electric and played with bare hands, which is why we chose an outfit that represents that raw approach,” explains Prashanth Muralidhar, the founder.