<p>Rock In India is back with a bang! The rock festival which saw the performances of Megadeth and Machine Head in 2008; and Iron Maiden in 2009; will see pop kings Backstreet Boys and Richard Marx perform live in Bangalore on February 22. <br /><br />This has caused a furore amongst the rock lovers in the City. However, pop music fans are extremely happy. Metrolife spoke to a few music-lovers to get their reactions.<br /><br />Says Gaurav, the lead singer of the band Inner Sanctum, which performed at Rock In India last year, “It’s quite surprising considering the heavy metal acts that have performed at the festival in the last two years. I guess it’s being done to commercialise the entire festival.” He is mighty disappointed. “They could have done a different festival altogether. Why bring pop acts for Rock In India?” he asks. <br /><br />Karthikeya is another rock fan, who has attended most of the concerts held in Bangalore. But he feels he wouldn’t be attending this concert. “It makes no sense to bring pop acts like Backstreet Boys and Richard Marx as part of Rock In India. Some legendary rockstar would have suited the title,” he argues.<br /><br />Payal Ghatnekar is a huge fan of the Backstreet Boys and has seen them perform live in various places like London, Zurich, Birmingham and Glasgow. “I wish they had toured India like how they tour the other countries. How many songs would they perform at a rock show anyway? It’s unfair to the Indian fans, who have waited for 15 years to see them live.” She laughs, “And as far as those rock ‘wannabes’ are concerned, they can only dream of having the bank accounts of the Backstreet Boys.”<br /><br />Swathi Bose, a senior business development consultant, is extremely excited to see the Backstreet Boys and Richard Marx as well. “It’s going to be a nice blend of music. What more can you ask for during the month of love,” she asks. Swathi is planning to go for the concert and feels that the festival will be a huge hit. “The interest level of these singers in coming to India should be appreciated,” she says. “We should be as welcoming to the Backstreet Boys as we have been to the other bands.” <br /><br />Sachin, a producer at a popular radio station feels that the Backstreet Boys have been trendsetters in many ways. <br /><br />“Most rock fans and musicians, who are angry at them for headlining at Rock In India, would have started off by listening to them. I am sure at least at some point of time in their lives, they would copied their style,” he laughs and adds, “Or they would have gifted the CDs of their songs to their girlfriends.” <br /><br />“I want to relive those days of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when boybands were a craze,” he says. Besides, Sachin feels the music of the Backstreet Boys is any day better than the music that people listen to these days — “the terrible hip hop and R’n’B music which are a torture to hear,” he wraps up.<br /> <br /></p>
<p>Rock In India is back with a bang! The rock festival which saw the performances of Megadeth and Machine Head in 2008; and Iron Maiden in 2009; will see pop kings Backstreet Boys and Richard Marx perform live in Bangalore on February 22. <br /><br />This has caused a furore amongst the rock lovers in the City. However, pop music fans are extremely happy. Metrolife spoke to a few music-lovers to get their reactions.<br /><br />Says Gaurav, the lead singer of the band Inner Sanctum, which performed at Rock In India last year, “It’s quite surprising considering the heavy metal acts that have performed at the festival in the last two years. I guess it’s being done to commercialise the entire festival.” He is mighty disappointed. “They could have done a different festival altogether. Why bring pop acts for Rock In India?” he asks. <br /><br />Karthikeya is another rock fan, who has attended most of the concerts held in Bangalore. But he feels he wouldn’t be attending this concert. “It makes no sense to bring pop acts like Backstreet Boys and Richard Marx as part of Rock In India. Some legendary rockstar would have suited the title,” he argues.<br /><br />Payal Ghatnekar is a huge fan of the Backstreet Boys and has seen them perform live in various places like London, Zurich, Birmingham and Glasgow. “I wish they had toured India like how they tour the other countries. How many songs would they perform at a rock show anyway? It’s unfair to the Indian fans, who have waited for 15 years to see them live.” She laughs, “And as far as those rock ‘wannabes’ are concerned, they can only dream of having the bank accounts of the Backstreet Boys.”<br /><br />Swathi Bose, a senior business development consultant, is extremely excited to see the Backstreet Boys and Richard Marx as well. “It’s going to be a nice blend of music. What more can you ask for during the month of love,” she asks. Swathi is planning to go for the concert and feels that the festival will be a huge hit. “The interest level of these singers in coming to India should be appreciated,” she says. “We should be as welcoming to the Backstreet Boys as we have been to the other bands.” <br /><br />Sachin, a producer at a popular radio station feels that the Backstreet Boys have been trendsetters in many ways. <br /><br />“Most rock fans and musicians, who are angry at them for headlining at Rock In India, would have started off by listening to them. I am sure at least at some point of time in their lives, they would copied their style,” he laughs and adds, “Or they would have gifted the CDs of their songs to their girlfriends.” <br /><br />“I want to relive those days of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when boybands were a craze,” he says. Besides, Sachin feels the music of the Backstreet Boys is any day better than the music that people listen to these days — “the terrible hip hop and R’n’B music which are a torture to hear,” he wraps up.<br /> <br /></p>
