Independence Day Rock - August 14, 05 click here for more pics>>>>>

Another Independence Day; or actually the evening of the day before the day of August 15, and the Independence Day rock show at the Jazz Garden, Pune.
The bands: Unbound, Vayu, and Strange Brew. Yours truly made a late entrance, around eight pm or so and Unbound were into their last song; a number from Black Sabbath called "Symptom of the Universe" which had the lines:
"Woman Child of Love's creation, come and step inside my dreams; In your eyes I see no sadness you are all that loving means".
I just love those lines; they are just so flower power, new age, and cosmic wellness! The vocals had plenty of high notes in it and the guitar sound was clean. Unbound in that brief sample did sound pretty good.

Next on was Vayu, who seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time on their sound check, while the crowd was treated to endless loops of the sponsor's ad films. There was more than a fair share of maidens for the show, and I must say that times seem to be a changing, as all the long hair was on the men, and most of the women had close cropped hair or stylishly just long enough, hit the neck band, kind of haircut.

Vayu kicked off with "Time" and went on to "Purple Haze" and "Ted the Mechanic" and then launched into a amped up combo of the theme from "Mission Impossible" which after the opening chords saw them ripping into "Take Five" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. This was the perfect opportunity for their lead guitarist to launch into what he thought were blistering jazz rock guitar licks but which unfortunately had none of the delicacy nor the subtlety of the original. The longhaired vocalist was giving the songs his best; having first removed his spectacles, and then his shirt, exposing lean shanks ala Jim Morrison, much to the consternation of the audience. The Pretty Tall Young Thing (sorry, if I sound like I treat women as objects, but that was never the case) next to me gave an involuntary shudder, which I felt through my elbows. And then Vayu was on their last song, an original, whose title I did not catch and made way for Strange Brew.

Strange Brew played a very different set; not something that they usually play, in my experience. They started with "We will Rock you" and then onto U2's "Vertigo". They played "Comfortably Numb"; a song that they usually play very well, and this evening too, they did not disappoint. Chris's lead guitar was adroit and skillful, and embodied all the sadness and regret of the lyrics. Their set also featured two of their originals, a song by Linking Park, "Jump" by Van Halen, and ended with Iron Maiden. Like I said, a very different set. Brew's sound was congenial and competent, a reflection of their talent and hard work.

Ten Thirty was shut down time, what with the recent Supreme Court Judgement, and the crowd was left wondering what to do next, given the early hour. Another Independence rock show was over, with the same old sounds for company. Here is looking forward to new and independent sounds in the coming year. Cheers!!

Andy
Write to Andy at doc_talk@rediffmail.com