
The time is 11:30 a.m. on a Monday morning... just awakened from a deep deep slumber... My mind is still fuzzy.... the music from last night is still lingering around the contours of my hypothalamus... A big lazy yawn awakens my mind ... The post party blues are now descending upon my senses.
I had a fantastic weekend... Dance...Drama...Melodrama...Music...Mayhem filled my Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I hate Mondays... They give me the blues. Thank God I have my holidays or if I had coll I would have receded to the depths of my desk and fallen asleep with the lecturer’s lullaby.
The reasons for my post party depression:
Day 1
Friday: was my friend NG’s birthday party. And I guess you know what happens at parties (the above categories of dance, drama, melodrama, music and mayhem can be fitted in aptly here)
End result: lack of sleep, aching limbs due to flaying arms and legs but a completely happy and content me
Day 2
Saturday: went to the fest- Le Gala at National Law School. This college is somewhere on the out skirts of Bangalore, Nagarbavi to be precise. With droopy eyes I cheered my friend and college team along as they danced at the cultural fest only to be awakened again by the loud music blaring from Strawberry Fields. If you’re wondering what Strawberry Fields (SF) is, it is one of the most looked forward to rock shows in India. It was voted one of the best College rock fests by the Rock Street Journal website. Around 50 bands from around India (most of them from Bombay, Delhi and Chennai and of course Bangalore) descend onto the college grounds and perform to a whooping audience of over 6-7,000 people. And the entry is free!! Many bands such as Moksha, Thermal and a Quarter, Mother Jane and Zero have arisen from these fields- it is like the stepping stone to super-stardom.
This year the semi finals had quite a smaller crowd. I expected that the next day would have a bigger audience as it was the finals. 5 bands made it to the finals. So Saturday night ended with the sound of chords buzzing in my brain and a deep desire to get some sleep.
Day 3
Sunday: After a good night’s sleep and resting my fatigue filled body I journeyed to Strawberry Fields yet again last evening. Very few people lingered around. But as the sun set the music began to play and suddenly there was a huge crowd. The first band, Catalyst from Christ college performed, followed by the remaining 4 finalist. Soon around a few thousand people gathered. I preferred standing at the back and enjoy the show rather than being thrown about by rock aficionados waving their limbs around and head banging with sweat dripping all around them. I moved forward only to come back again as I saw that the mosh pit was in total chaos. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. So did I, except when the heavy metal bands came on stage and sang. Or did they even sing? All I could hear was noise and the vocalists’ mouth engulfing the microphone and screeching from the depths of his larynx. My mind was only able to figure out the beat of the drums. I don’t understand it. It = Heavy Metal- how can people even comprehend it. I prefer the more subtle form. Progressive, alternative, classic rock... not the trashy and heavy metal stuff. And to add to this noise was the chilly night. Cold gusts of wind, the piercing cold made all of us there huddle up in sweatshirts and jackets. There was a full moon as well. Finally the results were announced. ‘Slain’ came first and I believe they won copious amounts of money. And the runners up were ‘Amidst the Chaos’ from Mumbai. Christ College won the best college band.
I enjoyed listening to ‘Lounge Piranha’- one of the bands who performed here. They play the kinda music which I like to listen to and which I enjoy. There was Parveez, one of the band members playing the didgeridoo as well. 25 minutes of absolute bliss and contentment. This I could comprehend. But what followed them was Bhayanak Maut- the headlining act. Scary shit this was. True to their name- Bhayanak Maut! Other bands which have headlined at SF are Junkyard Groove (2006), was an awesome performance last year by them and also Pin Drop Violence sometime back.
Finally late into the night the show ended. Cold, muzzled, mangled bodies headed back to the city. Quite a show this one was. Brilliant stage setting and organization as well by this bunch of 500 twenty something law students. I headed home only to think I’ll be back next year as well.
I had a fantastic weekend... Dance...Drama...Melodrama...Music...Mayhem filled my Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I hate Mondays... They give me the blues. Thank God I have my holidays or if I had coll I would have receded to the depths of my desk and fallen asleep with the lecturer’s lullaby.
The reasons for my post party depression:
Day 1
Friday: was my friend NG’s birthday party. And I guess you know what happens at parties (the above categories of dance, drama, melodrama, music and mayhem can be fitted in aptly here)
End result: lack of sleep, aching limbs due to flaying arms and legs but a completely happy and content me
Day 2
Saturday: went to the fest- Le Gala at National Law School. This college is somewhere on the out skirts of Bangalore, Nagarbavi to be precise. With droopy eyes I cheered my friend and college team along as they danced at the cultural fest only to be awakened again by the loud music blaring from Strawberry Fields. If you’re wondering what Strawberry Fields (SF) is, it is one of the most looked forward to rock shows in India. It was voted one of the best College rock fests by the Rock Street Journal website. Around 50 bands from around India (most of them from Bombay, Delhi and Chennai and of course Bangalore) descend onto the college grounds and perform to a whooping audience of over 6-7,000 people. And the entry is free!! Many bands such as Moksha, Thermal and a Quarter, Mother Jane and Zero have arisen from these fields- it is like the stepping stone to super-stardom.
This year the semi finals had quite a smaller crowd. I expected that the next day would have a bigger audience as it was the finals. 5 bands made it to the finals. So Saturday night ended with the sound of chords buzzing in my brain and a deep desire to get some sleep.
Day 3
Sunday: After a good night’s sleep and resting my fatigue filled body I journeyed to Strawberry Fields yet again last evening. Very few people lingered around. But as the sun set the music began to play and suddenly there was a huge crowd. The first band, Catalyst from Christ college performed, followed by the remaining 4 finalist. Soon around a few thousand people gathered. I preferred standing at the back and enjoy the show rather than being thrown about by rock aficionados waving their limbs around and head banging with sweat dripping all around them. I moved forward only to come back again as I saw that the mosh pit was in total chaos. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. So did I, except when the heavy metal bands came on stage and sang. Or did they even sing? All I could hear was noise and the vocalists’ mouth engulfing the microphone and screeching from the depths of his larynx. My mind was only able to figure out the beat of the drums. I don’t understand it. It = Heavy Metal- how can people even comprehend it. I prefer the more subtle form. Progressive, alternative, classic rock... not the trashy and heavy metal stuff. And to add to this noise was the chilly night. Cold gusts of wind, the piercing cold made all of us there huddle up in sweatshirts and jackets. There was a full moon as well. Finally the results were announced. ‘Slain’ came first and I believe they won copious amounts of money. And the runners up were ‘Amidst the Chaos’ from Mumbai. Christ College won the best college band.
I enjoyed listening to ‘Lounge Piranha’- one of the bands who performed here. They play the kinda music which I like to listen to and which I enjoy. There was Parveez, one of the band members playing the didgeridoo as well. 25 minutes of absolute bliss and contentment. This I could comprehend. But what followed them was Bhayanak Maut- the headlining act. Scary shit this was. True to their name- Bhayanak Maut! Other bands which have headlined at SF are Junkyard Groove (2006), was an awesome performance last year by them and also Pin Drop Violence sometime back.
Finally late into the night the show ended. Cold, muzzled, mangled bodies headed back to the city. Quite a show this one was. Brilliant stage setting and organization as well by this bunch of 500 twenty something law students. I headed home only to think I’ll be back next year as well.







