Rocking in the Free World

I was asked to judge some music competition at the office for a bunch of campus recruits quite some time ago, and I assumed that I would be so bored out of my wits that I went there, armed with a Superman comic as a failsafe option.

This time around, Xtreme Sports Bar is hosting the Battle of the Bands competition in association with Kingfisher, and I was asked to be one of the three judges for the event, thanks to some plugging in by a friend on campus who can afford to go to the place on a regular basis, unlike the poor owner of this site.

Consequently, my sunday evenings are booked until the end of September as I will have to go to three different bars to play judge. Today, I was witness to performances by six bands and the next sunday will have me see a few more play. The semi-finals are going to be held on 27th and the finals will be on the 4th of October. The finals will have Parikrama playing live, and I was asked to be there as well, but I will have to head to Anegundi to hang onto the back of a loaded truck for dear life.

The performances today had bands named Cerebral Assassin, The Turning Brain (?), Fame, Karmageddon, Metaphor and Chameleon. While two of the bands were tight and played real well, it was quite evident that a couple others had just practiced for two days before the gig and hence didn’t really put up a great show.

I relate to the latter because that is exactly what I end up doing for my exams as well, but lamenting about my pathetic academic performance is material for another post, at a time when it will not matter much, hopefully.

Somehow, American Fucking Idol seems to have influenced people a lot, in so far as competition judging is concerned. I am the old-school types, and my style, if you will, is more of the TVS Sa Re Ga Ma types, where I make notes and write down stuff and then just inform whoever needs to be told about how I have graded the bands.

The other two judges were having tons of fun and decided to trip on the bands and roast them. It was quite fun to watch for the spectators, but not so much for the bands getting verbally bashed up. All in all, I kept my mouth shut all through and I even had a line prepared to say in case I would be asked to speak, for whatever reasons be. “Please read Rock Street Journal, India’s leading Rock and Metal magazine of the world!” is all I would’ve said.

If you’re in Hyd and you’re reading this and you don’t mind listening to loud music at a pub and don’t mind bands getting roasted, please do feel free to make your presence felt as the Gultland bands vie with each other for a 12 gig contract with Kingfisher. You might even spot me there. If I’ve done my mid-terms decently, please walk over and say hi, and I will try not to punch you in the face.

Au revoir!