DIARY OF A JANIAC

Trespassers Are Welcome! :D


Rock Ethos '09 promised to be a real headbanging festival. It had a list of few of the best bands in Bangalore and a few from out of Bangalore too. But the name on the list that attracted me was MOTHERJANE. After almost a year, Motherjane were back in Bangalore and they promised to give a killer of a show. 

My sole intention at ROCK ETHOS was to catch Motherjane and well, Bhayank Maut was a pleasant surprise. 

But the start of the day for me tracks back a few hours to the moment I entered Motherjane's room just after a nice lunch. Spent a few good hours with them and also used the oppurtunity to have a nice chat about drumming with one of my gurus, John Thomas. Also, got a chance to get Suraj Mani, their vocalist, to explain the concept behind the video of the song BROKEN(about which I had written a post). Soon, a couple of guys came from MyBangalore to interview them and well, that wasn't really a very eventful memory for me or the guys who were with me. But soon, the uneventful moments turned to really eventful ones when the band members started to paint their faces and thus "UNLEASH THEIR SPIRIT" and get ready for the gig. The following were the results. 

MOTHERJANE : ALL SET TO ROCK!!

After this, we had a few snaps with the band and all of us were soon heading for the venue. 


US WITH THEM!

I didn't head right in front of the stage to catch the bands in action. Instead, I rushed backstage to help sort out stuff backstage. Anyway, I was here to see Motherjane and none else, to be honest. 

Motherjane's time was fast approaching and as it approached, so did the Rain God. And as soon as Motherjane were up on stage, the rain thrashed down. But, the spirited Bangalore crowd did not forfeit, instead they stood right there without moving and many, went and fetched a few banners for protection from rain and came back to the railings for more music.


ONE HELL OF A SPIRITED CROWD

Quite a few moments passed and soon, the guitars were cleared to play and Baiju ensured that none of the guys in the crowd were kept waiting any longer and he delivered a perfect rendition of a guitar solo and if you ask my comments on that solo I would say, "Now thats how you play a guitar solo". I was at awe of his patriotism when he started to play Vande Mataram and that showed one thing, no matter how western that instrument which he was holding was, it was a true Indian holding it and that is what counts. 

BAIJU ON THE GUITARS

make that A TRUE INDIAN ON GUITARS

Shortly after, Motherjane were ready. With a beautiful mocktail of the best from Insane Biography and Maktub, Motherjane were super tight on stage. Suraj, ensured that the crowd was there and there was line that was especially brilliant :

"These speakers might be small but your hearts are BIG"

SURAJ ON THE VOCALS

Thats a line that I will remember for a really long time. Disillusion, Chasing the Sun, Mindstreet, Blood in the Apple, Fields of Sound, Walk On and Karmic Steps. The list was shortened thanks to the rain but for the 40-odd minutes that they played, the stage was theirs. And my, did they kick some ass. Suraj, with a sprained ankle, was jumping around and running around like the world was his garden. Clyde, with his steady bass lines, was having a great time. Deepu, Baiju, and John were having a ball too. And as all good things have to come to an end, so did their gig. But Motherjane can give themselves a pat on the back for the show they produced. Taking in all the insults and converting it into one hell of a gig is greatness. 

DEEPU ON THE RHYTHM GUITAR

JOHN ON THE DRUMS

CLYDE ON THE BASS

Next up on stage was Bhayank Maut. They were really good on stage. I liked a few of their songs and their drummer looked really good. However, didn't pay too much attention to them because I was helping Motherjane pack up and thus, missed out a lot of their stage but they sounded great and I would love to see them up on stage again. Their vocalists really impressed me. Apart from that, ain't really eligible for a review because of the lack of attention from my side. 



BHAYANK MAUT ON STAGE!

ME WITH ONE OF MY GURU, JOHN

Pictures courtesy Jabri and Gaurav Vaz and a few others who posted on Facebook! 




We’ve all, We've all been broken
Shattered, left mute with regrets unspoken
We’ve all loved and lost
Been forsaken, repented our deepest trust

We’ve all wondered why
Destiny picked us to cry
Why faith has to be tested,
And life doesn’t turn out the way intended

We’re mended to be broken
Yet human clay believes itself golden
Stunning in its courage to be happy
As wild elations tempered with black melancholy

The above are some of the most meaningful lines that I have ever come across. The above lines tell us that each one of us have the power in us to overcome are sorrows and it into positive outcomes. Do I believe in the above lines? Hell yeah, I do.

However, I'm not going to explore the philosophy behind the given lines and nor am I here to comment on how great a band Motherjane is. On the contrary I'm here to comment about the following video which is based on the song. 



The above video may appear to be rather loosely held and well, confusing at the same time. You may feel that it consists a message but it doesn't really convey it. The above were my thoughts when I first saw it. However, when you take the lyrics into consideration and then watch the video, it is nothing short of a masterpiece. 


The video is centralized around a father, who has lost his wife and a son, who has lost his mother and is yearning to be shown some love. The father is a Kathakali exponent and he is so involved in the art that he has no time to shower his mother-less son. This is beautifully expressed when the father comes home and sleeps with his Kathakali make-up on. The son, who as I said earlier, yearns to be showered with love, tries to wipe away the make-up from his fathers face and tries to catch a glimpse of his face. 

After a certain period time, the son grows up to be a rebellious, independent son and the father yearns for his sons love. The fact that his son is rebellious is beautifully indicated by the potrait of Che Guevara in the sons room. The son has grown up without being shown any love and thus does not understand the importance of his father, who was completely involved in his art, in his life. Thus, the son is a very independent person, in fact, too independent. The father is left heart-broken and he contemplates suicide. 


The son sees that his father contemplates suicide and realizes the importance of his father in his life and the father too understands his mistake and corrects himself and ensures that his son is shown some love and affection. This is portrayed in the scene when the father peforms only for his son. Credit must be given to Motherjane, to convert a song which starts of with two people with a negative look at life and to end the video and the song in such a positive note. HAIL MOTHERJANE! (yet again.. [;)])


A closer look at the video shows that only half of the fathers face is painted during his performance for his son. However, his whole face is painted when he sleeps at home with his make-up on. This is because the father finds his balance in life during the performance for his son. This is the balance in life that we should all strive to achieve. Unless this balance is achieved, all of us are broken. We become a whole only when this balance is achieved in our lives. This is the underlining principle of the song. 

I sincerely thank Suraj Mani, for taking his time out to explain the principle behind this inspiring video to me. I also want to thank Jabri, for indirectly giving me the idea of posting this blog about this sensational video.

p.s. - Taking a leaf out of Sri.Jabris book here. I wonder if he has a problem. Well, if he does, I'm the going to be the happiest man in the world [:P]. Also I have not written too much about how beautiful the song sounds and how great the band is because if I do so, I know for sure that I'll never stop! 


SCREAM FOR ME BANGALORE!! - BRUCE DICKINSON

"SCREAM FOR ME BANGALORE", says the Master and the crowd like kindergarten students listening to their teacher do just that, SCREAM! Such was the excitement at Palace Grounds on 15 February 2009.

THE GODS OF METAL - IRON MAIDEN

At an age when most people would sit on armchairs sipping lemonade, Bruce Dickinson, Nicko McBrain, Adrian Smith, Steve Smith, Janick Gers and Dave Murray beg to differ. With the sole intention of rocking the world, these 6 guys tour non-stop and do they kick ass or what! 15 February 2009 was a day when the rock fraternity of Bangalore bore witness to a show that I'm sure has left each one of their minds conquered.

JANICK GERS

For me, a fifteen year old, who has only heard Maiden play from his computer and I-pod, this gig was nothing short of a dream come true. From the beginning, Iron Maiden ensured that Bangalore was theirs. Bangalore, for those few hours, was the best democracy in the world because it belonged to a bunch of guys and these were the bunch of guys that Bangalore wished for. They were called IRON MAIDEN! (Nice line, huh? :P)

THE CROWD

These 6 guys are nothing short of the very pioneers of rock and they prove, from time to time, that they are the ones to beat. From the moment they played Aces High, everything was a blur. For me to express the emotions that were going through my head is nothing short of a herculean task. But let me tell you this, that night was the night of my life. Out of my 11 Gods, I had seen 6 of them and I will never forget the sight of Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers pointing their guitars at the very same spot where I was standing.

DAVE MURRAY AND ADRIAN SMITH

Before I get carried away by the emotional aspects behind that show, let me move on with the playlist and my opinion on the songs wont really change much. Each on of them were so damn brilliant. Aces High was followed by a perfect rendition of 2 Minutes to Midnight. By the time this song was done, Iron Maiden had made one thing clear, they is no other band that can exude the energy that they do! ALL HAIL MAIDEN! And before I forget, I must mention the background changed for every song that they did and it resembled the album that they were playing the song from.

THE VORTEX OF ENERGY CALLED STEVE SMITH

Soon, Palace Grounds were treated to beautiful tracks like Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Phantom of the Opera, Children of the Damned, Fear of the Dark, Evil that Men Do, Wasted Years, Number of the Beast, Run to the Hills, Sanctuary. The perfect end to the show was when they performed the song Iron Maiden. Somewhere in the middle giant eddy made its entry and the crowd was treated to a few minutes of fun.

AGE AIN'T A BARRIER FOR ROCK AND ROLL

Maiden, you guys are the shit! No matter what, you are the real GODS OF METAL, come what may! UP THE IRONS!

p.s. For the sake of those reading this blog, I have not commented on the opening bands. Most of them failed to impress me and I as I sit her typing this, I really dont remember any single one of the opening acts. I guess that shows their class. Sad, huh?

pictures courtesy MY BANGALORE


The above scene is something that I will remember for a very long time, if not forever. One of the musicians, that I respect the most with not just one but two Oscar awards. Yea, pessimists may go on and on about Slumdog Millionaire not being his best music and that he didn't deserve the Oscars for this soundtrack but who cares about what they have to say, right? The fact of the matter is that AR Rahman has captured an award that had eluded him for quite sometime and his happiness shows! He has been running helter-skelter to do shows for his eager American fans and has featured on quite a few TV shows too(A.J. Rahman - Kudos to American ignorance. Check out the Jay Leno show that he played on if you don't get head or tail of that).

The man who has produced innumerable soulful songs for Bollywood and Tollywood (or is it Kollywood? I'm talking about the Tamil Cinema Industry). Its really hard for an Indian to live without his music now. He is part of everyones playlist. Even those who ain't really great fans of music can't stop themselves from getting addicted to him.

Everyones heard his tracks from the movie "Gentleman" but not many know that he is a true gentleman on his own. A very down-to-earth man and one of those people who would rather shower his friends with love than indulge himself in fame. I was at awe of his love and affection for his mother when he said "Mere paas Ma hain" when he held the golden lady high! Such is the man that represents India at the highest level! Can anyone project the large-heartedness of the Indians better than Rahman can? Can anyone project the essence of Indian culture better than Rahman can? Can anyone project the love of Indians, for our nation, our Bharat, better than Rahman can? Can anyone project the very soul of our nation better than he can? As Marc Anthony said, "Where comes such another?"

Rahman, though you may never see this message, I shall still say this. You shall linger in my heart forever because you have shown me the light through the saddest of times and the best of times. You were the one that showed me that if a person wishes to achieve something, then he can achieve it, no matter what! You were the one that has shown me that love and affection surpasses all other things that this world offers. Rahman, I bow down to you. Rahman, I bow down to the GOD OF MUSIC!

About this blog

A true Janiac to the core, this is my opinion on the beauty that surround all of us :)

A Janiac, initially was defined as fan of the Indian Rock Band MOTHERJANE. But this word, for me, can be used to describe a man that listens to his heart and is filled with passion. I describe myself as one such Janiac!

Cheers
a\m/ajaniac

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