They Play On...

Last evening I went to Some Place Else to meet a friend who was leaving Kolkata and wanted to listen to Hip Pocket for the last time. So we met up at SPE and I have to admit, though Hip Pocket did goof up on a track, they have just mastered Pink Floyd and Dire Straits and a whole lot of other stuff. I couldn’t believe it when they kind of fumbled on one of my all time favourite songs and one that they play so well called Get Back by the Beatles.

Anyway the evening went on and we heard them out and were joined by several more friends. The band stopped playing and the program was to move over to Roxy and then maybe come back for the next band that was playing a little later. But then the DJ played a series of really nice Disco tracks from way back when disco was disco, and transported me back to the days or afro hairdos and bell bottoms and shiny disco balls. We stayed on till he completed playing those tracks and then moved to Roxy after paying our tab.

On the way out I wanted to check who was playing next and saw that Urban Reflection was the next band up to perform that evening and then my eye caught the name below, Indian Ocean. Indian Ocean was going to be performing on Saturday night from 9 pm onward. I thought to myself, I haven’t heard those guys in a while and must make it. Then the scenes of their last performance here flashed in my head. I didn’t even get a wink into the place. People had filled up the entire Park Hotel lobby just to try and get in. So lets see, maybe I take a shy.

So we then went into Roxy to be met at the gate by our mad, mad, mad dancer friend Hitesh. And all you regulars probably know him. He’s the most hilarious and friendly mad hatter. We caught him trying the write stuff on the wall. What he was writing only he knew. Anyway a brief tête-à-tête and we proceeded into the more or less packed night club. I really like the ambiance in terms of it being modern, slick and minimalist. The Dj was belting out the latest Bollywood chart-busters interspersed with some Latino and hip-hop numbers. Katie, of Salsa India fame, was burning up the floor with a lady friend of his. I guess that’s the live commercial for sign ups for his classes. The guys has the moves, you’ve got to admit.

After about an hour in Roxy, though we didn’t dance the pulsating music and the party people dancing and jumping on the floor just got us tired. So we headed back to SPE. Urban Reflection was playing to a few patrons who I’m assuming were their friends and I was thinking they need to brush up their act. So we left and decided to grab some grub at Azad Hind Dhaba.

The place was shut, well technically shut, but service was on. So we ordered a whole lot of food for the 6 of us, which mainly was chicken, reshmi kebabs, tandoori chicken, chicken bharta and butter tandoori rotis. That was quite a feast. I can’t really tell you how much it all cost because I didn’t pay for the treat.