Day three and there was no taking chances. I was at the venue by 12 noon. Cactus was the first band to arrive for their sound check. They set-up the stage made their noise and I had to stave off the cops twice in the afternoon due to the noise levels. Must be some old fogies complaining that their Sunday afternoon siesta has be ruined. Anyway Usha Uthup arrived by 2 pm and did her sound check too and was off. Now as I watched the stage piled high with towers and towers of speakers on both sides, the stage performance area itself was reduced to a mass of monitors, equipment, wires, and mikes and it just made me wonder where they were going to stand and perform.
Anyway, taking no chances today, we opened the gates which already had serpentine lines formed outside at 5.15pm. Anjan Datta took the stage at 5.55pm and day three was underway at 6pm on the dot. Anjan performed some of his classics and at exactly 6.30pm left the stage. He had set up the mood perfectly for what was to come. Usha Uthup in her beautiful black sari and her signature sneakers took the stage and immediately got the crowd dancing. It was just awesome to see the crowd on their feet and dancing with abandon. Usha Uthup even after performing for 40 years still has the ability to arouse audiences. She truly is the original Rockstar of Calcutta.
Chandrabindoo, veterans of bangle rock took stage next and kept the tempo up. In customary style just as their performance the previous year at the Friends Music Festival, they ended their presence on stage by calling on all the Friends FM RJs on stage and singing along with them. But by the time Chnadrabindoo was off the stage and Cactus came on, we had gone a little awry on the time front and were running a bit behind the stipulated time. We didn’t want to go in for a repeat of the previous day and though the crowd was never made aware of the time and police restrictions, we needed to tighten up things. Cactus performed their best or so I heard. This was the first time I had witnessed them on stage. They were pretty awesome. They are tight band that delivered a punch and yet maintain melodious tunes.
Finally Bhoomi got on stage and by this time it was quite obvious that this was the day’s last performance. But to my surprise, the crowd didn’t thin out. Each act got respect and discerning ears and claps. The audience was just too good. They danced, they clapped, they swayed, they sat and listened, but most of all they packed the entire auditorium. We had a full house of 3000+ people. The bands were happy to play to such a packed house, we were happy to have been able to pull off such crowds and most of all the audiences were happy to have witnessed such a show for a mere Rs. 40/-.
Well after Bhoomi got off stage, I was happy yet sad. In fact it was a mixed bag of emotions. Getting such a big show together and now that it was over made me sad. At the same time the joy and elation and sense of accomplishment pulled me to the other side. And to see the crowds enjoy themselves so much was just awesome. Well unfortunately for me, I don’t really get to sit back and watch or listen to any of the performances. I’m running between the back stage areas, or clicking pictures in front of the stage, or heading to the gate, that walkie-talkie keeps buzzing and keeps me busy as a bee. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
So not that it’s over, well I’m getting all set to start work on the next edition of the Friends Music Festival. Hope to see all of you there!
Anyway, taking no chances today, we opened the gates which already had serpentine lines formed outside at 5.15pm. Anjan Datta took the stage at 5.55pm and day three was underway at 6pm on the dot. Anjan performed some of his classics and at exactly 6.30pm left the stage. He had set up the mood perfectly for what was to come. Usha Uthup in her beautiful black sari and her signature sneakers took the stage and immediately got the crowd dancing. It was just awesome to see the crowd on their feet and dancing with abandon. Usha Uthup even after performing for 40 years still has the ability to arouse audiences. She truly is the original Rockstar of Calcutta.
Chandrabindoo, veterans of bangle rock took stage next and kept the tempo up. In customary style just as their performance the previous year at the Friends Music Festival, they ended their presence on stage by calling on all the Friends FM RJs on stage and singing along with them. But by the time Chnadrabindoo was off the stage and Cactus came on, we had gone a little awry on the time front and were running a bit behind the stipulated time. We didn’t want to go in for a repeat of the previous day and though the crowd was never made aware of the time and police restrictions, we needed to tighten up things. Cactus performed their best or so I heard. This was the first time I had witnessed them on stage. They were pretty awesome. They are tight band that delivered a punch and yet maintain melodious tunes.
Finally Bhoomi got on stage and by this time it was quite obvious that this was the day’s last performance. But to my surprise, the crowd didn’t thin out. Each act got respect and discerning ears and claps. The audience was just too good. They danced, they clapped, they swayed, they sat and listened, but most of all they packed the entire auditorium. We had a full house of 3000+ people. The bands were happy to play to such a packed house, we were happy to have been able to pull off such crowds and most of all the audiences were happy to have witnessed such a show for a mere Rs. 40/-.
Well after Bhoomi got off stage, I was happy yet sad. In fact it was a mixed bag of emotions. Getting such a big show together and now that it was over made me sad. At the same time the joy and elation and sense of accomplishment pulled me to the other side. And to see the crowds enjoy themselves so much was just awesome. Well unfortunately for me, I don’t really get to sit back and watch or listen to any of the performances. I’m running between the back stage areas, or clicking pictures in front of the stage, or heading to the gate, that walkie-talkie keeps buzzing and keeps me busy as a bee. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
So not that it’s over, well I’m getting all set to start work on the next edition of the Friends Music Festival. Hope to see all of you there!
ANJAN DUTTA
USHA UTHUP
CHANDRABINDOO
CHANDRABINDOO with 91.9 Friends FM RJs. RJ Radhica, RJ Sharmistha, RJ Nilanjana, RJ Ryan, RJ Raja, RJ Purbasha & RJ Amit
CACTUS
BHOOMI
USHA UTHUP CHANDRABINDOO CHANDRABINDOO with 91.9 Friends FM RJs. RJ Radhica, RJ Sharmistha, RJ Nilanjana, RJ Ryan, RJ Raja, RJ Purbasha & RJ AmitCACTUSBHOOMI
No Music Festival can be complete without an Audience. And here are some glimpses of the audience dancing to the tunes of the musicians.
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