For this year’s event, I’m currently not able to exact link of Fireflies Music Festival 2008.. However, found some info on www.couchsurfing.com via samasmedialab.net.. Thanks for that buddy !

The Fest:
Fireflies Festival of Music begins at 6 p.m. on 23rd Feb and will go on till 6 a.m. on Sunday.

* The fest is ‘inspired by the World Sacred Music Festival, held annually at the mystical city of Fes, in Morocco’.
* The stage is set around the base of a massive banyan-tree. A beautiful amphitheatre overlooks the stage and a lake where beautiful people are sprawled on their colorful mattresses, right under the stars, completely enchanted by the melodious sounds coming out of the banyan tree.
* The sound from the Jamo speakers and colorful lights give the 2000-strong audience a celestial psychedelic effect. It’s a night where culture meets nature, east meets west, passion meets fusion.
* The festival covers a wide range of musical genres: Baul, Qawwali, Hindustani/ Carnatic Fusion, Jazz, Folk, Sacred/ Mystical Music.

[See my fireflies music festival 2007's review for more details of the different genres on show]

Location:
Fireflies, Dinnepalya Village, Kaggalipura Post, Off Kanakarapura Road (approx. 20 kms), Bangalore: 560082

A Brief about the location:
Fireflies is about 80 acres of nature where organic farming is applied. There is a variety of trees. There are about 5 dogs on the ground but only Gaali (meaning Wind in Kannada) entertains the guest. He is a 3 yr old Labrador, a treat for dog-lovers and bitches!

Other Activities:
* tarrot reading!
* Get introduced Indian Handloom fabrics
* A Walk in the woods

Food and Beverages:
* Food will be arranged on the venue.
* Only water will be available
* bring your own beverages

Things to Bring:
* mattresses and pillows
* mosquito repellants.

Tickets:
Last year, we got it at the venue itself and if i remember correctly it was priced around 100-200, don’t remember exactly..

Disclaimer:
I haven’t found the direct source of this news. Kindly confirm from other sources or look-back for updates (if any). Course, do let me know, if you find it yourself..

Its raining bands in bangalore and this time its one of the greatest rock & roll bands of all times, Aerosmith.

Yes its true, though earlier there was news that Aerosmith would be performing in Mumbai. It appears now that they will be performing in namma bengaluru at palace grounds on June 2, 2007.

Still, don’t believe me.. Check out the link: http://www.aerosmith.com/tour.cfm

Aeroforceone.com, the official fan club site also says “STATUS: Please Note VENUE and CITY CHANGE”

I don’t think you wanna miss this thing !!

UPDATE:

www.ticketpro.in says tickets will be available from May 10, 2007

Tickets are priced at Rs. 1200 & Rs. 1800 (Rs. 300 more than the Iron Maiden concert)

Apparently tickets can be bought online at https://shop.ticketpro.in/event_detail.asp?evnt=37 (i’m yet to try it)

Latest Update:

Tickets available in select Nokia, Planet M, Reliance Web World, Baskin Robins, Opus outlets..

[Image above: Tala Vadya, Percussion Band]

The Fireflies Festival of Sacred Music was held on Saturday (April 14, 2007) at the Fireflies Ashram, off Kanakapura road in Bangalore. It was earlier called as Bhoomi Jathre and this is the fifth year that the festival was being organized. The theme for this year is “Business and social/ecological responsibility.”

My experience at this event follows:

I got a forwarded email about this event and was recommended as a must see by my friend Subhash, who had been there for the previous edition in 2006. However, our only plan after watching the movie namesake was to enjoy a 18 km drive on Kanakapura road and hang out at the fireflies centre for an hour or so. So, we reached the place at around 9 pm. By the way, this event was from 6 pm (sunset) to 6 am (sunrise), which demanded a night out. However, we stuck around till 2 am and believe me, it was totally worth it..

The ambiance for this all-night event was just amazing. The stage was built around a huge banyan tree, below which the various bands performed. The audience (about 500 of them) were seated on concrete amphitheater like seats and comfortably looked down on the bands. I could see that few people had come prepared with shawls and even pillows for the night out.

The first musical event we saw was the “Tala Vadya” percussion group. I am not much of a classical musical expert, but that did not stop me from enjoying the different rhythms and thallas played by the musicians playing on different percussion instruments like mridangam, tabla, gatam, percussion pad etc..

[Video above: Tala Vadya (Karnataka College of Percussion)]

Next, was a performance by Clio Karabelia on the harp. Her hand and finger movement on the harp strings looked quite complicated and I appreciate her talent for the same. But, there was something wrong with this fusion performance, my views:

• The sitar and tabla was more dominant and audible
• She had some trouble tuning the harp (which we were told is a complicated process, because of the size and number of strings)
• She singing the hindu hymns honestly wasn’t working

[Image and Video above: Clio Karabelia (French Harpist), accompanied by Indian classical Music (Sitar and Tabla)]

Just when we wanted to leave, we heard about the next performance by the Jazz revival band. Leaving, No way !! What can I say, you had to be there to have enjoy the moment, which transported you to some other world..

[Image and Video above: Dr. Thomas Chandy with his group - Jazz Revival]

The next event of dollu kunita (drum dance in kannada) was definitely the highlight of the night, in terms of energy and sheer excitement it brought among the crowd watching. Later even after the event was over on stage, the crowd joined the drummers and danced like crazy to the beats of this dance form from Karnataka.. hats-off to the troupe member’s talent and stamina (to dance and perform continuously for an hour or so)

[Image and Video above: Dollu Kunita, watch for the building tempo of the drum beats and exhilarating dance movements in this video]

Other performances were to follow, like the famed oikyotaan, but it was time to go.. I will be there next year, prepared and ready with a better camera..

Fireflies music festival 2006:

• photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jace/sets/72057594103824468/
• review: http://aravind-krishnaswamy.blogspot.com/2006/04/fireflies-festival-of-sacred-music.html
• The Hindu: http://www.hindu.com/2006/03/31/stories/2006033100510200.htm

A Different World called Iron Maiden.

“Tell me what you can hear,
And then tell me what you see,
Everybody has a different way to view the world.
I would like you to know,
When you see the simple things,
To appreciate this life, it’s not too late to learn.”

These are the exact words that put Maiden fans in a “Different World”, a world filled with untainted adulation, a world of awe for this legendary Heavy Metal band from Britain! With these very words put into practice about 7 years ago, we begun our journey with Iron Maiden. I vividly remember a college rock show where a band covered “The Trooper“. This was during our pre-Maiden (Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Metallica) days and this was our first association with a Maiden number! What followed was a friend lending us the tape of “Best of the Beast” and asking us to start off with “Hallowed be thy name“, “2 minutes to Midnight” and “The Trooper“. A compilation of some of the “best” (while compiling a list for Maiden, the word “best” would include nothing lesser than their Discography) Maiden tracks, we instantly took a deep liking to this form of music, personified by the name Iron Maiden. And as they all say, the rest is history!

The Ides of March, sorry…the 17th of March.

[Image above: Anxious crowd waiting, as soon as gates were open at 3 pm]

On the 13th day of February ’07, our dreams had begun to materialize, the minute it was officially announced that 6 Gods were going to bless their disciples in Bangalore. The 17th of March!!! The day of reckoning!!! The day when over 30,000 fans would eventually lose their “Iron Maiden virginity”! It all began after a number of sleepless nights leading to the 17th. Armed with the invaluable tools (tickets) for entering the king’s courtyard (for the uninitiated, the show was held at the Bangalore Palace), we were there at the Palace by 11:45 AM. And yes, we were not alone…a thousand other Maidenheads with soaring adrenalin levels had positioned themselves as close as possible, to the entrance gate which was to be opened only by 3! Phew! After a(n) (im)patient, never-ending wait, the gates were finally FORCED open by relentless Maidenheads at 2:45 PM. This was where it all started. The security guard who was supposed to frisk people at the gate, never knew what hit him. Hundreds cannoned through and sprinted towards the stage in a manner not too different from an army charging towards it’s target.

[Image above: The human wall and the chaos to get to the front of it]

The human wall starting from the stage barricade, thickened in no time and we were in the midst of it, getting pushed, moshed…basically crushed, all to occupy a place as close to the stage as humanly possible. Middle of March, the temperature soaring to almost 35 degrees (the temperature inside the human wall was at least 2-3 degrees higher), the 8 of us were firstly separated, then pushed and we were dehydrated in no time! We would give anything for even a few drops of that life saving liquid – water! After an hour and a half of this extremity, we could take it no more. Making our way through the hordes of Maiden armies, we finally reached the sound console, where life was a little less hectic and we finally breathed freely. This was the way it all started, before even a single note by the opening band was played!

The Wasted Years before the Revelations.

[Image above: A thousand fingers in the air for FTN]

After 90 more minutes, the first opening act (don’t even bother about what they called themselves…in short, F*** The Name) took the stage and they SUCKED! In the thought of what was to come 2 bands after this, we patiently ignored this band. After being booed off, the next band was Parikrama, which was much better. They played an own-comp setlist which was well appreciated by probably the biggest crowd they’ll ever get. They were really good, with a couple of acoustic songs, with well timed violin pieces in their numbers. After another 45 minutes of this, just after sunset came Lauren Harris and her troupe. Their songs were not that bad, but Lauren Harris has a lot to work on, regarding her vocal duties. Going off key several times during the show, she didn’t steal many Bangalore hearts as far as music was concerned!

A show Brighter than a thousand suns!

When Iron Maiden announced that they were playing in India, the excitement levels soared. But the interim period between Lauren Harris and the Intro for Iron Maiden, saw the 25,000 strong crowd screaming like there’s no tomorrow. Groups of people taking their places at various parts of the ground, some of them rushing to the food/drink stalls to grab a quick one before they get ready to face reality, some others mouthing lyrics of the innumerable Maiden anthems…this was the scene, which can be best described as the lull before the storm.

Suddenly, all the lights were off, as a forewarning of things to come. I’ve been a part of many a rock concert, but THIS was the moment thousands were craving for. THIS was reality. THIS was the time to scream out LOUD. THIS was something else. THIS was Iron Maiden!!! The lights on stage turned bright red and the Intro begun. I’ve never heard louder screams in my life and I’m not sure if I ever will, in future. The Intro lasted about 25-30 seconds, with crimson red lights flashing all across the stage. As suddenly as this had begun, the Intro came to a halt and the stage was again enveloped in darkness for 2 seconds.

Immediately, the stage lights were turned on, with a brilliant display of flashing white, and the first notes of “Different World” were belted out. Thousands of mobile phone cameras were held up, focusing on the stage to capture the moment! For the first time in history, India got a glimpse of 5 GODS in front of them! As soon as the initial notes were played, the 6th GOD (yes, Bruce Dickinson) came running on to the stage, jumping over a monitor screaming out “You lead me on the path, keep showing me the way…”! THIS WAS IT!!! The decibel levels in the crowd were something that would be best explained ONLY by being a part of it! The Iron Maiden experience had kicked off, and in the most INCREDIBLE manner! In short, Bangalore was transported to a “Different World”!!! The Gods were their usual self, unleashing note perfect energy to all parts of the crowd. Their energy on stage was something which India has never previously experienced. Bruce Dickinson, 49 years young, was running to all parts of the stage, and yet not missing a single note! He sounded exactly like he did in the studio version of the song and this went on till the last note. The first song came to an end. We had just seen Iron Maiden play a number live!

The crowd was just warming up, when Steve Harris struck the beginning notes of “These Colours Don’t Run”. Needless to say, the decibel levels reached another record, while the band was going about with such ease, alike a stroll in the park. We all sang along with Bruce, those powerful lines which portray the scenes just before a war and the situation after it begins. For another 6 odd minutes, the Gods became soldiers in the battlefield…Bruce the commander in chief, Adrian, Dave and Janick with their machine guns, Steve with his missile launcher and Nicko with his battle tank with many arms, definitely capturing the 25,000 strong crowd in a vice like grip!

The end of this number signalled the start of “Brighter than a Thousand Suns”, one of the epic tracks from Maiden’s 2006 release, “A Matter of Life and Death”. This track had Bruce taking the highest notes with such ease, that it really left us stunned! The commander in chief had lit up the environment to an extent that would make even the sun a little coy. After all it was “Brighter than a Thousand Suns”!

The first 3 tracks of the latest album were thrown open to us in succession. It was time for Bruce to address the crowd. This he did and he was extremely positive about the scene in India becoming “a lot different after tonight”. He went on about how he met a person who had waited 17 years for this day. The remark that brought out the greatest cheer in the concert was “the next time, you won’t have to wait for 17 years, not even 17 months. We will be back here in another year”!!! We got goose bumps when we heard this. Truly amazing! Just after this, Bruce spoke about Moksha’s vocalist, the late Leon Ireland and he dedicated the next song “Wrathchild” to this person. A world famous band dedicating one of their songs to the vocalist of a local band in India? Yes, we were all humbled at this nice gesture by the Gods.

“Wrathchild” was the first of the older songs that Maiden played. Can this song start without Bruce’s siren-like announcement? Never! And so, “Wraaaaaathchhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiillllllldddddddd” begun and it was as hard and filled with chorus as ever. The crowd made no fuss in assisting Bruce with the chorus and so “Wrathchild” came out of 25,000 mouths, whenever Bruce pointed the mike at us.

The next song needed absolutely no introduction and without a warning came the opening beats/notes of “The Trooper”. There were several things noteworthy in this song – The brilliant backdrop on screen, in which Eddie stood in the battlefield, holding the Union Jack. Just for this song, Bruce had put on a red jersey and he too waved the Union Jack in command, as his co-soldiers fought the war, blasting out galloping sounds and firing canon shots. The atmosphere was again like a battle ground, and the crowd was jumping in unison, making it look like the Gods were leading a 25k strong army towards the enemy! This was absolutely magnificent!

Benjamin Breeg died in the above battle and he was reincarnated! “The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg” was next and the band marched on with pin point precision, as Bruce unleashed those note perfect lines filled with emotion. He is in that league of vocalists who can portray emotion excellently with variations in voice. When he sings “Someone to save me, something to save my from myself…” in the song, it portrays an emotion in itself! His vocals were absolutely mind blowing on this track!

“For the Greater Good of God” was the next epic from Maiden’s 2006 release. Another extremely catchy track by Steve Harris, it started off with the Iron Maiden founder’s bass lines. The sound emanating from ‘Arry’s bass is always powerful and it wasn’t different this time. The crowd sang along, describing war and it’s aftermath. The lines in this song pose questions about war and about how stupid and nonsensical the concept of war is. In the song, Bruce was as hyper-active as ever, running from pillar to post and belting out the lines. He repeatedly positioned himself on the right and left pillars on either side of the stage and remarked “Tell me why, tell me why”, questioning all parts of the crowd the purpose of war. We were absolutely thrilled to watch such activity live. It was a classic!

When a particular bass voice (known to all Maidenheads, worldwide) starts off with the words “Woe to you Oh Earth and Sea”, it is but natural for any Maiden fan to become possessed and start acting like the devil himself. This was what precisely happened. “The Number of the Beast” was what caused the noise level to reach another record at the Bangalore Palace. Extremely catchy, with a chorus that goes “Six, Six, Six…The Number of the Beast“, the entire crowd joined Bruce in those sacred chants. The lines “I’m coming back I will return, And I’ll possess your body and I’ll make you burn. I have the fire I have the force I have the power to make my evil take it’s course” in this context have so much meaning, in us expecting the Gods to return and possess us again in 2008!

“Fear of the Dark” has to be the song which evoked the loudest response from the crowd. Even the casual listener will hum the tune and sing out some lines of this track. Such is the popularity of this song! By saying that 30,000 people (yes, by this time of the concert, there were a few thousands added to the crowd) sang along with Bruce, every line in unison with exact timing, I’m not exaggerating, one bit! Yes, the atmosphere was electric and the band, I’m sure were pleasantly shocked to realize they were this popular in India. In short, this sounded really like the live version of the song, we are so much accustomed to hearing. A memory to cherish forever!

“Run to the Hills” started off after just a 2-3 second pause, with Nicko really giving the bass drum several powerful beatings. Being an old number, the crowd instantly recognised it and the mass singing began, with the crowd volume going a bit higher on the chorus. Bruce held out the mike several times and the crowd didn’t disappoint him. Another classic!

The next track was special. Very special. Many fans will know that Bruce is nicknamed “The Siren” for his wailing, screeching voices and for his sustenance of this pitch for a really long time. With this would comes his characteristic “Screaaaaaaaammmmmmmmm for me…” followed by the place of the concert. This statement is exactly like the commander-in-chief giving out an order for a war cry and his army of thousands screaming out before the final charge! This is what we were waiting for! The track I’m referring to is “Iron Maiden”. It is usually preceded by the war cry order and the war cry. This time, it was “Screaaaaaaaaammm for me Bangaloreeeeeeeeee, SCCCCRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAMMMMMM FOR ME BANNGAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEE” and then the army screamed out and the charge, oops sorry…the song began. In the middle of this, the music suddenly came to a halt and the stage was lit up by flashing lights and sounds of bombs/grenades/gunshots. There was a battle on stage. After about 30 seconds of this, there came the canon arm of a tanker, which turned to point to the crowd and then, a loud canon shot – BOOOOOOOM! All was quiet on stage and then “Iron Maiden” resumed! It was spectacular! What a display! What a stage setup! We were stunned into silent admiration!

After the final notes of “Iron Maiden”, the thank you, the throwing of plectrums and drumsticks into the crowd, etc was done and the Gods returned for an encore. Bruce introduced the band members starting off with Janick, then Dave, Adrian, Steve and Nicko. When Bruce was about to introduce himself, the crowd did the job for him. 30k fans screamed out “Bruce, Bruce..” in unison! The frontman was stunned into silence and announced the time – “2 Minutes to Midnight“! Another old Maiden classic, this song was known by most of the crowd, as they sand along the lines with the Gods.

The next in line was “The Evil that Men do”. This track is very special, for a reason. In most concerts, the Gods prefer to get their mascot Eddie, out on the stage during this song. It was expected, but still when the 15 feet tall Eddie came out from behind onto the stage, it was a sight to remember! With blood red-lit eyes, looking evil as hell, Edward the Great walked, but not too late. This was another crest in the sinusoidal of crowd participation. Edd-Fest was alive and rocking!

Can Iron Maiden ever play a concert without their ’82 classic “Hallowed be thy Name”? No way! One of the most popular tracks of Maiden, ever! This was never missed in any Maiden live show and will probably never be left out in future! With each old classic, the intensity of the crowd reached new records and this was the highest! The song started off slowly, picking up in intensity, but the crowd was jumping and shouting, with raised arms and extreme enthusiasm. In the middle of the song, where the tempo slows down and again picks up with the drums, just before the solo, Bruce for the final few times let out orders for war cries and the crowd was only too glad to oblige.

THIS was Maiden! THIS was their intensity! THIS was what brought out the best in thousands gathered for the single cause – IRON MAIDEN! They came, they saw and they most definitely conquered! Playing for about an hour and 45 minutes, it seemed like they just started 15 minutes ago! Bruce himself remarked “It was very special…too good, but too short“. He couldn’t have put it better! As we left the venue, we hope these Gods return in a year, as promised! In their own words,

“I’m coming back I will return
And I’ll possess your body and I’ll make you burn
I have the fire I have the force
I have the power to make my evil take it’s course”

We, at India definitely want THIS evil to take it’s course back here!!!

A review by my friend thedeviltopay

Super post man.. Thanks !!

Not exactly a review. But I had to yell it out… The beasts are coming !!

Yes, it’s official. After hearing a lot of rumours about this for a while now, it turns out that its really true. The Gods of Metal “Iron Maiden” will perform in Bangalore on March 17, 2007.

Still don’t believe me, here are the links:

BBC: Iron Maiden plan first Indian gig

IronMaiden.com: Iron Maiden announce summer tour and ground breaking show in India

Tickets (Rs. 1500 and Rs. 900) : www.ticketpro.in (currently only reserving, when I checked)

Update: Read review of the concert

Always keen to take Metal to new places, Maiden will for the first time ever play in India, on the spectacular grounds of Bangalore’s Palace on Saturday 17th March, marking the first time a major metal band has ever played in the subcontinent.

Iron Maiden’s new album, ‘A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH’ reached No 2 in the Indian album charts after debuting at No 4, which is believed to be the highest chart position in India ever for any rock act. Maiden will be the first to bring in a full massive western style stage production – air freighting in almost 20 tons of backline equipment and their huge stage Production for this one show.

Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson commented “To say we’re all really looking forward to going to Bangalore is something of an understatement. It’s very special to us to be able play to new fans in countries we’ve never been to before, and we hear the Indian fans are very loud and into their metal. The whole trip will be an exciting time for us and we intend to enjoy every moment there. The fans should know that we are bringing the whole stage show we used in Europe and America and that Eddie will definitely be joining us! We are crafting a special set to include both songs from A Matter of Life and Death and a load of other favorites. It promises to be an absolutely amazing atmosphere playing outdoors in front of the palace.”

A spokesman from the promoters DNA Networks explained, “As this is the first show ever in India to feature three other acts in addition to an international headliner, it will be our first ever festival of sorts and as such an historic occasion. As the setting is the beautiful open site in the palace grounds we thought the occasion should be marked with a special name so we are calling the event ‘EDD-FEST’. We are confident that Maiden and ‘EDD-FEST’ will encourage more Western bands in the future to join us and play here in India, something which would greatly please the huge number of Rock fans in this country. The appearance on the bill of Britain’s Lauren Harris will also be the first time Indian fans will have seen a rock band fronted by a girl”

The biggest reason for these two remakes(ed: Sholay, Don) not going to work is that unlike Sanjay L Bhansali, or Vidhu Chopra(or whoever directed Parineeta), these folks have chosen stuff that is mostly fresh in the minds of people – and that is the biggest challenge – which was why, until small B found his niche, he just couldnt do things Big B was doing/had done!

Well, Farhan Akhtar has almost proved me right – going from the previews at least. The storyline, though set outside of India, apparently, retains the same characters, and remains mostly true to the original. And Farhan Akthar has made the crucial mistake of retaining the old songs, but in their own 2006 versions.

The result? Each of the old songs sounds like a badly remixed version more suited to be produced by someone like Instant Karma, or some silly DJ, than a major bollywood movie! Main hoon don , Yeh mera dil are bad, bad copies of the original, in pure musical terms. The videos are quite rotten too.

Kareena Kappor is so much like a lifeless doll in “Yeh Mera Dil” that you wonder if the folks making it, and then retaining it, also made the campaing for the CBZ Xtreme!

In SRK’s imagery of the Don dunking champagne onto himself, its not the Don we see, but SRK of Darr, Baazigar, DDLJ. The character has been sacrificed for the star – and what a bad sacrifice it has been. Coming after SRK’s performances in recent movies like Kal Ho Na Ho, Main Hoon Na, Veer Zaara, Swades, this one is regrettable.

Then, that song.

Khaike Paan Banaraswallah is amongst the best songs to come from the 70s. Everything from the Banarasiya lingo, to the dance, the music is spot on. What we get in this movie is a remixed version that will make Kishore Kumar, Anjaan(lyricist) and KalyanJi (of Kalyanji-Anandji) turn in their graves. And the video has SRK playing an idiot wannabe.

It is such an insult to fans of the movie, and the song to be foisted upon with such utter rubbish. I just hope(against hope) it puts an end to crappy remakes of cult classics.

Got a review? Do write in!

One of the latest FM radios to hit bangalore is RADIO INDIGO @ 91.9 MHz. They call themselves the first international radio station in India. This means they are going after the market which listens to english music only. Still genre-unlimited though: Pop, Rock, Trance, 70s etc. Bangalore being the rock-capital of India, really needed this kind-off a channel. But why do we need to wait for 8 pm for the good rock songs ??

Radio Indigo is not new to the business. They had been broadcasting on Worldspace, the satellite radio. I was not into worldspace, so not commenting on that.

The good part for now is that, the ads are yet to creep in. “The color of music” punch-line is not really working though. It does not match “sakkat hot maga” of radio mirchi. The enthu level of the radio can be improved a bit, maybe with more interactive events.

My favorite shows are:

Weekdays:

7 am to 11 am, The Big breakfast, RJ Cindu Chandrashekaran (Great morning songs)
2 pm to 5 pm, Indigo Jukebox, RJ Ayesha D’souza (Good RJ, but rumoured to be sponsored by backstreet boys )
8 pm to 12 am, Night Patrol, RJ Geoffrey Thomas (Classic & contemporary rock)

Saturday:

7am to 10am, Retro Rockets, RJ Tommy and Madhuri
3pm to 7pm, American Top 40, RJ Ryan Seacrest

SMS : 2919
Phone : 25502919
Email : request@radioindigo.fm

Just read an article on The Hindu about a new indian internet radio station RadioVerve dedicated to independent indian music. I am hooked now !!

I’ve always been aware of the amazing musical talent in India, who showup from nowhere at few of the rock shows (bit rare these days though). But the tragedy in the Indian “Music Industry” is that you are forced to play in hindi and shift to “pop” genres to break into the market, which is just not acceptable for most indian bands. Hindi is debatable but pop, no way !!

Now, radioverve has put this amazing thing together with a good listing of indian bands for a start. This includes some of my favorite bands like Moksha, Kryptos, Myndsnare, TAAQ , Sceptre, Asura etc..

Forget it, stop reading, just logon to Radio Verve at http://radioverve.com

How to listen-in:

Free Operating Systems

* XMMS: Ctrl-L > http://play-hi.radioverve.com/ (Make sure you enable “shoutcast-style-metadata” in your mpeg input plugin)

Windows

* Windows Media Player: Ctrl-U > http://play-hi.radioverve.com/
* Winamp: File > Play URL > http://play-hi.radioverve.com/
* iTunes: Advanced > Open Stream > http://play-hi.radioverve.com/

My Wish list:

* A live RJ introducing the bands/atleast an automated voice for a start..
* More bands, maybe even from neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Nepal and SriLanka..
* Seperate playlists for death, hard, soft, hindi etc..

This movie is second of the trilogy of the Police stories which he is directing. The first one being Kakka Kakka (An episode in a young police officer’s Life) and this (Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu) one being the story of a Middle aged Police officer’s lifestory. And the last one yet to come is of a senior police officer’s life story.

This movie will easily win the best Villain award. Gautham (director) manages to bring out the best of the villains. Even for his previous movie, the actor won the best villain. Even though the villian comes in the second half of the movie, the scenes are scary, gruesome and gripping, all credit to the villain (he is just toooooo goood). His dialogues with Kamal and Jyothika in the climax is to be watched. Its very funny at the same time terrifying and scary.

Kamal should shed some weight and continue his world class acting. The matured romance between Kamal and Jyothika needs a special mention.

Would’nt want to reveal the movie details, just in a line, its a chase for two doctors/serial killers. The execution of each and every murder is very very gruesome and scary and haunting. Its a must watch for everyone, even for non-tamilians. Very solid technical details. The way new york is pictured is simple superb. Hats off to Ravi Varman for his cinematography. This movie is not inferior to any Hollywood one. Tamil movies are catching up with them. Great direction by Gautham

Prakash Raj is superb in the cameo which he comes. Its Kamal all the way. Too bad the other heroine Kamalini Mukherjee didn’t get much attention. Absolutely no comedy sequences at all in this thriller. Thats a great attempt by the director in these times when comedy is given lots of importance in Tamil movies. Background score by Harris Jayaraj is simply superb. Music is outstanding once again by Harris Jayaraj. World class. I wasnt a Kamal fan, but now after seeing it, certainly yes.

The serial killers are gays (homosexuals) but they rape all their victims? (All victims r women) ??? So just wondering???

An excellent movie. Worth a second watch. I am gonna drag my friends 4 this movie (kamu, nara and sumesh, be prepared)….I have already promised Raj & Sri for another watch..(My other set of frnds)..