Gig Review: JRO (June Rock Out) Chennai 2009

Ok here's my "short" review about a few bands at the gig. I was out of the show for as long as I was in and so, missed a few of the bands.

I don't judge bands. I jus write it is as I see it.

Day 1 of JRO 2009 started off with Christian grindcore band Blood Covenant hitting the stage. This band goes back a really long time. Eddie, the vocalist of BC used to sing for Chennai's first ever grindcore band Bonesaw way back in 1992! They played a short, intense set and a pretty damn good one too but I've seen better from them. Hurricane was pounding away at 240bpm and Wolf's fingers were a blur on the guitar but the band lacked the energy to get the crowds going.. Crowds were jus trickling when BC hit the stage and only a handful of dedicated metalheads stood in front and headbanged. Covers included Priests Of The Underground (Mortification) and Reject (Living Sacrifice) among others.

The next band Realms from Hyderabad were pretty good. Not really metal, more like 80's hard rock, reminiscent of early Scorpions I'd say. They had a good guitarist. Nice techniques, extremely clean playing but no real feel in the solos. The vocalist was pretty good but like most overconfident guys with a mic in their hands, he got pretty annoying towards the end. I remember a song called Escape From The Abyss, nothing else really.

Dark Horizon from Assam was a band like I've never heard before. They sounded like blues, funk, reggae and even jazz, all rolled up into a neat package, served with great vocals and wonderful guitaring. I didn't watch this band live but I heard their music from outside the hall and was very impressed by them. I hear that the singer of the band won the best vocalist award at IIT Kanpur, which by no means is an easy feat. I'd love to watch them again if I could, chilling on a nice chair with a beer in my hand..

Chennai's very own Null Friction were making a comeback after a year abroad, and they did not disappoint. Playing songs from their new album Madras, they had the music, the crowds and a whole lotta energy to boot. Ansh's drumming punched hard and Shreyans was all over the place, However, my opinion of their gig was that their music seemed very repetitive, with the essential 'sound' of the band staying the same for the whole gig. I really like the songs these guys come up with. Good ol' hard rock with no strings attached but being riff based songs, these guys really need something different in the music to keep people interested. Still, a very good band and a good show.

The only other metal band on Day 1 was Heretic, from Cochin. I signed them onto my label based only on their recordings, their previous laurels and response from people who've watched their show before. And I did not regret my decision. What an explosive act!! Fingers flying all over the place and you could feel the energy pulsating from the band. Akhil the vocalist had the crowds on the palm of his hand and they swayed with the music, screaming for more. Chennai usually isn't too kind to metal bands but evidently, Heretic made an exception. Setlist was: Reprise, Bleed To Heal, Thoughts, Change, Slaves And The System and a cover by Killswitch Engage. At the end of the gig, the two guitarists Abhijit and Hareesh were asked by Harmony Musicials India (HMI) to play Metallica's Master Of Puppets using the newly launched Rage guitars, which went on pretty well. All in all, the crowds absolutely loved the band. A small screw-up happened midway during the gig when the Abhijit broke his string had to go offstage to change, but this incident didn't dent the overall performance.

I didn't stick around for Rusty Moe and E-Flat, so don't know what they played and how they sounded.

The first band to start the proceedings on Day 2 was Touchwood. Now these guys played some real crazy music, something in the vein of Dave Matthews Band and Hootie & The Blowfish. Jazz funk with a lot of other varied musical influences. I recall that the guitarist and keyboardist were good and the female vocalist was outstanding. A real smoky voice, sounded wonderful and complimented the band perfectly. Don't remember any of their originals though.

Public Issue are usually a great, extremely entertaining band and I love watching them play live. Being finalists of the Campus Rock Idols, they really know how to play a good set too but on Saturday, they were just all over the place. Nipun, who usually has a beautiful guitar tone almost tore my eardrums off with a sharp scratchy tone and Kristo's vocals jus didn't pep me up the way it usually does. They played a few originals like Spiderpig and Clockwork but they were all over-shadowed by their abysmal Michael Jackson medley. I mean, its not the way the played the songs. They played it well but trying to infuse funk rock with classic MJ is a definate no-no and thats jus' what the band did. I remember them played Black Or White, Smooth Criminal, Beat It and Billie Jean but with the alternate versions and the scratchy guitar tone, I jus got pissed off. I was really surprised though. Public Issue is a super band and I've seen them play way better shows..

Skrat was without a doubt, my pick for best band of the day. I've seen these guys play when they were jus starting out a couple of years back, and they had promise but lacked a lot of factors needed to really make it big. At JRO, they were completely different. They had everything a real professional band needs. Great stage presence, great energy, had the crowds and most importantly, they played some friggin' great music! Their originals like Red Shoes and Stay Wild among others got the crowds singing along and screaming for more. In fact, the crowds even braved the initial onslaught of the rain and stayed put in front of the stage to watch the band play. I was really impressed with these guys. If you're reading this, kudos to you!

Bleed from B'Lore started off with some nice solid nu-metal stuff. The jump-the-f**k-up kind that really gets you on your feet. They even played a Limp Bizkit cover (don't remember which one) but they lost their way after that by playing Vindicated, Iris and some other alt rock stuff. If they'd continued in the nu-metal vein, they'd have been a huge success (My opinion, obviously) Of course, the alt rock music got all the girls on their feet and they were all, ooh, I love this Goo Goo Dolls song, etc but I was disappointed with the way the set ended..

I didn't really watch Blood And Iron's whole set. Watched them play The Alter and Anarchy, don't remember the rest. I'm not a huge fan of their music, but I do respect them. They've been around a long time and are one of Chennai's premier metal bands today, so.. From what I saw, they were pretty impressive. Mark's vocals are great and Manu's a crazy drummer. I also grabbed a copy of their new album Dynamite World which was on sale at the venue. The Rain Gods blessed Chennai when B&I were onstage but the crowds braved and rain and stayed in their place, jumping and screaming for more. They are among the most popular metal bands in the city and it wasn't hard to see why, after their performance at the gig..

Abraxas was the last metal band of the day before Motherjane. Coming down all the way from Pune, they were tight, in-your-face and heavy as all hell but the overdose of LoG influences put me off big time. They were a great live act and had some crazy energy, got the crowds going with moshpits and wild headbanging, but the whole band seemed to be trying to hard to sound (or not) like LoG. I'm a huge LoG fan, I can't get enough of them but I don't appreciate bands that try so hard to emulate them and I felt Abraxas was one of them. I'd surely watch these guys live again, though I'm not too sure I'd spend too much time listening to their originals. I liked the drummer, he was pretty tight.

I didn't watch Crimson Wood play on Day 2 but I hear they were pretty good.

Motherjane was the headlining act for JRO 2009, and were they great or what?! Complete with face paint and a whole road crew to boot, this band is really going places. I also picked up a copy of their second album Maktub (review on Headbangers India) plus a motherjane tshirt. Fusing Carnatic music with classic rock, Motherjane have carved a niche for themselve in the Indian music scene. Starting off with Chasing The Sun off their new album, they went into Mindstreet, Blood Into The Apple and other originals of theirs. At one point, Baijju the guitarist even burst into a passionate rendition of Vande Materam which got everyone standing to pay their respect to our country and this great band. Suraj armed with his jar of honey also won the Leon Ireland Outstanding Vocalist award, given to the most deserving vocalist by the Unwind Center every year since the untimely death of Leon Ireland (Moksha).

All in all, a great 2 days of music and great fun. The Rain Gods tried their best but the spirit of music in Chennai will never get damp.

I've taken a few amateur pics which will be in the next few posts.. Hope you liked my review! Cheers!