BANGALORE: Beats pumps in increasing tempo with hearts and bodies swaying to the rhythm as Avial, the popular group of rockers from Kerala, set the stage on fire at the St John’s Medical College on Saturday.
It was a perfect blend of south and north as a crowd of around 800 got together to witness the final night of Autumn Muse-2010, the cultural fest of the college. The venue was buzzing with enthusiasm when members of Delhi-based Parikarma took the centre stage and made the evening memorable for the music connoisseurs.
Avial, the only band selected to represent India at the World Music Festival in Mauritius featuring 40 rock bands from around the world, mostly performs live shows at varied places in the country. They also bagged six prizes at the Jack Daniels Annual Rock Awards in 2009.
The band, consisting Rex Vijayan (lead guitar and synthesizer), Tony John (vocals, turntables and synthesizer), Mithun Puthenveetil (drums) and Binny Isaac (bass), started with songs from their new album and the crowd was more than happy to sing along. The band played popular songs like Chekele and Nada Nada which had the entire crowd standing and cheering by the end.
However, the concept of rock music in a south Indian language was new to quite a few people gathered at the fest, some of whom felt that the experience of listening to great riffs punctuated by Malayalam lyrics was exhilarating.
“This is the first time I have heard Avial play and although I don’t understand a word of what they are saying, I can still relate to the music,” said Mahesh Paonam, a student from Manipur.
“The way they merge their guitar play with the turntables is amazing,” said Rajorshi Bose, an avid Avial fan.
The evening had more to offer however, as after a short break, the second major band of the day, Parikrama, took the stage and started with one of their popular numbers vaporize.
The highlight of Parikrama’s performance was violinist Imran Khan, who played solos in all songs on the set list for the night. While, songs like Tears of the wizard and Whiskey Blues had mesmerizing duets with Subir Malik (keyboard) and Shambu Nath (tabla).
The concert was held to mark the end of the three-day literary, sports and cultural competitions held at St Johns.
A portion of the money generated from ticket sales will be donated to Unit of Hope, a charity clinic of the college for children with disabilities
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