BENGALURU: If you are a ’90s kid who grew up in Bengaluru, rock music was most often a conversation starter. While the city has already hosted bands like Metallica, Children of Bodom, Lamb of God, Scorpions, Cradle of Filth, The Prodigy, Hoobastank, and Poets of the Fall, Bengaluru has also seen a long hiatus in international artistes coming to the city. However, with bands like Westlife, Deep Purple, and Goo Goo Dolls coming here, it has turned out to be a musical trip down memory lane for Bengalureans.
Neil Chauhan, co-founder of an advertisement firm, for instance, calls it a dream-come-true moment for him.“We grew up buying records and cassettes, and it was in an era where we didn’t have an MTV channel,” he says, adding, “There were no OTT platforms that gave you access to content about your favourite rockstar. Seeing them perform live makes it feel like life has come full circle.”
Chauhan, who is going to the Deep Purple concert, is looking forward to Smoke on the Water, one of their biggest hits, and Soldier of Fortune. “These are songs that have been played on a loop. Their lyrics have influenced lifestyle and life decisions. And it’s an emotional roller coaster today to watch them live,” says Chauhan.
Coming from a musically-inclined family, Felsi Royer, who is a part of a girl band, speaks with similar emotions. Calling it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch these international artistes live, Royer mentions she is going for all the upcoming shows starting from Westlife, which is followed by Steve Vai, Deep Purple, and Goo Goo Dolls. “I come from a family of musicians and grew up listening to good music. I remember listening to these songs on a CD player. My dad used to play them at home, and my older brother carried that tradition forward. That’s how I got introduced to good-quality music as a child,” says Royer.
A glimpse of this excitement was seen at the recently-held Ronan Keating show. One might assume the packed auditorium was there for his most popular single When You Say Nothing At All. But to the amusement of many, including the artiste himself, the audience lip-synced all his songs-singles, the ones from his former band Boyzone, like a true-blue fan.
Speaking about how his audience has evolved with him, Keating says, “That’s the wonderful thing about music. It is always there for people. I was one of those artistes who was in a boyband and had that energy where people ran behind our car. When I went solo, I calmed down. My audience grew old with me. They started listening to different artistes. They might listen to Bryan Adams on a Monday and somebody else on a Tuesday. Then you become one of those artistes who is always on the shelf with all the other artistes and that’s what you want (sic).”
The excitement among music lovers even doubled after the recent announcement of English musician Sting headlining the music festival Lollapalooza, happening in Mumbai in January. Post the announcement, without thinking twice, musician Michael Antony Dias started making all the preparations for making it for the show. “I have been a huge fan of Sting. Not just any particular song, I am looking forward to everything he does. The tickets are quite expensive but it does not bother me at all,” says Dias.