Junkyard Groove: Live in Bangalore

There's no other perfect way to start a weekend than with a rocking concert. And, for the second week running, me and some of my metalhead friends here had just that perfect start. This week it was Junkyard Groove, the popular band from Chennai. This band which came into the limelight 3 years back by sweeping almost all awards at the popular rock fests around the country, been on the list of my favourite Indian bands for a pretty long time. This concert was part of the tour promoting the release of their debut album 11:11[bootleg].

Me and Nikhil headed home from office to get the bike and cam. And to our utter shock, my bike was missing. My roomie Praveen and some of our collegemates who came from Trivandrum had taken it to Forum. So, it was an impatient wait for half and hour, as the concert was scheduled to start at 7 PM. The Kyra theatre in Indiranagar which opened recently has already hosted many concerts. But, this was our first time there as we had to miss the earlier ones due to clash of dates with bigger concerts elsewhere. As we reached there, Navi was waiting and we came to know that Junkyard show is scheduled to start at 9Pm only. A band called 'crosswindz' from Kolkata were playing. They concentrated mainly on playing covers. They did good work in some of the songs. But, after a point it became kinda monotonous and also their original song was also not that exciting. The guitarist Tuki was doing a good job. The drummer was a grand old man who looked almost 60. The female singer looked like she was getting bored on stage. Pappu came in late as usual. The pricey menu made us opt for pure water. Then, we spotted the guys from Junkyard groove trooping in and settling at the back. We met them, bought their CDs, got in autographed and clicked some pics with them. They were all approachable and friendly. After that, it was another long wait for them to start. The 'crosswindz' show was going bad towards the end with some horrible toned down covers of songs like 'Enter sandman' and 'Wasted years'. 'Junkyard Groove' took quite sometime in setting up it all. Ameeth, the vocalist took a 2 minute 'pee break' before the show, with the permission of the audience. Siddarth, the guitarist took a 'drinks break'. During the extra long sound check, they played riffs from songs like 'Enter Sandman'. And, atlast it started and then it was a blast..

Sid, in a pose so reminiscent of SLASH

Craig, the bassie

Ameeth on vocals

Maynard on drums

Belting out all those crowd favourites from the album, they had the crowd singing with them from the word go. Fans were crying for their imaginatively named song 'Folk you', right from the start. Its a superb blend of English and Tamil lyrics and the main chorus inspired from an old Malayalam folk song. My 2nd favourite of the evening was 'Its ok'. With the simplest of lyrics and a catchy guitar hook, this is easily one of their most recognised songs. Part of the lyrics goes like this

"This is a story of a girl
Who falls in love with a boy
A story not meant to be
But she could never see
She lived a life to be free
Believed in what would set her free
Knew no cast knew no creed
Only what she believed
In him she believed
In him she wanted
In him she needed
Something she could never find
And all they found
Was a little bit of misery
And nothing at all

It's ok
It's alright
We are the same
And there is no need to cry"

Craig's going crazy!

Ameeth is in a mood to smile!

Infact, what makes this band so lovable is the simplicity and hummable nature of their songs. Ameeth, a vocalist of immense talent brings in that warm feeling to their songs. Siddarth with his long curly locks was looking almost like Slash on stage. His leads has a tinge of nostalgia. The feel-good factor in almost all their songs is the result of his leads and those simple hummable choruses. Craig, the lean guy handling the bass is another great artist who adds value to the band. His funkish bass lines gives the JYG songs that extra punch. I also love the way he jumps on stage. Maynard, the man behind the drums is unlike the rest of the members in demeanour and in his mature ways. He is like a dignified contrast of the mad asses that the rest of the band are on stage. Its a perfect combo. Of the new songs I heard at the concert, I loved 'Hold' and 'Twinkle'. 'Hold' especially was notable for its slightly carnatic style guitar at the start. They did an encore of 'folk you' by audience request, at the end. The one song I missed at the show was 'Imagine'. On the whole, it was a great start to a great weekend.

Me, Navi & Izafeer with Junkyard Groove

Nikhil, Navi and Izafeer with JYG

Had awesome fun on Saturday and Sunday, with 10 of our old collegemates landing up at our flat. 3 days of pure unadultered fun. And should I add that this is one of those mondays I wished never existed? I would better say one of all those mondays...

PS- Those who still haven't had a taste of this wonderful band, please listen to some samples at any of these sites..

http://myspace.com/junkyardgroove
http://reverbnation.com/junkyardgroove
http://junkyardgroove.net

Also checkout the music video of their popular song 'Its Ok', which was released last week. According to Ameeth, this fun video was shot at a shoestring budget of Rs.3500, including the charge for booze. Mind you, these guys are some of the heaviest drinkers on the circuit. So you can very well imagine the budget of the video, which may be even a single digit number. Still, its one hell of a video. Don't miss it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hysn81F8fgE

All the pics from the concert are uploaded @ my flickr page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/crusadertvm/sets/72157618984268702/

your crusader Praveen