March 25, 2009

For the Neighbours

Crowded House’s ‘Weather with you’, is cranked on my speakers right now because its how I feel. Last week, my neighbors told me that they haven’t heard a sound from me lately. As I turn up the volume dial I question whether I’m overstepping my luck. It’s like I stepped out into the darkness of a cool night. My nerves are on fire. It’s eight, I haven’t had a bite to eat since two, but I’m too much preoccupied to eat.

I feel like I could go on writing for days and days and days and days. Maybe I’m just happy to have something to write about. Maybe I’m just happy to feel this way again even in the face of so much uncertainty around me.

I was talking to one of the exes the other day and the subject of my single status came up. It used to trouble me when I wasn’t dating anyone. I did everything I could to stay in a relationship, no matter how destructive it was and was successful until mid last year. For some reason though, I have recently stopped caring about being in a relationship. “You must be really happy”, my ex said, “If something that big doesn’t bother you anymore”.

It was true, but I never realized it until I spoke to him. All the fine things in life have easily overshadowed the terrible. There isn’t a single thing that I can point at and explain why, but it’s happened — steadily with time — over last year or so. I’ve become very comfortable with myself. I’m happy with who I am. The self- belief I’ve acquired, my luck in having great friends, the freedom my folks have given me have all contributed I’m sure. The small things don’t bother me anymore, and almost everything is a small thing. I still lose sight of the big picture every now and then and get into one of my moods, but they don’t last as long as they used to.

I don’t want to rely on tabs, or alcohol, or anything at all to make myself feel better. I want to be sure that I can handle things, no matter what, on my own. I force myself to feel every traumatic, unhappy, sad emotion, so that I know that I can get through them.

Sometimes, every day can be a test. Music and writing are the only things that I allow myself.

And that’s where I love to be.

Getting back to the music- every song is a time stamp. A point in life, made obvious by the particular moment that it’s first heard in. In this instant, the setting, conditions, and sentiment all become connected.
There’s a song for everything, from a single moment — like your high school graduation — to an entire year — like making love to the person who held your world at his fingertip.

Perhaps my childhood is such a blur because I never started listening to music until I was about 15; there was no way my mind could relate to experiences.
It’s time I turned up the music. It’s time I put some food in my stomach. It’s time I got myself in the shower. It’s time I got some Law & Order and it’s time you hit play on the track below.

‘Weather with you’ by Crowded House.

March 23, 2009

Divine Connection

This is shaping up to be a pretty awesome day. My new favorite person on the planet is Meren, as he found me the album of my new favourite band from nagaland- ‘Divine Connection’. I called my parents, my sister, my bro-in-law, told my friends, updated my status message on Facebook, and then proceeded to drown in the music of El Roi all day.

Meren, was the organizer of the Naga Nite event in Bangalore and while we hardly know each other he took me real serious when I expressed my NEED to have the CD. I am now sopping in my strong reliance in the human race, save for a few idiots who were born to make life difficult. Those guys can eat %^&*#.

And going back to DC, once I realized what this album really is I appreciated it so much more than when I first heard their music. This is a perfect, unblemished album. At the beginning it sounds impressively like something I’ve heard, and loved, before. I can’t quite place what their sound reminds me of, but it feels comfortable and good. I really feel like once the guitar kicks in it sounds like something my dream band would’ve recorded.
The music, the lyrics, and the melodies are unrepentantly one hundred percent fresh, trademarked Divine Connection. Once you realize these four mates put together ten solid songs, and you realize they’re not reaching for places that they didn’t really belong, you’ll understand that ‘El Roi’ (The power that sees) is the perfect album for DC.

Please listen to the track below, you will not be disappointed. It’s ‘Tell me who’ from their album ‘El Roi’. I’ve seen DC perform this number live and if I had to use one word to describe this performance it would be ‘exceptional.’ Right from the day I saw Obed Kath perform he has since held my mind captive. It’s as if his voice demands that I listen to what he’s saying, even if it’s a song about Ants. There’s a certain compelling quality to his voice, a sense of importance that says “if you don’t listen, you just might lose the best thing in your life.” And so I listen, and so should you. He really is a great vocalist, and believe me, he has great stage presence as well.

That’s all I got for today. Tomorrow, it’s back to work until Thursday. Nothing too exciting or thrilling, but its money, honey, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my 25 years, it’s that love and day dreams don’t pay for shopping. It will, however, give the guy you’ve been eyeing for months something to think about at night, and what’s not to like about that?
If you can tell me a better way to spend a late Monday summer night than in bed after a cold shower with your hair still wet and Divine Connection’s new CD playing along then, I’d love to hear it.

March 19, 2009

I’ve had these thoughts fixed in my mind for a while now.

True love doesn’t really exist.

I reckon that’s terribly skeptical of me to say, but I need evidence that it is possible today.

I wish I could actually believe that it exists. Maybe that’s why love stories are so famous and why they’re so many of them. Hollywood or Bollywood makes us believe that love exists.
It’s always the same story, boy meets girl, they falls in love and live happily ever after.

But love doesn’t exist in true color, as much as I want to believe that it does.

I guess, not for me, anyway.

Even though it went up to being quite warm today, the morning started cold and calm. It made me strangely subdued when I left home to catch my cab. Something about the weather that reminded me of how consoling it can be to feel cheerless. I can’t even explain the cause of my poignancy, and can only guess that comprehension and acknowledgement are resting within me. My only saving grace is that I feel sufficiently convinced to accept it and get on with it.

As the day drags on, things start to wear me down. Tiredness and looking at the computer screen far too long, dries my eyes. I kept trying to get a hold of what was happening, kept trying to hide my groaning despondency from those about me and I think I was quite successful at this game of pretence.

Fortunately, I have a smile in my wardrobe for days like these.
‘Dear Jason Wade,

I feel obliged to write you a short and honest letter here on the web. If I was capable of it, I would’ve gone back in history to 1999 and left this note in your journal or your book of lyrics, but sadly we weren’t in the same continent, did not attend the same school, and traveling back in time is impossible (hmmm… unless I were Dr. Manhattan, which would mean I’d be naked, blue and absolutely smart…which sounds too good to be true). So this scanty little space on the web will have to be enough.

Never change. Stay the same forever. Keep making music that’s as good as or better than your most recent album ‘Who we are’. It sounds like twelve soundtracks put together with perfect rhythm, chord progression, happiness, and whatever smiles and hope sounds like. The first time I heard your music you changed my life forever and I hope that your music continues to get to me the way you always do.’
If you’re going to listen to this song, turn the lights down, or at least close your eyes. Remove yourself of any other noise. Breathe slowly for 30 seconds before playing it. This song deserves it. You deserve it.

Do stay tuned for more great music coming soon this summer. Be aware, there is so much more good music in this world so do not limit yourself.

Check back often.

‘Broken’ by Lifehouse.

March 18, 2009

Summer! I propose change!

I hate the weather! I mean it was just getting comfy cold and I was getting quilted out and all of a sudden...BAM! It's summer. Ick. If there is anything I hate more than walking around this city in the rain and slush, it is waking up in the heat. In my idyllic world, it is fancy jackets and hot chocolate weather atleast 361 days a year. That would leave two days for a tremendous rainfall (so that they have to close the office) and two days of stifling, scorching heat (where you can spend underwater because it's too hot to do anything else). See, I'm open to a small amount of moderation.

I'm looking forward to a few more days of comparative serenity. Nothing about last week was very crazy, but it was fast-paced enough and left me with such little personal time that I was a bit burnt-out by the time Friday night rolled around. I just have to make it through the next week and then a little vacation awaits. I'll probably be hitting Pondicherry (fingers crossed), where, with the exception of my date with Law & Order, I plan to spend all of my time slightly intoxicated, kicking water and working on losing my newly gained weight. Lord knows I'm up for the challenge.

However, the biggest test in my life now is to maintain my sanity at work and keep earning a paycheck. All in all, they've been very civil to me here. No reason I can't continue to do what I’m doing at this company and work towards outside goals. I just have to keep my patience and realize that I don't have to be stuck here forever.

And as my creative self, has always reminded me, I can always go out for Indian Idol Senior Edition in 20 years, if nothing else works out.

I’ve been kicking myself for not discovering this song any sooner. Well, yesterday Ru sent me this song and somehow it went right into all the nerves in my head. As an aside, ‘Love is not a fight’ by North Carolina-born singer/songwriter Warren Barfield, gets better and better every time I listen to it and the fact that I'm still hitting 'play' after turning in the review should say a good deal. And it gets me oh so happy by even writing about it here on my pretty little blog in any way.
My exterior pretended to be un-moved but in my head I was clearing up flowing awesomeness. Amazing doesn't begin to do justice to this song. What a revelation. A beautiful skillfully layered gorgeously instrumented work that has officially burrowed its magic into my brain.







To the good person responsible for getting me to hear it- Ru, thanks.

March 16, 2009

How was your weekend?

I am incredibly sleep-deprived at the moment, and plan on tumbling onto the cold hard floor the minute I’m finished posting this, waking up in my own drool several hours later, oblivious to all current events.

Ever since I started working I lost the possibility to spend lovely nights with my own friends. Since then I’ve made plenty other friends and have tagged along with them for fun nights and it has been a lot of fun too, though different all together. Ladies night out was something the girls- Runa, Ruan and I came up with in college. It was the time we got to dress up and go somewhere fancy, do what we want and talk about things we can’t with the guys around. It was more about talking than anything else. The night always promises to bring us, top-notch ladies together with some top-shelf dining. Here are some photos from Saturday night with the ladies! :-)














Thank you girls - I love you two! The chocolate shots were fun to have, I ate all the food placed in front of me in a great frenzy mood, and enjoyed it a lot. The only disappointment was being asked by a bald old guy to join him and his veteran friend for a drink! :-/

I celebrated my return to drinking again this weekend, and I am very, very thankful for the existence of Ladies Night. And then, just to balance out the weekend and make sure it doesn’t get too boxy, I went shopping on Sunday.

I got a new haircut too, to keep the heat off my neck - something of a makeover.

Mmmm! I love summer time.

There’s nothing like a good song and good music doesn’t need to remind you how clever it is, it doesn’t need fantastic new age noises and it doesn’t even need a very long introduction. While routine and social calls piled up between work and home this song stayed firmly on my play list. Despite getting pushed back a little, I promised not to waver. Then today, during a brief quiet period in work, I pressed play on track one. And I smiled. Regardless of a relative lack of commercial success, this remains one of my critical favorites. Most of the songs from this artist are acoustic tracks and it has to be said, more simple than the stuff I play here on EC but it’s still such a gem. I don’t know if you can ask more of an album than for it to stick in your head and make you wish you came up with the lines yourself. It's a simple song with a catchy little hook. Sometimes that's all you need. Take a listen. ‘Sleeping Dogs’ by Madeline.







Happy Monday, y'all!

March 13, 2009

I started blogging when a friend suggested that I put my thoughts and love for music into words. I never expected to tell anyone what I was doing online. But you and I know that this tale doesn’t quite work out that way. It first started with my crew getting to know of it, then other colleagues and then the FAMILY! The idea of getting this writing to work out for me was to get my thoughts, experiences and musical discoveries in one place…. A record, you could call it, of the days I’ve lived in this universe and not some self-seeking trip of an incoherent theorist.

I must include this very common question I’ve been asked by people who’ve read my blog - “Am I in it?” And I’d like to throw open the question to my readers here, how on earth do you answer a question like that? Responding in the affirmative would get you caught in explaining the entire post, why you wrote about that person, about what, etc. If you were brave enough to reply in the negative then you’re swiftly confronted with this look of hurt and the glaring question (of course, unspoken) - “So you don’t really think I’m all that interesting?” Sometimes you get the most insulted response, coated with much sweetness - “Wow, how do you get around to writing so much”. Thanks. I think. But we sorted that one out and I now know what that means!

And the last one, I promise. Whenever I’m out with friends who know I blog, I’m always met with the statement “This is so going up on your blog”. The condensed answer is – Hell yeah! If something gets me laughing like a hyena or angry as a hornet, then it’s very likely going to end up here at some point. Let me tell you that a very small amount of my life stories are sacred.

So what started out as my own little secret is quick developing into common knowledge. Yes, there are certain individuals who I would still prefer not to know about my blog, as I don’t think their feedback would be either complimentary or constructive. But the intewebs is a small space and some folks are distinguished for not being able to keep shut. I know I will have to answer at some point of time about the crap I’ve written about a few people and when that happens I’ll just blatantly bold it out and ask them if they’re insulted or upset because they see some reality in what I’ve written.

I had an interesting little moment awhile ago while I was spending some time focused in on this video and I realized I had seen this boy somewhere:

And I was thinking that the fellow looked crazy similar to: 

Ridge Forrester from ‘The Bold & the Beautiful’

After bouncing around from a couple confirmations I came back to the conclusion that they’re the same person. Go figure!

That’s Ronn Moss (Ridge Forrester) on bass and he can actually do more than hold that guitar! Figured that was worth mentioning. Do check out the video.
Seems I've had a fondness for 70 love ballads. In any case, this song 'Baby come back' from the band called 'Player' flows in quite hypnotically, making for an enjoyable and atmospheric tune.

(Thanks to Runa. My source for this post)


March 11, 2009

Things I Want....

I want to see the night full of city lights, flashing in orange, red and white, to remind me that existence still goes on even as I'm unaware of it.

I want to be in a café with Ash, talking about that which only we could understand about each other.

I want to be looking out the open window of my uncle’s house in Dimapur, to hear the people talking in beautiful Ao, even through the night. I want to smell the wood burning and the moistness of the soil.
I want music to be playing just for me. To lead me through decision after decision.

I want to lie on the beach. To feel the fresh, damp wind blowing through every strand of my hair. To feel the air and quiet consuming me whole.

I want to watch ‘Divine Connection’ perform, with the energy of their music around me as if the night would never end. I want to walk out of that performance into the deafening night air, my mind racing and humbled by the performance.

I want someone to take care of me, because I’m tired of taking care of myself.

I want to be different from everyone, but fit in everywhere.

I want to be passionate about more things. Attract other passionate people, feed off their energy, like a dialogue of ideas and inspiration and with them becoming something more than what I am by myself.

I want my music loud, while I walk through this life. Walking it off like it’s nobody’s business, dancing inside to the bass pounding in my ears.

I want to never give up.

I want to never be stuck in the rat race.

I want to smoke, drink, and eat cheeseburgers all day.

I want to always dream, hope, believe in something better.

I want to be surrounded by my best friends. To speak without thinking. To feel without caring. To confide without worrying.

I want this feeling to last forever.
If you pay attention, comics will teach you many important lessons, and this week, we learn that not every scumbag can be taken down with the judicious application of a kick to the face.

Awhile back I had got myself a copy of ‘The Watchmen’ and it’s one of the best comics I have ever read. Believe it or not, I sometimes exaggerate for effect here on EC, but there comes a time when I have to set aside any pretense and just lay out the facts, and this is one of them. This graphic novel, which casts a world of costumed heroes, is completely a fantastic work of art. I don’t know what happens in the last few chapters, as I had to stop before my head exploded from radness. This is the greatest comic book that has ever been published. Given the amount of time I’ve spent on it last week, it should probably have become pretty apparent that I tend to think about The Watchmen more than just about anything else I had read before.
For starters, there’s Alan Moore, who – it’s no surprise that a guy with his track record knows how to put together a fantastic comic, but he manages to pull off the neat trick of hitting all the familiar beats of a classic action packed story while still keeping everything fresh and exciting. But I must say that the real star here is the art. The book is a treasure, folks, and while the art alone would make the book worth reading, the way the pictures pulls off every beat of Moore’s script is just a joy to read.

And that’s today’s post. As always, if anything caught your eye, feel free to tell me about it, for now here is Smashing Pumpkins’ with ‘The beginning is the end is the beginning’.

March 10, 2009

Please excuse me while I scream….


Okay… Now that that’s done. I shall proceed to tell you the reason behind this outburst. The one thing that is guaranteed to have me running out of a room, ready to bawl my lungs out in happiness and run up and down my two storey building, is receiving this package - an original Imcha Imchen creation!!!!!

It was a little overwhelming, and I won’t say I didn’t cry some tears of joy. I wanted to have everyone I loved in the room with me right then, to hug them and somehow have them feel this way too. But right now I want to sincerely thank Imcha for being such an amazing friend no matter how busy and far away he is right now. ‘Marky Marc, this really means more to me that you’ll ever know.’


Saturday night had me attending Naga Night 2009; a night to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the people of Nagaland. At the venue I felt like I was back in Dimapur. Meeting people, learning names, throwing in for some pork.

The best part of the night was the performance by this band named ‘Divine Connection’.

It was the huge setting, chill atmosphere and awesome music that made it unlike any other performance I’ve attended. The music was a fusion of modern rock, hint of jazz, funk and nu-metal. I was supposed to stay in Nagaland long enough to catch the Hornbill Festival but plans didn’t go down that way. Divine Connection was the band that won at the Hornbill Music Festival and I was so excited that I had the chance to watch them last night.

They’re striking and their clarity and quality of sound is extremely full and well rounded and that really brings up the energy. The vocalist, Obed Kath, was able to work the crowd up pretty well and was clearly confident with his singing, and this went hand-in-hand with the amazing range of sound that they’ve developed, from provoking and awakening to intense and heated. This is what makes them musicians and not just members of some band. The set they played was blood pumping, adrenaline rushing, great sounding music and I would have bought an album at the concert if I had seen it.


One thing's for sure though, I would definitely go to another Divine Connection concert if they ever came around again.

So far I haven’t had the chance to feel guilty about not looking for another job, which is something that I’m finding hard to get motivated about.
Speaking of which, I spent the last week sending out rĂ©sumĂ©s to various companies. I have a rĂ©sumĂ© that I’m pretty proud of right now, after spending a lot of time fixing it up. No phone calls so far.

If you’re looking to hear Divine Connection’s music you can check out their music here:


Naga Music Online

The video appearing here on Evuhleen’s Corner is a very short Divine Connection’s bootleg live track, not a studio recording, so be prepared for a little background noise. All that aside enjoy the music and the next time DC is in town get out and see their show.


March 06, 2009

Life in The Fast Lane

Life has been moving pretty fast lately. Absurdly fast. Today was no different. Honestly I can’t believe that it’s already Friday and our office space will be at a new location from Monday onwards which will be in easy driving distance from home and civilization.

Packing all the stuff I had at my cubicle was labor intensive, but it really only takes one hand which leaves the other free for (stuff it, perverts) taking these:

Venom & venom at it!
Venom in Singapore
Moi Work Centre

I’m still deciding whether I should quit my job and do some freelancing for awhile (more about that later). I'm working on getting my ducks all in a row and planning a course of action. There's no good reason why things won't fall in a way that benefits me, but I’ve learnt to make progress with extreme carefulness.

So I'm going to throw all of my positive energy into this and see what the Universe gives back. I think the Universe and I have a pretty good connection – well, apart from the time we had a brief spat during 2005 when, against the Universe's advice, I insisted on falling in love and had thought about tying the knot with a ridiculous young man.
I've been throwing a lot of energy into rebuilding synchronization in my life and communication between family members and certain others who I seem to have screwed it up with (nothing on that later). Due to a huge change at work I've been trying to figure out my plan for the future (more on that...whenever the hell I figure out what's going on). Not to mention being considered for and having to turn down the offer to be Governor of B’lore….

So you get it… I've been just a wee ball of stress.

In with the cold air, out with the hot. Inhale. Exhale. Hhhhhooooo….

No big plans for Saturday, other than trying to get my bedroom all tidied up and laundry put away. I will most likely catch up on a week's worth of television I managed to hoard for the weekend.

Sunday: Season 6: Law & Order marathon.

Sunday Night: Wishing for death.

Monday morning: Near impossible task of waking up.

I'm totally tired of listening to the music I have. All of it. That's really saying something, because I have a truckload of music. So, that poses a problem when the first of the month rolls around and I've got to put together some artists I haven’t featured on EC before today. What do I do if I can't stand anything I have? Answer: go completely random.
I've been dabbling in Our Lady Peace lately in an effort to get to know them, so this month I'm just going to pick a random song from their list and hope that March's pick will be further brilliant and spanking new. To be honest the song I’m playing for you guys is one song in particular that really kept my attention today.
You can’t listen to this track and not love it. It’s a song that you simply must hear. Now. Enjoy your weekend fair world.

Download the track here: MP3: Our Lady Peace - Innocent

or listen to it here:


March 04, 2009

This weekend the universe had a laugh at my expense, by throwing a two year old in my path just when I needed to develop the most tolerance (and actually had the least).


My niece- celebrated her second birthday on Saturday.
 

Goes by the names- Abby, Lemlem, Lemska and Aolem.

According to me- the way you talk to an old person and the way you talk to a toddler are exactly alike.

Hello!!!

How are YOU?!

Your top is pink. That’s a pretty color. It looks very nice on you.

Have you been good all week? THAT IS VERY GOOD.

So this got me thinking about babies. I will not be making any of them, a decision I came to a year ago when I discovered exactly how hard it was to take care of my niece. Not that she’s a difficult child or anything; I am, apparently, not the nurturing sort.

I don’t think you get to have crazy fun or get all shithouse drunk when you have children and I find that worrisome. Maybe you’re too busy changing diapers and stopping your one year old from ripping the pages off your priceless comic and shoving the pieces into the dog’s bowl.

I miss being a kid though.... My older sis carrying me (during days she tolerated me)


Some of the things that remind me of days when I was younger:

* Dad scolds me last night for tearing pages off my math notebook. I go to bed still in tears. Next morning, dad apologizes for being too harsh and promises me while brushing my hair that he’ll come by school and take me out to the beach.
Math teacher is happy with the homework dad has helped me with and just before the bell rings he sticks his head into my classroom and smiles, not saying a word, my heart spins. I pretend to be very serious while my dad talks to the teacher and all the other kids watch silently, knowing where I’m going. Once we’re out of the classroom and it’s just us in the clear hallway, I let my father hold my hand, something I let him do whenever I feel especially close to him. As we walk along the shore with our shoes in a bag my dad brought along, I tell dad what I’d like to do when I grow up…..he just smiles. When we get home, mum smiles at me like she knows our little secret but she says nothing. I spot my dad leaving to the hospital to complete the rest of his shift and I just spend the rest of the hours at home waiting for him to get home and help me get started on my math homework.

* I was not permitted to sit with the adults when we went to a family’s friend’s house. So my twin and I played with their sons- also twins, in their room. We never do spend a lot of time with the boys because my twin hates one of them- Ricky. I sit next to the other brother (I had acted in a play with, some time back) and we talk… The boy seems a few years older than me, but he seems like he’s from another planet. When it’s time to go home, he kisses me on my cheek. For the first time in my life, I do not tell my parents. When I’m 20, I recognize him in a picture, but I don’t know if he remembers me. I never did get around to contacting him.

Well another month has come and gone. Another thirty or so odd days, another swing of blog posts and other various forms of communication have brought to my attention enough new tracks to carry on this job.
Paramore is an excellent example of a talented new age band that I would never have heard of but for the fact that the lead vocalist caught my eye one boring day at work. To be honest this track, soundtrack for the movie ‘Twilight’- Decode, is the only track I find to be worth repeat listening. That’s not to say the rest of the songs aren’t well crafted. They are. For most of us this single track will suffice {and you can believe me when I say it’s quite a song}. Paramore’s music caters to the younger clientele and would be reasonably well known amongst the type of readers who frequent EC, but my guess is we’ll most likely never know for sure.
Today I bring to you ‘Decode’ by Paramore. Enjoy the music. That is all kids. I’ll make sure to have another great track soon for your listening pleasure. Enjoy the music. Tell your friends.


March 02, 2009

A Friday Night at the Opus

I wish I was one of those people who could get into a conversation with someone and start off with something like, ‘You know this one time in school/college...’ or whatever the case may be and get into this long narration about this unpredictably cool story. Frankly, those tales are dreadfully difficult to come by since I didn’t do a lot of cool things when I was younger. But now I realize that it just takes treading out of the house, preferably after dark.

That said, Friday night’s show was a blast! Absolutely beyond brilliant! The day was warm but the evening was breezy cool and the scales were tipped in the Das’ favor.
We arrived at some point in the 8 o'clock hour and it wasn't particularly packed. Events like these don't really get packed unless it’s past what my late grandfather would call ‘a decent bedtime’. After finding a seat at the table right next to the stage and ordering a Screwdriver, I got myself comfortable on a white cushiony mattress for a four-act night of soft alternative-friendly music. Soon friends, colleagues and friend’s friends arrived, filling up the place and we were in constant motion to make some room at the table for the newcomers.

From here, there are a couple roads to take.

A) The Place- The show was at the Opus. It was the kind of place you expect to sit in if you had an open mic night. Dim lights, the sound of a ready audience and the excited band filled the air, and there was not enough room to take my jacket off. There was not much between the performer and the audience- which made it all the more special!

B) The People- You had all of them, the artsy types, the ones in jackets and jeans, the ones who even looked like they had come for a hip-hop rush. One guy in particular....we weren't really sure if he knew what kind of music was going to be played. His obviously clueless look made me want to guffaw but the night was not about him so I spared him the foul look. Then there was everybody else who was so very much in the middle of the music.
As soon as the music started up, there was this willingness and readiness to just sink into it regardless. There was head bobbing and looks of approval from the listeners, rising with every song. For me, I do little more than tap my foot and hoot aloud after every number. I work like a radar at these situations cos I know I will be writing about it later. Also, every so often I turned to the people sitting next to me- Yuvi, Ruan and my favorite blogger Pete, to make a comment and to watch them respond to the sounds in their own little space. They looked happy.

C) The Music- Like I had mentioned before, this was a mellow music night type thing. Our buddies there, Tony Das, Chris Das and Judy Das and Avinash Grubb were outstanding. And while my opinion might be a tad bit biased, other spectators tell me all four were fantastic, in fact.
The show started with Judy’s rendition of Corinne Bailey Rae’s ‘Girl put your records on’. Snow
Patrol’s ‘Run’ and Sara Bareilles’ ‘Love song’ were dedicated to yours truly, who became quite famous by the end of the night. One song in particular was pretty catchy, "Englishman in New York" and when I uploaded the track on my last post I had no bloody idea that they were going to be singing it. Pretty weird! By the end of the first set the band had definitely and undoubtedly gotten the crowd’s undivided attention and could do no wrong.
The second set had the band sounding pretty good on tracks like Ingrid Michaelson’s ‘take me the way I am’, Eagles’ ‘New York minute’ and Chris’ original composition ‘Breathing memories’ and I thought to myself that this was one of those performances that actually lived up to it’s buildup. It was a pretty cool night and the Das’ had done it with enough spunk to be entertaining without being overdone.
Anyway, this entry is longer than I intended, but it was a good night and it was great to go out and hear great music from people that I love. There's so much more to tell, but your attention span is probably disappearing right now. For more of Chris Das’ music head over to http://www.chris-das.com/. But before you do so, below is a recording of Chris’ version of ‘Run’ (should give you a feel about the show). Stay tuned, kids and thanks to those who made it!