Meeting With The Band

I am currently on vacation, until Tuesday which really means hours, even days, of relaxing free time. And I’ve decided that I would use this time to do what I love - I’m perusing through my favourite blogs, streaming tracks from Youtube to last.fm, attending shows, and watching my favourite doctor – Gregory House. But for some reason all of these didn’t matter as soon as I learnt that blues band Soulmate was doing a private gig at this place called Bacchus last night.

Obviously that brings me to this post about the band again. I love this band, I love their music, and I love the album ‘Moving on’. In fact I love the album so much it has been the only album I’ve listened to on my laptop over the past three months. I finally took it out after I realized just how fanatical I’ve become with the album; how trapped I’ve become in this practice of listening to it over and over again (I mean c’mon, I actually have memorized, word for word, 9 of the 12 tracks on the album).

Fortunately for me my friend is an avid listener of the blues and she had stumbled upon the video I had uploaded from their last concert. So she was all up for coming with me to this swanky little watering hole during the early evening.
On this night the cover was 500 bucks, of course all our drinks were covered with the entry coupon, and the music was more than worth the long trek back and forth on the frozen evening. Soulmate lived up to their billing as they played through a set of their acoustic numbers, and quite possibly the best live version of ‘Johnny be good’ I have ever heard. And the fact that they managed to cram all of this fun onto a tiny little stage of Bacchus just added to the night.

It was a real treat to actually hear Tips’ otherworldly vocals fashioned live and only a few feet away. The two hour-something set went by fast and at 11:30 the band wrapped it up and started packing on stage. As I passed them I shouted out "great job!" and in a persona much different from the one we had just seen, Tips screamed back my name and gave me a big bear hug. Best of all, though? When Tips heard that Shillong was one of my stops on vacation to the north-east she gave me her number and asked me to call her as soon as I reached. And due to my incredible position in the crowd, I actually got to play photog for once. Check out my pictures above.

They played roughly 8 -10 songs. During their second set it was like they tapped into a different energy and I could tell many in the audience were fighting to stay seated at times. "Cup of tea" was also exceptional and I think it was this song where my friends were nearly standing on top of their tables. It was pretty cool and done with enough passion and elegance without being overdone.

The song that I’m playing here today was quite brilliant in a live setting, easily surpassing the studio recordings which appear on their album. Might I add that both Tips as well as Rudy are absolutely amazing singers and people. Their charisma presents itself very well in a live setting and I strongly encourage anyone with a chance to catch them live to get out and see a set. It’ll be an evening you’ll forever want to hold on to.

And all this rambling brings me to this track. ‘Cup of tea’ is written about a day in the life of lead vocalist Tipriti ‘Tips’. This song is quietly tranquil and content. It’s filled with honest emotions and genuine bliss. And I know every word as if I wrote it myself. It’s a beautiful song and I feel that if I don’t share it with everyone it will be stuck in my head for ages and I won’t ever listen to another album.

Day three of a three day work week.
It didn’t suck as much as I thought it would.
And I’m thankful.

A few years ago I was given a couple of gifts and included were two pairs of pink and red All Stars. You know those old-school Converse shoes. My friends are so hip it hurts (ouch). Oddly enough, just a few weeks shy of my 24th birthday and I came to the abrupt realization that I had never owned a pair of All Stars. At that time I was also exchanging emails with a friend who'd just put up a picture of her own shoes and she was baffled (okay, maybe not "baffled" but she sure was surprised). So I had fixed the problem. To be cool like my friends and the friend I was chatting with. And the internet.
Obviously, this in one way or another troubled me since I'm 26 years old and still thinking about it. But it was one way in which I was never cool. One more example would be the fact that I think I've seen about two episodes of South Park in their entirety. It's funny, yes, I just never watch it.
It started with a report yesterday morning on Yahoo front page, now rocketing across cyberspace; Patrick Swayze, the gracefully macho Texan actor who lit up everything from ‘The Outsiders’ to ‘Powder Blue’ has died.
An actor, dancer and singer-songwriter and much more, Swayze died on Monday after a long illness. He leaves behind a world much less wonderful, especially for those of us who grew up on his antics with old-school show biz legends.
I made a really good find this week. Jack Savoretti. This half-English, half-Italian solo acoustic singer from London- delivers in an incredibly strong and mature style and his voice is folksy and strong. The track ‘No one’s Aware’ is full of emotion and refuses to fall into the slick acoustic traps so many contemporary singer-songwriters have fallen into of late. This single, is about as catchy a song you can ask for. And the rest of the album takes its lead. It'll never win song of the century but it sure is good.

Tomorrow, Sep 13, F&B, at 8:00 p.m. Soulmate will be performing in B’lore again. I will be one of the guests at the venue, listening and getting some shots of the band and Tipriti ‘Tips’ Kharbangar (who, might I add, is extremely effortless on the eyes). It's going to be a wonderful evening and I'd be thrilled if you joined us.

Weekend Highlights

Friday night: Law & Order SVU by myself (Chris Meloni, yo), lots of meat and orange juice; bursting by 10, passed out by 12

Saturday morning: Asleep. Dreaming of go-go dancers, barbecue, fat piles of cash money lying around, and being at a makeout party. Judging from the state of my room when I finally got out of bed this morning (at 1pm), a good time was most definitely had.

Saturday afternoon: crawling around the floor of the dark room, successfully found the last match to light my cigarette.

Saturday evening: Long hot bath, Melissa Etheridge, phone calls

Saturday night: TV with my friend Mai; lazing around; Chips and dip, cold beer and yummy pork and beef.

Sunday afternoon: Cold, wearing pajamas, eating toast, and reading old emails until 4 pm

Sunday night: Completing 10th season of Law & Order means quality time with Chris Meloni

Sunday/Monday, 1 am: The Reason feat. Sara Quin crooning “We’re so beyond this” in my ear before I fall asleep

Before I start off with the music section of this post, here’s some fashion advice for all you stud muffins out there. I don’t care who you are but tying a little sweater over your shoulders just screams “bitch.”

Some time back I had the chance to check out how insanely awesome The Reason and Sara Quin’s track was. It's fantastic and compelling. I was justifiably happy; therefore, when I heard it I forced myself to get a copy of it. Now that I've got it, I'm really excited to put it up here. This track is lush, emotionally charged and vibrant. Sara Quinn (from the indie rock/indie pop band ‘Tegan and Sara’ consisting of identical twins Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin), is a singer out of Canada, who is featured on alternative rock band – The Reason’s 2007 album ‘Things Couldn't Be Better’. The track ‘We’re so beyond this’ is easily one of the most peppy tracks I’ve heard in a long time. And I think we might all need that once in awhile.

Have a great week y’all. Here's to September.

I don’t get taping your sex sessions. I can’t imagine people being shutterbugs during a romp in the hay. I’ve never been a fan of recording moments with any of my boyfriends. For one, it’s dicey. What if I don’t remember that I took the pictures/videos, and by chance my parents get a hold of it? What if the camera gets stolen and the precise magnitude of my boyfriend’s pecker gets passed around? What if I get hit by a bus and don’t have an ID on me and the police check my bag to identify me - in the camera - that’s the picture they use for their HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WOMAN placard?

Oh, the horror.

For two, I’m of the belief that there are other folks who do it better, like porn stars and transitional obnoxious celeb couples.

On October 4th I'll be here:

Carrier pigeon or messenger dolphin will be the best way to get a hold of me.

I am very much looking forward to a relaxing getaway. My twin and I are joining my older sister and her husband’s family and it's just what the doctor ordered.
My trip to Nagaland last year was a huge adjustment but one that was understood and accepted as part of growing up and becoming part of a new family, which welcomed me with wide-open arms as if I was always one of their own. As the year passed and my life went through some chaotic changes there was loss and there was growth. But there was always a reminder that was still a family to go to if and when the opportunity presented itself.
Once again, it’s the north-east for me next month. It will be another holiday of long distance phone calls and long- awaited rendezvous. I will once again be joining my friend Z on some exciting adventures and meeting a lot of new friends. I’ll be going for two weeks, just when I shall be needing a cure from the coldness in B’lore. I’ve yet to finalize plans to Shillong, and I’m not entirely sure where my journey will take me. All I know is that we're going to Dimapur to stay a few days with my relatives. I’ll eventually wind my way through Kohima, and possibly few other places, before spending the last few days in Shillong and then flying home from Dimapur. I’m very excited and a big screamer that I am, I keep bouncing around the house yelling. "I’m gonna be on vacation!"

And I'll be sure to get lots of photos.

And now, dear readers, I must bid you goodnight. Despite a spike in energy from a certain drink, my eyelids are getting heavy and that I have the tenth season of Law & Order SVU. But before I do that, I shall leave you with a track.

Since a buddy of mine turned me on to Heart a few years ago, I've been hooked. Their early stuff was unique, free- sounding and rootsy. Their album - Jupiter's Darling - took a mainstream, more polished turn. The indie fan inside me hates to admit this but the 80’s fan in me loves it. I think it's a combination of the music and the memories. It was transformational to me. Ann Wilson’s vocals are perfect and who knew she had recorded so many solid backing vocal tracks? Nothing flashy, pretty straightforward but enthusiastic. Their single – ‘No other love’ takes a step or two back into the land of indie goodness while not losing the accessibility and old rock flavor that made them so brilliant and ‘The First Sisters of Rock & Roll’.

Until next time, here’s wishing you a wonderful weekend.

I spent my determining years following the way people lived in the 80s. I was, as a result, one of the few who wore like baggy or really tight leather pants, bright colored shirts, army boots and used plenty of hair wax for punk looking hairstyles. In my time, I've seen a couple of trends come and go. Lately, though, it seems like something a little more meaningful has taken off almost everywhere and become quite a trend - going green. How else can you explain the booming sales of Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs), environmentally friendly cars, shirts, bags, books, and even green music concerts?
All this publicity and coverage required me to look at how I work together with my surroundings and what sort of effect I have. So I did a little scrutinizing. Turns out that, according to my calculations over at ‘Calculate Your Impact’, I emit somewhere around 8.65 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. Well, not me, physically (that would be horrid), but my family, trips we make and cars. We get macrobiotic when it's convenient. We don't own enormous, fuel-gulping vehicles and take them on frequent road trips. We hardly fly. We don't stand around glaciers with heat ovens, or hunt penguins for lunch or unload toxic waste into the few lakes we have in our city. I'd say we're just about average - we're not going to be responsible for saving the environment but we're not going to be liable for the defilement of it either.

But what else can we do?

I'm all for taking on the big solutions. I urged my dad to put up solar panels so we wouldn’t have to keep using the geyser, plant our own vegetables (since mum loves gardening), carpool, use paper bags, rain water harvesting, make my own clothes, books and lipsticks, buy stuff only from nature friendly businesses, and mount a wind turbine in the back porch. But those things are also a) costly or b) a bona fide splinter in the ass. And I think that - being a splinter in the ass - is what prevents most people from acting. Most of us (me included) are acquisitive to some degree and inclined by the idea of instant indulgence. There's nothing awful about that. But until we get over ourselves a little, there's a point at which we can't become much greener.

So, I am trying! Not perfect but making the effort at least.
Last week I'd given the ‘Anarbor’ track a spin which is a breezy trip through modern American pop-rock. I know that sounds like a mouthful of adjectives, but that is really what this song is. So yes, to respond to your question, they are the ideal band to listen to when you want to shake your shoulders a bit. 'The Brightest Green' is a very upbeat and catchy track and, as a result, more of a pay-off to the listener. Not to forget, there's something about it that stays with you. Something good.
From the intro to the way that the song builds, there’s just not much else you could add to make it into a better song. To be sure, this song is best listened to at a very loud volume.
Until next time. I’ll keep posting as long as you all continue to listen to good music. Peace out. Tell your friends and check back often.