The 90’s kid in me leaped with joy when I heard that the Indian Ocean Band, also known as the grandfather of Indie Pop, was going to perform in town. They were to play at the Goonj Music Festival managed by BrandAid Events, one of its kind and the first happening in Electronic City, Bangalore. Along with them were playing The Yellow Diary, Mumbai’s Alt Music sensation. The grand event Goonj Music Festival was to happen in a fantastic brewery called 46 Ounces powered by Mannheim Brews. Of course, we were excited about the concert. But more so because we were looking forward to an entertaining evening along with good beer and delicious food.
The D-day finally came and as expected the roads were crowded. We reached 46 Ounces and entered the Platinum arena designed on the rooftop section of the brewery. If you have been to 46 ounces before, you would know that the brewery has a covered sitting area and an open lawn. For the Goonj Music Festival, the organizers had divided the whole area into a very organized matter.
The setup
The stage was set up in the center of the lawn. The ground floor sitting area and the open lawns were organized into the silver and gold seating arenas. The spaces near the stage were kept open for fans who would want to see the bands perform from up-close. I really liked the idea of keeping seating sections for groups and families who may not want to watch the whole concert standing. This way, while you enjoy the show you can have food and drinks and have fun with friends and family.
While most think that music fests and concerts are no place for kids, Goonj Music Festival was unique. The choice of music was soulful and hence it was a good choice to bring kids along who like music. They had also arranged for a special kids zone with sections for pottery, painting and balloon creativity. A funny looking clown was roaming around to keep kids entertained with fun activities and tricks.
The Yellow Diary Band
The evening began with The Yellow Diary taking up the stage. As they started playing, the crowd warmed up to a loud welcome for this Mumbai based band. They played some of their phenomenal music numbers like Buniyaad, Bawri Chori and Sada etc. The Yellow Diary really made all those attending the Goonj Music Festival groove to its awesome alternate rock numbers. The mood was getting high and the energy was going up by the minute.
The Yellow Diary finished their performance and the crowd cheered loudly with many waving their hands and showing thumbs up. What a beautiful start to such a highly anticipated evening.
Indian Ocean Band
After a short break, the Emcee introduced the Indian Ocean and the crowd went crazy! Around me, I could hear a few say “college hit”, “lifeline through childhood”, “nostalgic” etc and I could totally relate to the sentiment. I was so pleased to see that there were many youngsters proving that the Indian Ocean band has managed to carry on their magic and touched the younger generation of today too. It took a while for all the shouting and cheering to settle down. And then they began to play!
They went on playing some beautiful fusion numbers and the crowd stood up from their seats. It is really commendable that the Indian Ocean Band has completed more than 30 years and is still going strong. Hats off to their hard work, innovativeness and creativity.
A starry night comes to an end
The crowd went mad again as they played their famous song “Bandeh” and dedicated it to the recent victims of Delhi riots. By now the energy was electrifying and the crowd was grooving to the soulful numbers. The grand finale of the Goonj Music Festival was the song “Kandissa” performed by the Indian Ocean band. Clearly the most popular number and my favorite, it was the perfect ending to an amazing starlight night. As the show ended, the happiness of the fans was quite evident and the farewell to the wonderful band was deafening.
Checkout this post for kid-friendly places in Bangalore
