Strictly Blues festival
Mumbai gets its first blues festival. Stage 1 presents The Strictly Blues festival, an annual festival of pure, unadulterated blues featuring Dana Gillespie & The London Blues Band and the Dino Baptista Trio from the UK, Julien Brunetaud and The JB Boogie Band from France and America Zach Prather.
Joss, Kalaghoda Rampart Row, 7pm, February 19, 2005.
-Time Out Mumbai
While there is an increased number of concerts and live music events happening across the city, this one in recent past tops my list.
An early affair, the music started by 7:45pm and went on till close to midnight. There was no seating (read people swinging and dancing), gorgeous starters doing the rounds, and a full bar. Mumbai’s hunger for nights like this was evident in the packed hall. People were stomping to the music till those a floor below feared the ceiling would come down. We want more events like this.
Is anyone listing?
So yesterday I had the fortune of hearing some American VCs talk about just how great India is, and why they want to give us money to make it greater. The talk was interesting, or about as interesting as talks like these get. Here is what I made of it
Web 2.0 is great
Your barriers for competition are your readers
Build value, not revenue. One follows the other
Invest in people: it will pay off
Oh and yeah, India is expected to be the third largest consumer of the Internet.
There are numerous posts on Rang De Basanti doing the web sphere. This is not a synopsis/review of the movie. In my opinion the movie was mediocre at best.
I met someone from the production team of UTV and was stunned by what he had to say. The movie has been the highest grossing film in Bollywood history. It is competing with Hollywood Oscar nominators in its collection figures (INR 228 million in the first four days). The movie has stormed markets like Australia and UK. They have received emails from people all over the world recounting stories of how the movie changed them, they want to get involved in national movements and make the world a better place.
Melodramatic. But so was the movie. A bunch of overgrown 20 somethings leading a movement of anarchy: this getting validated by the conservative millions of the Indian population. I am sure Ronnie didn’t expect this, nor did Rakesh Omprakash Mehra.
Leads us to the million-dollar question. What makes people tic?
Why is it, that having lived in Mumbai all my life I don’t have a favourite bar? Not into crowded dance floors, and junk music, I am constantly on the look out for a place that gets the formula right.
Finally there was hope and his name was Henry Tham; a fine dining restaurant, recently converted into a part bar/lounge in Colaba. Friday night’s they showcase a live act ‘Bombay House’.
I went there a couple of Friday’s ago. A live saxophone, drum and synthesiser complimented great tracks (I know what it was not… Trance, RnB, Hip Hop, Bollywood, Pop, Retro) from the DJ booth; it was magical!
I spread the word, waiting in tepid anticipation to get lucky the next Friday. It was lost. I walked into a crowded room with no place to stand. The music was average at best and the live acts gone. My eyes watered, I am not sure if it was the second hand smoke or the thought of what was. Henry Tham has become a scene. RIP.
