Almost every block celebrates Rabindrajayanti but when was the last time a rock concert was held in Salt Lake? AC Block community hall recently hosted an event called Children of Rock, which brought together headbangers from across the state, and though the event wasn’t strictly for children, it saw formidable performances from teens and tweens.
Bands like Ronin, Requiem of Chaos and Necropsy filled the hall with distortion and growls. There was even Green Jelly with a USbased member Srijoy Mitra, who incidentally lives opposite the hall.
“I’ve played gigs in the US and here in India I’m on the lookout for like-minded musicians to play with,” said Srijoy, before playing Green Day, Nine Inch Nails and some original compositions. “And it was certainly special to play so close to my own home.”
Far from complaining about the noise, some residents went over to watch the concert, led from the front by Srijoy’s dad Ananda. “Neighbours have been told about this concert and besides, Durga puja mics make louder noise than this. Rock music deserves space too,” he smiled, in between shooting videos of the bands.
Public demand
Despite “online” being the buzzword these days, the bands swore by offline concerts. “Pop or other mainstream shows may be possible online — as we have seen through the pandemic — but our genre is about over-the-top showmanship. Fans won’t relate to the music without headbanging (rhythmic shaking of the head) and moshpits (the act of deliberately colliding with other spectators),” said Sayak Bagchi, drummer of Vuglastrike.
Vocalist of Tandav, Imon Mukherjee, concurred. “We can always talk to friends online but we still go over to meet them as nothing beats the face-to-face experience. The audience has fallen back during the online phase and only want to hear covers of familiar songs. Such shows are the platform to serve them original music,” he said.
Breaking the glass ceiling was a seven-member girl band Lightning Stars. “I used to live in the US before and did not notice a dearth of women in the rock scene there. It’s not the same in Bengal and we formed this group to break stereotypes,” said drummer Arushi Banerjee. The school and college girls had come together from Chandernagore in a big van.
Rising stars
The show sprung a surprise when two kids, who looked young enough to be children of some of the rockers, took stage. Any doubts that they might be “doodh bhat” were dispelled when CD Block’s Vanshika Paul, all of 13, began her sound check to the solo of Queen’s iconic Bohemian Rhapsody.
Jaws dropped when the chit of a girl went on to play Always with me, always with you, a tough composition by Joe Satriani, often considered the god of guitar. Comments of disbelief like “Ki dekhchhi, bhai!” and “Toiri” escaped the gaping mouths of listeners. CK Block’s Saisha Banerjee, 10, joined her to sing a Pink Floyd and John Lennon number and the audience sang along.
“We are overwhelmed by the crowd’s response,” said Vanshika. “They were all seasoned performers with years of experience but they gave us a patient hearing and encouraged us. The sound of them singing with us still rings in my ears,” said the girl who has been learning the guitar since Class IV, inspired by her father and uncle. She picked up the electric guitar two years ago.
Saisha has been singing on stage since she was three. “I sing all kinds of songs but my dad encouraged me to try rock,” said the little vocalist of Dynamic Duo. My mom, however, skipped this show as rock is too loud for her,” she laughed.
“The name Children of Rock actually indicated newbie bands but we are proud to see such young talent,” said a member of the organising company, Valhalla Events. “Rock music is not mainstream and many parents do not support children testing waters here. We also thank AC Block for making us feel at home. The committee helped us and many residents dropped by to watch the show.”