2Stroke Tour’s Second Edition Enlists The Ganesh Talkies and Last Remaining Light
With eight cities now on the itinerary, the Kolkata pop rock band and Mumbai alt rock band will cover new ground as part of the recently launched tour series
Mumbai alt rockers Last Remaining Light will perform as part of the 2Stroke Tour. Photo: JIshnu Guha
Every once in a while, a young enterprising music enthusiast comes along and proves that dedication is all it takes to put on a great show. Uddipan Sarmah, frontman of post-rock band Aswekeepsearching and 27-year-old entrepreneur is one such individual. The success of the first edition of the 2Stroke Tour, which Sarmah organized alongwith Bengaluru-based investor and co-founder Ramakrishnan Krishnan is still fresh in our minds. The tour took Chennai rockers Skrat and Sarmah’s band Aswekeepsearching on a five-city tour in June.
It doesn’t come as a surprise when Sarmah tells us that he was confident enough to plan the second edition with his partner. This September, Ahmedabad-based producer and guitarist Sarmah, along with have picked Kolkata-based pop rock band The Ganesh Talkies and upcoming Mumbai alt rock band Last Remaining Light [LRL] to go on a 10-day, eight-city tour.
Sarmah explains the programming format for the 2Stroke Tour: to have one established band such as The Ganesh Talkies, who haven’t toured in a while and one upcoming band like Last Remaining Light, who have new music to perform. LRL incidentally are releasing their debut self-titled album on August 24th. Says Sarmah, “We approached other bands, but what I liked about these guys was that they just jumped into it.” This time around, the 2Stroke Tour travels to three additional cities ”“ Kolkata, Shillong and Guwahati. He says this time, it wasn’t difficult to convince existing or new venues about hosting gigs on weekdays. Says Sarmah, “For example, Antisocial in Delhi is never open for gigs on Wednesdays, but this time, they’ve gone an extra mile for us. The support has to come from everybody.” Speaking about the success of the previous tour, Sarmah says it wasn’t just about marketing. Adds Sarmah, “It was just musicians who supported us, and brought their friends to shows.”
While both The Ganesh Talkies and LRL are embarking upon an eight-city tour for the first time, LRL guitarist Anurag Shanker says he’s excited about getting on the road to make new friends and tighten their performances. Says Shanker, “It’s a perfect way to introduce ourselves to new audiences.” The band will perform their debut album in its entirety, including songs such as the lead single “Fire Drill Gone Wild,” “Mass Departure” and debut songs such as “Spaces” live. Shanker adds, “I’ve never played more than two back-to-back gigs in my life, but one thing’s for sure, we’ll get awesome at the set.” The band will also bring along CDs and merchandize, making it an all-out launch tour. Shanker says he’s most looking forward to play in Shillong, because “they dig rock music like anything.”
The Ganesh Talkies vocalist Suyasha Sengupta also says she’s looking forward to playing Shillong the most, as well as their first ever club shows in Guwahati and Pune. The band’s one-hour set includes material from their debut full-length album In Technicolor, along with three new songs they’ve been writing over the last few months. Says Sengupta about the sound, “It’s picked up where we left off with In Technicolor, where “Fight Club” was the last song we wrote. The new songs are angry for sure, but not very different.” She says she’s slightly nervous about premiering songs such as “The Great Indian Freak Show,” due to their serious lyrics. Says Sengupta, “The fun and games are over for the band, but the sound still has that fun element. We want to start a moshpit, break a few bones but hopefully, when they go back home, they’ll have something to think about.”
2Stroke Tour ft The Ganesh Talkies and Last Remaining Light
September 4th ”“ Jamsteady, Princeton Club, Kolkata
September 5th ”“ Cloud 9 Resto Lounge, Shillong
September 6th ”“ Terra Mayaa, Guwahati
September 9th ”“ Antisocial, New Delhi
September 10th ”“ Hard Rock Cafe Andheri, Mumbai
September 11th ”“ High Spirits, Pune
September 12th ”“ The Humming Tree, Bengaluru
September 13th ”“ Heart Cup Coffee, Hyderabad
Event details here.
