India Rock Weekend, Day 3: Junkyard Groove + Spud In The Box
India Rock Weekend: Day 3Spud in the Box and Junkyard Groove, April 8th, Blue Frog, Mumbai Young upstarts Spud in the Box have been steadily creeping up on the gig radar in Mumbai and seem to have really made their presence felt at the M.A.D Festival in Ooty a day before their Blue Frog gig. […]
Junkyard Groove
India Rock Weekend: Day 3
Spud in the Box and Junkyard Groove, April 8th, Blue Frog, Mumbai
Spud in The Box
Young upstarts Spud in the Box have been steadily creeping up on the gig radar in Mumbai and seem to have really made their presence felt at the M.A.D Festival in Ooty a day before their Blue Frog gig. Meshing earwormy choruses with earthy melodies and idiosyncratic
songwriting, the band displayed an unerring ear for pop hooks that had the ladies swooning.
The sextet played a long and slightly clunky set at the Frog that had its share of hits and misses. A lot of the band’s dynamism came from Ankit Dayal and Rohan Rajadhyaksha’s vocal interplay, with Rajadhyaksha nailing his falsettos and harmonies perfectly for the most
part. But occasionally the band would dissolve into cacophony ”“ perhaps a disadvantage of having six people on stage and everyone handling an instrument ”“ and the mumbled jokes between tracks didn’t help. Nevertheless, despite a few rough edges, Spud in the Box is
definitely a band to watch for.
Enter Junkyard Groove.
So. Much. Fun. It’s that easy summing up a regular Junkyard Groove gig.
Hanging out with the band after the show, you realize that hugging them isn’t the greatest idea. Mainly because they’re drenched. In sweat. On the last night of the India Rock Weekend at Mumbai’s Blue Frog, Junkyard Groove gave it everything, especially since this was also the last stop on what they said had been a tiring tour. By the end of it, frontman Ameeth Thomas’ voice was so ravaged, he could just about manage to croak.
While the first half was a pedal-to-the-metal run through their best-known anthems, the second half saw the Chennai quartet play a lot of their newer material. Surprisingly, the newer stuff is light years harder than the acoustic pop-rock JYG’s been known for all this
time. Like seriously explosive harder.
Junkyard Groove's Sajith Satya
In addition to Junkyard Groove’s obvious enthusiasm and energy, another advantage the band has is the fact that every one of the musicians on stage is at the top of their fame. Drummer Shashank Vijay and bassist Sajith Satya (both also play with Franks Got The Funk), though young, were jaw-droppingly good, especially when they got the chance to shine in their respective solo bits. Naveen Thomas (also of Galeej Gurus) on guitars was, as always, brilliant and a treat to watch while Ameeth, well, he’s the original crazy, sweaty, rock-till-he-
drops rock star.
What was even more endearing, especially in the second half, was the vibe. There was this relatively small but rabidly adoring bunch right under the stage, going nuts for everything the band did. There were even moments when the audience reached out and tried to touch them! Frontman Thomas teased them, they teased him back and then Ameeth and the crowd decided to tease bassist Satya. (Though Ameeth claimed Satya’s still a virgin, you’d find it half to believe after seeing him bust out his bass solo. With bass chops like that, he’s probably scoring better with the ladies than Pitt, Gosling and Pattinson combined.) In fact, Ameeth was chatting with the crowd so much, at one point Satya had to push him to “start the fucking song.”
Towards the end, the performance evolved into a personal, intimate set, where everyone who stayed back knew the songs and sang along. Even more surprisingly, Ameeth, known for jumping out of his shirt as soon as he can, managed to stay clothed right until the last song!
In the end, Junkyard Groove helped cap an interesting three days of stellar live performances, simply by bringing their mercurial talent to the stage and supercharging it with loads of passion.
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