Gig Preview: Spud in The Box at Hard Rock Café, Mumbai

Spud In The Box (Photo: Tejeshwar Balachandar)

Spud In The Box, the seven-member band from Mumbai that was set up in 2011, write sunny pop songs (far from folk rock as they’ve often been described) and their shows, free from self-indulgence, have an appeal that is rare for a college band. The band delivered a terrific, hour-long set at Dadar Chowpatty for the Bandstand Revival Project last weekend, and managed to get the audience to their feet with “Use Your Words”, their clap-along track.

The band’s enthusiasm is infectious and unlike most other young bands, Spud In The Box believe in communicating with their audience, instead of mumbling their way through a gig. At the M.A.D. festival in Ooty this April, the band’s vocalist Rohan Rajadhyaksha shook his audience up a bit by announcing that the band would next perform “a famous Bryan Adams’ song.” The audience collectively sighed and laughed when the band broke into an original titled “Train of Thought.” While “Train of Thought”, a crowd favourite, makes a departure from their regular sound with a nod to Brit alt rockers Radiohead, new songs such as the upbeat “Lens Life” have also caught on quickly. The band debuted “Lens Life” at the M.A.D. fest even as they struggled with the sound set-up and managed to win over the audience, so we’re hoping that the excuse for a stage above the bar at Hard Rock Café, Mumbai, should be a piece of cake when they perform tonight.

Spud In The Box includes Rohan Rajadhyaksha on vocals and keyboard, Ankit Dayal on vocals and guitar, Vivaan Kapoor on drums, Zubin Bhathena on bass and Arjun Tandon, Siddharth Talwar and Hartej Sawhney on guitar.

Hard Rock Café, Mumbai

10 May, 2012

9 pm onwards

Entry: Rs 150

Phone: 022-2438-2888