Having had a fair dose of laughter thanks to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival travelling roadshow, I headed to Shroom in New Delhi for the Second Aussie BBQ, which was part of a very jam packed final two days of my time in India. The show, in the futuristic surrounds of the venue – where we were introduced to the ‘upmarket’ side of Indian lifestyle – went very well by all indications. Especially considering this was the first time rock bands had performed in the dance oriented venue.
Big Scary kicked things off with a big smoke storm – the smoke machine not turning off when it was supposed to, leaving the band humourously obscured from view. But they still seemed to strike a chord. As did Jinja Safari, who got the crowd dancing; there were even a few who knew the songs and had travelled to the gig quite a distance to check them out.
Sheppard (pictured above) had to work hard to get the crowd involved, and gave it their all. It wasn’t the normal sort of music for the crowd, but they seemed to enjoy themselves all the same. Given the venue, it was definitely The Aston Shuffle’s night, with their electronic music keeping the guests dancing well into the morning. I, regretfully, wasn’t so fortunate, with a good dose of Delhi Belly leaving me feeling fairly average, and after a VERY jam packed day, I leaded back to the hotel a bit early to get some much needed R&R ahead of my final day on the trip, and the final BBQ in Bangalore.
The fun of getting four bands and a bunch of rowdy Australians onto the same flight…
The trip to Bangalore, which is situated on the Southern end of India, was a lengthy one. At about three hours, we had to take quite an early flight to make it to the city in time for the gig that night. Once again the dramas of travelling this many bands on the one aircraft was a dramatic set of events, but we all got on, all the luggage showed up on the other end and we went straight to the venue. The airport we arrived in is probably the newest in the world, having just opened a few months prior. The original airport was smack bang in the middle of the city, but this new location was much further out, no doubt leaving room at the original airport for more apartments and the like.
Possibly the first green grass I’d seen since arriving in India…
It was great to make tracks so far outside the centre of the city, however, as I actually got to see a bit of the countryside that makes up so many of those Indian travel articles and books that document the beauty of the country. The weather was beautiful, the air was cleaner, the traffic was non-existent comparatively and there was more than enough landscape to enjoy along the way.
It’s obvious that if I ever come back here, I have to make my way outside the main cities. I feel like I missed so much of the country, and I certainly did, trapped in the concrete jungle that makes up the major city centres, struggling to cope with the amount of people flooding each. It’s been an amazing journey though, that goes without saying. The chance to travel around India with five Australian bands, while sneaking in a bit of sightseeing in between gigs and commitments, was one too good to pass up.
Like any good tour, everyone on it left good mates and that famed comparison to a ‘school field trip’ definitely held true here. I couldn’t have travelled with a lovelier group of people and though I was very glad to be heading home by the time I left India, having just escaped the dramas of Hurricane Sandy before arriving, it was nonetheless a bittersweet farewell.
The final venue of the Aussie BBQ tour, in Bangalore: CounterCulture.
The final BBQ was probably the most authentic BBQ that Stage Mothers has put on anywhere in the world. There was an actual BBQ and we felt like we were in the backyard of someone’s house. The venue, a newer one in the city, felt very DIY, and given the region’s “no dancing” policy, it came as no surprise that in speaking to the venue’s owner, it’s quite a challenge to run such an establishment – especially one that supports Western styles of music.
Unlike the previous night, this meant that it would be a tough sell for The Aston Shuffle, and unfortunately I had to head to the airport before they played so can’t attest to how they actually went. But Sheppard sounded great, Jinja Safari killed it and Big Scary (pictured below) said goodbye to India with a fantastic cover of Ray Charles’ “I Got a Woman”.
On that note I said goodbye to India myself, jumped into my car and headed back to the airport. Cows were everywhere but thankfully the traffic was not. It was an easy journey and my driver, surprisingly savvy on his English compared to every other driver I’d had to date, asked me to play him some Australian music.
I ended up plugging in my phone and jamming through some Big Scary and Jezabels for him. He seemed to enjoy it and has no doubt downloaded both albums illegally since. A very appropriate way to end the trip – darting town a highway, wind blowing through the hair, listening to some fantastic music. What a joy it was been to share such great Australian music with the Indian public, and how great it has been to see them so impressed by it, and take it up so kindly.
VIEW THE OTHER NINE PARTS OF THIS SERIES HERE.
