Goldies Day Out

Much to the contrast from the last post, this one is about some of us (g)oldies day out at a music festival. There were initial apprehensions. But, all went well.

Barring U2, last few years I have avoided going for gigs, music festivals and concerts, unless friends are performing. Nothing wrong with them, but I just don't have the bandwith I had like I did in my 20's.

There are so many music festivals last few years compared to what we had, and that too in the genre of rock music. We had our good old Thursday nights at Razz Rhino (Can be and should be another blogpost for that era, alongdide Toto's and Ghetto's), we had college festivals which were open to limited audience then, and then we had Independence rock. I'm glad the new generation have more options for live music than we did.

One of the reasons I have avoided festivals was that I felt completely lost in the crowd which is not of my age group. And no patience to wait through the whole line up to catch the headliner I have been wanting to watch. Wasn't working out for me. I'm not grumpy. Just a lazy old aunty.

Pre U2, the last concert and gig that I really had a great time in Mumbai were Guns N' roses and Third Eye Blind in 2012. I was with My people, and of My age. And they were awesome.

Guns N' Roses, Mumbai 2012

Third Eye Blind, Mumbai 2012

Coming back to last week. Saumi messaged a link to the #Dirty30 ticket sales for Independence rock and it was a steal. I was like: Rs 30. Will buy a couple of tickets and see. If not, I can always pass on the tickets to friends who might want to go. Had no clue about the line up then.

Come Friday night, my brother Anit was like, lets go. The last two acts for Sunday are Bombay Metal Project and Bloodywood.

Having Gostana stalls at NH7 in the past I knew what to expect from BMP, very similar to the All Stars stage back then (2012 /13 again). AMAZING. One thing I learnt during soundchecks back then was that I love metal, but only live. I couldn't stand listening to it at home when brother played them loud on tapes and CDs. Live was amazing, and it left a core memory. I was 6/10 in.

Bloodywood got me in 10/10 as I really liked their vibe of what I had seen and heard on YouTube. They have a song in the memory of a dog.<3

Coming to the show. We were a safe group of 6-7, kind of anxious adults with an exit plan.

Got there only to be happily surprised. Most of the crowd was from back in our era. Some single like me, some with kids, some not single but on a solo-trip. All in all it felt like one happy reunion. The venue was well spread for the entire crowd to find a breathing space. There was a good variety of food, beverages, with ample of seating spaces. And. Good wash rooms. Abort exit plan. It was a house party where friends bought their own drinks, dates, children, life advises, and hung out in an open spaces, and there was Our Music.

Pics: Tushar Burman

I'm no music journalist or critic so will only share my experience.

We Just Had A Blast. Dancing away as headbanging doesn't come naturaly to me. The crowd was super energetic,feeding from the energies on stage. Bombay Metal Project was an absolute treat. An hour of the best guys from the scene, doing what they do best. The chaos of the mosh pit with the intensity of being a spectator standing near the sound console, it was a very different experience. In that distance too, the madness was unifying us through the power of that heavy music. Being at the back also felt like some 'Shanti in chaos'.

Then came Bloodywood. The fusion of heavy metal with dhol & flute is what I had already watched and heard on YouTube, but live. It was intense, aggressive and rhythmic.

As loud as they should be with their music, volume was a bit overwhelming for me. Nonetheless paisa vasool. They played Nu Delhi and Aaj to get me rocking. Now waiting for their next release, Tadka. That should give me enough time to create a nice recipe close to our desi heart.

Did I mention that it was a full moon night? Well....

All in all a great night out. Will I do it again? Maybe next year. The impact of the volume stayed on till the next day. And they day after.

I have made a couple of lazy dinners post the show.

Just made a simple pizza sauce the next day and got our cook to assemble it with topping of choice for the family members.

Today was voting day. Made my self an 'oldie' special burnt garlic, mushrooms, spinach and cheese egg scramble. Comfort food at it's best.

And now, just got around posting this. More high energy recipes and music stories soon.

If you are liking any of my content, or wish to get me to share something related to food. Do drop me a comment. Until then....