Gig Picks

Shillong Chamber Choir.

DISCHORDIAN
Where: Blue Frog, Mathuradas Mills Compound, Tulsi Pipe Road, Lower Parel. Tel: 4033 2300.
When: Tuesday, April 5, at 10pm.
Entrance fees: Rs300.
In the three years since Split frontman Gareth D’Mello started his acoustic side-project, Dischordian, the act has slowly but steadily built a firm following in Mumbai. Dischordian is distinct from other singer/songwriter outfits primarily because D’Mello’s whisky-soaked vocals are served through a finely shaped musical decanter made up of trumpet player Agnelo “Aggie” Picardo, guitarist Howard Pereira and saxophone and melodica player Nigel Rajaratnam. With a singing and writing style that doffs its hat to everyone from Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen to Tom Waits and Eddie Vedder, Dischordian is one of those bands that often says the sourest things in the sweetest ways. This is best exemplified on such catchy but caustic material like “The Old Whore” and “Your Right Heel” that appear on their brilliantly titled debut album The Feni Farm Riot, which they launch at this gig.

SHILLONG CHAMBER CHOIR
Where: Shanmukhananda Auditorium,
 behind Gandhi Market, 
Sion (East). Tel: 2407 8888.
When: Thursday, April 7, gates open at 7.30pm.
Tickets: Rs300, Rs500, Rs750, Rs1,000, Rs1,500, Rs2,000. Available from Rhythm House, Cafe Coffee day outlets at Shivaji Park, Sion and Matunga, and bookmyshow.com.
The Shillong Chamber Choir, which won the second season of reality TV show India’s Got Talent, made headlines last November after they performed for the Obamas during their visit to Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The choir, which formed in 2001, performs a mix of Western classical, gospel, pop, and rock music, but also choral arrangements of Hindi film songs. It’s their renditions and medleys incorporating such Bollywood hits and classics like “Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin Todenge” and “Kal Ho Naa Ho” that have helped turn them into household names across the country. Their two-hour performance at the Shanmukhananda Auditorium will be their first in the city, and the audience can make requests ahead of the concert by visiting the event pages on Facebook and Twitter.

ADVAITA
Where: Blue Frog, Mathuradas Mills Compound, Tulsi Pipe Road, Lower Parel. Tel: 4033 2300.
When: Thursday, April 7, at 10pm.
Entrance fees: Rs300.
Delhi’s Advaita are a bit like Mumbai’s Something Relevant. They’re both long-running, large bands (STR has six members compared to Advaita’s eight); both incorporate a number of genres in their compositions and both are known to improvise considerably while on stage. Yet, they sound almost nothing like each other. This is because while they share a love for rock and jazz, Advaita’s music has none of the hip hop and soul elements found in STR but rather a strong Indian classical base as well as a considerable electronica influence. It’s an ingenious mix created by the octet—guitarist Abhisek Mathur, keyboard player Anindo Bose, drummer Aman Singh Rathore, sarangi player Suhail Yusuf Khan, tabla player Mohit Lal, bassist Gaurav Chintamani and singers Chayan Adhikari and Ujwal Nagar, who provide the English and Hindustani vocal respectively—who impressed British superproducer John Leckie when he chose them along with three other acts to record Soundbound, a British Council-funded compilation of Indian indie that was released in the UK in 2009. It’s been about two years since they last played in Mumbai, so this gig will be a welcome return for fans eager to hear them perform songs from their debut CD Grounded In Space, and newer material like “Start The Fire”.

SHAA’IR + FUNC
Where: Bonobo, Kenilworth Mall (KFC Building), Phase 2, off Linking Road, Bandra (West). Tel: 2605 5050.
When: Friday, April 8, doors open at 8.30pm.
Entrance fees: Call the venue for details of the entrance fee.
Electro-pop rock act Shaa’ir + Func belong to that small group of Indian indie acts who can stage a great gig even at a bad venue. This was evident at their last show in Mumbai, at Bandra’s garish Red Ant Café, where the sound arrangements, and crowd management, left much too be desired. The band was so magnetic that you managed to forget where you were, until a waiter stepped on your foot to get to a table near the stage. Fortunately, there should be no such niggles when they perform at one of their favourite venues, Bonobo, which is both literally and aesthetically the diagonal opposite of Red Ant Café. The terrace bar and restaurant has an easy, affable vibe, much like that of the members of Shaa’ir + Func themselves.