An evening with Norah Jones

The best things in life come as a surprise. Norah Jones was one such surprise for me. 
Let's face it. I'm not a die-hard Norah Jones fan. Before the concert, I would have shrugged off missing out on the experience. After the concert, I have a different view. No, my dear readers, this is not buyers remorse. This is a real heartfelt appreciation for a fellow musician who actually enthralled a mature audience with some great music. 
So why was I surprised?
The fault is actually Norah's. Her music is so subtle that it always rests amazingly in the background of a party or a conversation. One of the big reasons I started to listen to Norah was because her's was the best music to play on Pandora when we had people over. I never gave her much more credit than that. In fact, I started to take her music seriously when I heard - "In the morning". If you haven't heard that song, you should check it out. Here is the link to the video.

Uploaded by samshelbygt500 on 2012-02-03.

Alright, back to the concert. Norah played with this fantastic band called "The Candles." In my personal view, you could see the Norah Jones experience elevate due to the band. When I think of Norah, my mind pictures a soft piano and an amazingly distinct vocal to go along with it. However, this was not the case. Within four songs, they had the audience spell bound. It was so reminiscent of Pink Floyd with a female vocalist and singing about love. Here is my Facebook post right after the concert. I had no better statement to explain the experience. 

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No Norah Jones experience is incomplete without commenting on her vocals. In most concerts, I can clearly tell the impact of effects on a vocal that was played in the record vs. the one I heard live. Norah was not one of those. Her vocals were flawless. In fact, I closed my eyes for a bit during the concert and I couldn't tell she was performing live. 
The stage was just beautiful and the audience amazing. How often is it that an incredible show is ruined by people who have had a drink too many and start behaving like the concert hall is their backyard? Luckily this was not one of those nights. 
Here are some shots we managed to take off the lighting and the stage.

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For those interested, the songs played that evening were as below. Have at it! 

Sinkin' Soon
Turn Me On
Out on the Road
I've Got to See You Again
Lonestar
Painter Song
Don't Know Why
Miriam
Don't Be Denied (Neil Young cover)
Come Away With Me
Chasing Pirates
It's Gonna Be
Little Broken Hearts
Sunrise
How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart? (Hank Williams cover)
Creepin' In
(Credits to Setlist.fm for the song list)

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An evening with Slayer

“Sometimes it's the venue that makes the music more special.”
- Random Metalhead at the Rave

It is when I got to the Rave for the first time that I truly understood what “Random Metalhead” saying. The Rave at Milwaukee is truly a testament to music venues. With multiple stages and 3 different levels, the venue can be quite overwhelming. I've been here numerous times wondering whether I should stick with the band I was watching or head up to watch an equally awesome band.

When we heard Slayer was coming to Milwaukee, the excitement was hard to contain. This was the band that had laid the foundation for many a metal band around the world. Finally, we would get to see them live - and what better place to see them than the RAVE.

It's customary always to arrive at the Rave quite early. More often than not, I manage to find a band that kicks off the evening and rocks the place entirely. We weren’t disappointed this time either - White Chapel was our find for the evening and they were amazing. I’m sure to draw the ire of a few White Chapel fans, but surprisingly I haven’t heard them yet. If you are one amongst the uninitiated like me, I suggest you start here.

Get exclusive Whitechapel merch here: http://smarturl.it/WHITECHAPEL_merch Whitechapel performing 'I, Dementia' live at Impericon Festival Leipzig 2015!

Right after White Chapel, We climbed the stairs to the Ballroom where Slayer was playing. 1 Tour T shirt, 3 shots, and 2 beers later, I found myself staring at the crowded ballroom. While I tried to ignore King Diamond ( “Yes I'm not a fan. So Sue Me “), I focused more on the right spot - far away from the mosh so that we could get pics, but where the mosh was accessible enough that one could jump right in! For those who are still wondering what that looks like - try the left corner of the stage ( where the bassist stands). In most small venues, there is a sweet spot you can find where you can be close to the band and not get killed.

Slayer came in with their usual setlist. Obviously we were waiting for Dead Skin Mask. The setlist was as below.

Obviously, there is no better way to experience the conference than to see and listen to it. Check out the video.

Slayer live in milwaukee on July 8, 2015 performing Chemical Warfare!

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An evening with Linkin Park

“Some music never leaves you.”

Most people can count their favorite evergreen music on their fingers. These are not just your usual favorites. These are those bands you have heard for almost a decade and still sound just as amazing as they did the first time.

Just like any other music fanatic, my bands are those I can count too. Opeth, Dreamtheater, Guns N Roses, Maiden and Linkin Park basically make the top of the list. If you are surprised with Linkin Park amongst those bands there, you’re not the only one.

Back in the India of the 90’s and early 2000’s, Linkin Park was the gateway drug for metal. The gateway drug parallel came when I heard an old college friend of mine initiating a fellow mate into metal by getting him to listen to Linkin Park and then “upgrading” him to Metallica. However, in spite of having heard and covered them all these years, I never had a chance to see Linkin Park live.

It feels like SummerFest organizers have my list of “bands to see”. They brought Iron Maiden (2012), Eagles(2013) and now Linkin Park. Needless to say, I paid the fortune to get a great seat.

The show was just incredible - a great mix of old hits, new material and even some material from Fort Minor. It was good to see a “live” gig with no lip syncing. It was legit Linkin Park. Here is a video from the concert.

Front row video I took of Linkin Park performing "One Step Closer" at Summerfest 2015 in Milwaukee! All rights to this song belong to Linkin Park!

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An evening with Ustad Zakir Hussain & Celtic Connection

In this blog post, Nithin writes his experience about the concert that happened in Milwaukee Pabst Theater on March 13, 2015. 

The artist lineup for the concert was: 

Zakir Hussain (Tabla), Rakesh Chaurasia (Bamboo Flute), Fraser Fifield (Flute/Pipes), Jean-Michel Veillon (Flute), Ganesh Rajagopalan (Violin), Charlie McKerron (Fiddle), Patsy Reid (Fiddle), Tony Byrne (Guitar), and John Joe Kelly (Bodhran).

"Being a metal head at heart, Indian classical music concerts was never a great experience for me. Coming from the generation that believes in democratizing music, I always was turned off by the Indian classical music scene where they took the extra effort to ensure the music was beyond the grasp of the common man. 

Needless to say, when my vocalist and wife suggested the Zakir Hussain concert, I was less enthused. However, I have a different view now, since for the first time in a long time, I witnessed technically profound music played with the intent of putting it in the common man's reach. Here is the story of Ustad Zakir Hussain and the Celtic Connection. 

Ever since the Dewarists paired up Papon, Karsh Kale and Scottish music, we always knew that was a good combination. The Zakir-Celtic connection was no different. Starting with a crescendo of the flute ( played by Rakesh Chaurasia) and then Scottish bagpipes, the concert weaved in and out of contemporary Indian classical ragas and the Scottish flair to provide one of the best experiences and inspiration for an upcoming band like us. 

The songs played showcased instrument by instrument with solo pieces on the violin, flute, bagpipes, acoustic guitars and the Scottish percussions. Right in the middle was an amazing solo by Ustad Hussain himself. While it was hard to remember each song, I did remember being drawn into the series of time signature changes that truly showcased the complexity in simple music. 

From a personal standpoint, the only irritation came from people who kept screaming 'Wah!'. I'm not sure when Indian audiences will understand that some performances are to be enjoyed in the silent attention to music the treating it like an Indian marriage band. 

The shining light though is light for musicians like The Cocoknot Theori who try to blend Indian classical music with western genres without murdering either. Ustad Zakir Hussain and the Celtic connection have provided us inspiration by showing us that they believe in the same ideology that we do. 

Now... Back to the studio to put up some plans for this winter's recordings."

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Notes from Yanni's world without borders live concert

We had a chance to witness the legendary pianist, Yanni live in Riverside Theater in Milwaukee in September. Here are some notes from the concert that we found interesting:

1. One of Yanni’s compositions is named after his late mother, Felitsa. 

2. His composition named Nightingale had one of the female singers singing like a Nightingale, literally and figuratively.

3. According to Yanni, his orchestra team is like mini United Nations as every person in the team is from a different country. 

4. One of his compositions, Nostalgia sounded somewhat similar to Darbari Kaanada raga in Indian Classical Music.

5. Yanni talked about the over usage of the word, ‘love’ in English. ‘I love coffee’ and ‘I love that dress’ sounds like ‘I love you’, even though the depth of the meaning associated with these statements are different. Because of this, the word ‘love’ loses its value. For the same reason, in Greek language there are 12 different words for love. Interesting, isn’t it? 

6. Most of Yanni’s compositions are based on positive emotions.

Here’s a glimpse of the awesomeness we experienced in Milwaukee.

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