“We Are the world, We are the Children” : These lyrics take us down the memory lane, about 15 years back in time when we first heard the album USA for Africa. Ever since then, the concept of playing for a cause has always been close to our heart.
For any band, good gigs are hard to come by - let alone the ones where the promoter was willing to release all funds for a cause. Luckily for us, we were approached by Vibha, a not for profit catering to education of kids in India. A double whammy, for lack of a better word, to play a great gig for a great organization that helps kids back home.
Essentially it was a no brainer - we would open the night in front of an audience 1000 strong and set the tone for a night that would raise the $$$ for a great cause. That is essentially how our association with Vibha Vibe came to be.
In choosing the songs for the night, we wanted to add a different element to our usual stage strategy as well. Given the special occasion, we decided to try something audacious - get a Bharatnatyam dancer to choreograph steps for our progressive metal song. We picked a theme with an author talking to the schizophrenic rendition of one of the characters from his book - an even more bizzare challenge for a solo dance heard . Needless to say, we did hear responses from dancers that ranged from a plain “sorry” to “ Are you crazy? “ …
Finally we struck gold in an amazing dancer named Lavanya who agreed to choreograph the dance and blew our minds away with her visualization of the music. Thus came to be an onstage experience that we would never forget in our lives and something we hope to replicate again in the future.
The opening song for the night was “Jalam” - aptly named for after its basis on the droughts in many parts of Agricultural India that orphaned many an unfortunate child. We are glad to have raised that awareness and helping people understand how critical the role of organizations like Vibha are.
The night was brought to an explosive close by Mystic India ; an act we have no words to describe. It was talent, planning and execution at the finest. 30 or so dancers let loose on the stage who combined energy., grace and flamboyance to deliver an experience that encompassed every facet of the bollywood experience. Kudos to Amit and his team that made up Mystic India for their hard work and incredible dedication.
A great night all in all with an amazing group of people who turned out and opened their hearts for us and the great cause we were playing for.
