February 20, 2014: BOMB Thursdays moved suburbs from Andheri to Bandra and at it’s first edition at Khar’s newest culture hub The Hive,The Loyalists, The Tripp and Riddim Funktion performed. For starters, the gig saw a larger turnout than the regular fare at the earlier venue. Add to that the fact that the informal setting of the entire event, with people chilling all over the Hungry Traveller Cafe, as well as at the performance area, The Xircus, with some sweet, mellow music and you know, that this gig and the venue are both going to see lager audiences with time.
The Loyalists were the first act for the day. The duo, consisting of singer and guitarist Sarthak Swami and the masked percussionist, known only as The Wingman, performed a set that consisted primarily of originals, spiced up with a few covers here and there. This was The Loyalists second performance at BOMB Thursdays, and for a band that only started a few months back, they have already stepped up their game - their set was tighter, more confident and also more composed in musical direction. Also, the evolution of their music in terms of lyrical composition and tonality itself seemed to have improved substantially.
The Tripp were the second band for the night, and the five member ensemble that brought the blues, in all its happiness down to The Hive were perhaps also the biggest crowd pullers for the night. Their set was lovely, in the sense of being just about the right amount of energy and relaxed listening pleasure. Joel Padikkal was amazing on vocals, adding the much needed emotion and panache that blues demands. Some super sweet guitar solos by Keegan Moraes and a lovely range of covers and originals later, The Tripp managed to get everyone to literally swoon to their tunes.
Then there was the surprise rap act by Tanmay Bahulekar aka Microphon3. An artist who is well known on the rap and hip-hop circuit in the city, it was awesome to see a surprised and happily amused audience grooving to his rap.
Finally, Kolkata-originally-and-now-based-in-Mumbai rhythm and reggae band Riddim Funktion played a fun set of their reggae meets every other genre of chill music set. To put things to perspective, the band started with their own rendition of Daft Punk’s Get Lucky, followed by a round of covers and originals. A band that looks deep inside to find Jah and rhythm in their music and life on a whole, there were sections of their set that were not tight at all, but considering it was their first gig in the city, and the genre itself doesn’t command super tightness, and instead uses music as a form of connection with an audience, Riddim Funktion was pretty adept at doing what they did.
Pictures: Sushant Sawant
