Before I go ahead and bare it all, those of you who missed this gig must already be feeling the punch. You could have avoided being an emo by attending the Summer Storm Festival presented by Overture India where groove history was made on our land when arguably one of the best metal bands in the world right now played for us.
Putting aside all the shit that happened at the Summer Storm pre-party gig the previous night which I shall write about soon, I was trying to avoid any lame reasons that could ruin the biggest day in Indian metal. I reached the venue at around 5 p.m. Getting in was not an issue at all, thanks to the crowd turnout that was way below expectations and the security check was a breeze.
My main issue was my disinterest in the openers as I wasn’t interested in watching them open for LoG. Somehow consciously or unconsciously me and my 15 other friends were delaying the trip to Palace Grounds. When we entered we got to know that scribe had just got done with their set, and from what I heard they kicked ass. Scribe is a bunch of really talented musicians and with the kind of experience they have i’m sure they did make the most of this. Scribe was the only Indian band that I wanted to watch.
Anyways now that my concern about wanting a worthwhile band to open for a Lamb of God is out of the way I can proceed. I do not have any complaints as such because I do not have bands like LoG playing for me every other weekend. Had to make a point that me and many others for whom metal matters like a lot felt. Its not about being against Indian bands playing but about bands that are opening for such a name. The message is we have better bands. Just for the record, the opening bands were Bhoomi, Boomerang, Scribe and Extinct Reflections.
The last Indian act was Extinct Reflections. They were tight and all, and were spread out all over the stage but then personally they aren’t one of my favorites in the Indian scene. Wish Scribe had played last. But then I could wish the whole opening line-up was different. I am getting over this now.
So by 6:45 the Indian bands were done. Now we did not expect LoG to hit the stage at seven and then go on playing till like ten. It was announced that they would not come for the next forty-five minutes or so. It was getting darker and everyone was growing restless. People around had started loosening up by exercising and doing fake mosh. We had some drunk fucks trying to ruin things around. I love drinking and I call them drunk fucks because a couple of them passed out and that too half an hour before LoG hit the stage. Alcohol cannot be insulted more.
Now what follows would be me trying to explain something that cannot be expressed. With people in a couple of rows in the front gasping for breath, the organizers had to ask the crowd to move their asses a bit towards the back. The crowd did because the organizers did not intend to begin before that. And it was almost that moment. I was trying to blink as much as possible before they came on stage. With LoG chants in the air, all of us heard The Passing. And that was it. Everyone slapping their foreheads with that feeling, turning at their neighbours and bellowing the f-word. I was standing towards the left of the sound console. A flash of light and there they were. Mark Morton, Willie Adler and John Campbell have started playing In Your Words. Chris Adler could not be seen but then he could be felt, like really felt. Randy entered and it was a bedlam. And then the crowd automatically made space as they had to form their own mosh-pits. Everyone shifted around to adjust. The setlist included a mix of old and new tracks. The band did skip a few tracks that were very much expected, but then all of their creations are first rate.
Setlist –
The Passing
In Your Words
Set To Fail
Walk With Me In Hell
Now You’ve Got Something To Die For
Ruin
Hourglass
Dead Seeds
Blacken The Cursed Sun
Descending
As The Palaces Burn
Laid To Rest
Contractor
Vigil
Redneck
Black Label
Randy‘s interaction with the crowd was a bit cold as compared to what we have been subjected to in those DVDs we watched. Of the little he spoke, something that surprised all was Randy talking about Gandhi being a punk rock guy, and then followed it up with The Contractor from their latest album. Randy even mentioned his contentment after looking at the response and said he would pass this message to his friends and other bands around, not to forget his promise of coming back themselves.
The gig got over before nine p.m. But complaining would not take this anywhere as only after I came back to my senses did I realize that actually played sixteen tracks. When I went about finding out what could have made LoG cut down on time, Arpan Peter (from Overture India) told me some of the prominent reasons were the difficulties that the attendees had to face in getting transport to commute back after 10, and non-availability of food as most joints are shut after 10. Valid reasons but they could sideline these on this day. Nevertheless it was a very well organized gig, and considering this was Overture India’s first attempt at organizing a gig at this scale, it was a success. Whatever anyone has to say I personally want to thank Overture for making this happen. You guys did what no-one else could. Period. Only thing that disappointed me was the turnout which was said to be around 7k. I expected more. A lot more.
This gig would well be a turning point for the Indian scene and I hope the big four of thrash find their way to India soon. As for the rest of us who were present at Palace Grounds, we finally lost our virginity and what better than being banged by five Virginians. At the end of it all everyone around was heard saying, “We survived the Wrath, we lived through Lamb of God” and I could not agree any less.
[ All pictures included in the post – courtesy of Rohit Pereira (P-Man) and Jared Creado (Indian Rocket) ].
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May 19th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Way to go itihaas..
Nice review..especially the part of “our virginity and what better than being banged by four Virginians”…
May 19th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
It had to be five. 😛 My bad.
May 19th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Hahaha ! Solid one Itihas .. PFG \m/
May 19th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Never ever did I feel such a pinch in my insides. Watching the embedded video only made the feeling worse. Nevertheless , they’ve said they’re commin back , an oh Boy! I am waiting for them!
A brilliant writeup! I felt as though I was there , (even though I was not) 😦
Anyway.. \m/
PS:- My deep respects and love for Dio. 😦
May 31st, 2010 at 3:17 pm
They’ll be back now that India is on the metal map. Till then u can get back to drooling over folk. 😛
May 19th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
naice 1 as always! 😀
cant wait for the pre-party 1…
wanna kno ur prespective about the whole scenario 🙂 \m/
May 31st, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Hey Tj.. Don’t think i have enough time to pen down the pre-party scam. But what I couldn’t do has been done well by Roydon and Arun on FB, so no point repeating the same here. You and I witnessed it and both of us lost 300 fvcking bucks. 😀
May 19th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
MARK morton, for the love of christ.
May 19th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Of course dude. That’s what happens when you are at work and writing a review. 🙂
And, I do not love christ.
May 20th, 2010 at 6:15 am
For me the gig was a tad disappointing, the band looked jaded, no crowd interaction, Fvck, i expected Wall of Death to crush my senses but instead got a bunch of emo/junkies doing some BARAAT ka DANCE in the mosh pit !! Nevertheless i got to hear Chris Adler LIVE from the second row ! i m happy :).
Btw, what is the story behind this pre-party gig ??
P.S. Amon Amarth were better 😀
May 31st, 2010 at 3:21 pm
dude i never expected a Wall of Death in India.. n i was right! 😀
May 20th, 2010 at 7:03 am
Awesome Review. Though i feel LOG weren’t so happy with crowd. hopefully they come back again and crowd will be better…
May 31st, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Thanks zoozoo. 🙂
May 20th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Yeah, read about the low turnout. I remember it being a blessing in disguise a couple of years back. From your review, I guess it was in your case as well, right?
May 21st, 2010 at 4:33 am
In a way yes. I feel for LoG’s first time here they needed a thunderous response.
May 20th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Agree that the bands opening for LoG (aka Boomerang & Bhoomi) weren’t as explosive as the lineup in Deccan Rock with the likes of Kryptos,Inner Sanctum, DR & Bhayanak Maut..!!
Infact would like to add that the opening song of the concert by Bhoomi was greeted by the Middle Finger, Cans & Plastic bottles..!!
Organisers didn’t stop bad music.. they stopped pelting of stuff..!!
No offence but then i had a pre-conceived notion that it wouldn’t be a smooth transition from Indian Bands to LoG..!!
May 21st, 2010 at 4:41 am
‘with the likes of Kryptos,Inner Sanctum, DR & Bhayanak Maut..!!‘
I do not want to comment on the mentioned bands as finally they did not open for LoG and I can tolerate the bands that actually opened but not Bhayanak Maut. LoG cannot be tortured by subjecting them to a bad version of their music, and on top of that a band that has built a name by only copying LoG cannot open for them.
May 22nd, 2010 at 4:42 am
“LoG cannot be tortured by subjecting them to a bad version of their music”
That was an unnecessary, vile remark to make. For me, i would have been much happier had BM opened for LOG, instead of the “haramcore” 😛 bands that did eventually.
May 22nd, 2010 at 1:34 pm
BM did not open for LoG. Me happy! 😀
May 22nd, 2010 at 5:31 am
Bhayanak Maut has earned a repute for the kind of energy they put into their performance… People experienced it at Deccan Rock..!!
If you’re to name 5 of the best Indian metal bands, you’ll probably count them in..!!
I challenge you Itihas.. do a poll and you’ll find out..!!
May 22nd, 2010 at 1:32 pm
I need not do a poll, because it is not just my opinion and that is why I said it. No doubt they are good with energy and all but I’m glad they did not open for LoG.
May 23rd, 2010 at 9:46 am
“LoG cannot be tortured by subjecting them to a bad version of their music, and on top of tht a band that has built a name by only copying LoG cannot open for them..”
Looks more of criticism than an opinion to me..!!
Dude, try not being a poser.. ‘cos right now you’re acting like one..!!
May 24th, 2010 at 9:02 am
If it sounds like criticism so be it. It wud be nice if BM opens for the next international act in India. Not if it’s LoG again. And what’s wrong in being a poser? I mean, you are one and you seem to be a nice chap.
May 22nd, 2012 at 12:29 pm
hahah Fate turns the table …. LoG is back and look whose opening for them Our own Bhayanak Maut …. though not everything is going the way we would have wanted …. This shitty government banned all the live acts in Palace grounds we will have to march down till some “fuck clark in extocia” hotel …. but there’s one boner package … Rs 1000 unlimited booze unlike last times 100 bucks for half filled small size glass 😛
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:00 pm
I have nothng against Bhayanak Maut, my friend, and I think differently today. We all grow up, and mature with time, right? I’m still an atheist and will continue to remain so though. 😛 BM are no longer the band they were, have their own unique sound and I thoroughly enjoy their compositions today. They are fit to open for a merciless act like Lamb of God. And I do hope you make the most of your thousand bucks, man. 🙂
May 28th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
The concert was pretty good worth it though bhoomi suckedd n i dont get y sahil makhija was selling stuff insted of opening fr log wanna kno wat happened at d pre party man i missed it
May 29th, 2010 at 11:28 am
Hehe. To sum up everything the pre-party sucked due to lack of organization. I don’t think i would write about it as it’s good to let that day fade away. The gig started really late and the direct impact of this was some good outstation bands that had traveled from Bombay to Bangalore so they could play for a diverse audience could not complete even two to three songs. And to top it all there was no news about the headlining band Nothnegal (Maldives) which could have been the only band some people paid 300 bucks for!
December 19th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
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